Okay, you caught me. I didn’t actually go to Mars, but when I landed on Fuerteventura after a 45-minute flight it sure did seem like it was Mars. Before this trip, I had NEVER travelled internationally with a group of people. I met 10 other Fulbrighters on the island, and during the course of our trip we connected with the 5 Fulbrighters living on Fuerteventura. Almost every expense I had on this trip was shared with the other 10 people staying in the Airbnb. Speaking of housing, one of the other lovely Fulbrighters (shoutout to you Eleanor, you’re the real MVP) rented us a villa in the middle of the country outside of Puerto de Rosario. The house was MARVELOUS. It was big, spacious, with lots of common areas for us to hangout. It had a pool, a nice terrace, and the MOST incredible views.
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| View from a beach bar at Playa de Correlajo Peep our group in the background! |
The one thing that is unfortunate about Fuerteventura is that you really need a car to get around. The public transportation is spotty, and it does not go to a lot of places. For example, we would not have been able to get to and from our Airbnb without the use of a vehicle. We relied exclusively on the use of rental cars and/or taxis to get around. Taxis aren’t expensive on the island, but if you have to take them everywhere that you go, it can add up. Luckily, myself and a few other people on the trip have our International Driver’s Permit. This is not required to rent a car (at most agencies, we used CICAR), but it helps protect you against liability. I’m so glad that I finally faced my fear of driving in a foreign country. Fuerte was the perfect place to start because there is not really much traffic anywhere, and it was mostly highway driving.
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| Dinner time! |
We all got in on a Thursday afternoon, so we got settled at the house, and we cooked a dinner to share together. Then we really just enjoyed each other’s company. The second day, most of us got a late start getting up. Then per recommendation from some co-teachers, we decided to have a beach day on Correlajo beach in the north of the island. It was very beautiful, with very clear, turquoise water. It was difficult to swim there, especially because throughout the day the tide continued to recede revealing more and more rocks (although these were also very beautiful and cool to look at). It was cloudy the day that we went, but we still got plenty of sun! I also had some time to walk along the town/beach strip in Correlajo. Not a lot of clothing souvenir options if you are a bodacious lady like me, but also that is not uncommon in European countries. One thing that they had a LOT of in this are designer fakes!
Now if you've ever been to Spain you might be thinking that this is very common, and it is. What was unique about this area was it wasn't just people selling fake purses, sunglasses, etc. in the street illegally, they were in almost every store I went to! They were plentiful and they were the best looking fakes I have ever seen! Some members of our group bought some fake Ray-bans, and I honestly couldn't tell that they weren't real until I picked them up and could feel how flimsy they were. I was very impressed by this! After we got back from the beach, I ran to the airport to rent a third vehicle (with the size of our group two was just not enough), and we shared the MOST incredible tacos and homemade salsa at our village in the country. We once again enjoyed each other's company and it was lovely.
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| Rocks at Playa de Cotillo |
The second full day we got kind of a late start (for obvious reasons that I don't need to divulge lol). Three of us headed back to Correlajo to catch a 4 hour boat tour. Since I didn't personally complete this, I can only rely what they told me. They really loved it, even though it rained half the time, so it was kinda cold. The rest of the group headed over to Playa de Cotillo (Cotillo Beach). There were lots of cool rock formations to climb on and look at.
There were also these little gathering areas made with piles of rocks. The best way to describe them is like mini igloo looking things with no tops, but made of rocks. They were really cool! Even though once again the sun did not want to cooperate, I went for a swim.
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| Eleanor and I at Playa de Cotillo |
Surprisingly, the water was not as cold as I thought it would be. It was also very beautiful, the most clear/turquoise water that I have ever seen in person. There were rock formations that were pretty close and I am a strong swimmer, so I decided to swim out to them. While this was a very cool experience, I'm not sure if I recommend it. I pulled myself up and I was sitting on the edge of the rocks. I wasn't paying attention because I was trying to get the attention of everyone on shore so that they could take my picture. This was when a huge wave came through and knocked me off the rocks. I scraped the entirety shin/calf of my right leg, and it was a little bruised the following day. There was no lasting injury or damage (I was just a bit sore) so I can't really complain too much.
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| View from the lookout that we stopped at |
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| Hiking down to the Caves |
We headed to Playa de Ajuy because this is where you can hike down to some cuevas (caves). It had lightly rained during the drive, so this climb, while verily easy made me kinda nervous. It was well worth it because there were SO many cool views of the waves crashing into the rocks, cliffs, and the cave itself! Most of the group was braver than me so they hiked further into the caves than I did, but it was so beautiful. After returning to Puerto de Rosario (the town next to our airbnb), we decided to go out to dinner. We worked very hard to find somewhere that was a non-chain that was affordable, and able to accommodate such a large group (8 of us from the trip and 4 Fulbrighters living on Fuerteventura). It proved to be too difficult, so we ended up meeting at Cien Montaditos in the Mall in Puerto Rosario (admittedly Cien Montaditos is absolutely my most favorite chain restaurant in Spain. I LOVE it.) So while I wished we had gotten to try something unique to the island I was satisfied, especially because I was exhausted from the day. I slept good that night.
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The next day, most of my group left in the morning (almost all of them were traveling to the same island). I didn't fly out until the late afternoon. So after getting the last of the group to the airport and to the Ferry, one of my Fulbright Pals (shoutout to you James) and I drove down the coast to the Betancuría, the historical district/town of Fuerteventura! We also saw a camel on the drive down, and were were able to stop at a lot of roadside attractions/look out points and it was such a nice, peaceful way to spend the day. Betancuría is very small, but there is plenty to see! We spent almost 2 hours slowly exploring the town.
We ended up having coffee and a tapa of papas arrugadas con mojo (wrinkled potatoes with mojo sauce, a Canadian delicacy). We ate a cafe at the bottom of the town, I saw bottom meaning at the base of the small hill in which the town was located. What I loved the most about Betancuría was the incredible flowers and plant life. There were so many stunning flowers and cacti, and I forgot how nice it was to see flowers. After our nice little snack, we headed back to the car and took the scenic route back to Puerto de Rosario. We spent a little time hanging out, and then I had to head to the airport and return my rental car to catch my flight. Figuring out how to pump gas in my rental car was fun while everyone at the gas station stared at me like I was an idiot (I figured out how to open the gas cap after about 5 mins). Overall I highly recommend visiting Mars! There were a lot of things that I didn't get to do, but I hope to visit again someday!
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