Fuerteventura

We left Lanzarote on Thursday 19^th October and motored across the strait to Isla Lobos, on the north eastern side of Fuerteventura.  It took us a while to find a good place to anchor, but Rob from RINGS came over in his dinghy and checked the anchor for us 😊.  We did a quick change into swimming gear and took the dinghy to the nearby lagoon.  The lagoon was like a big basin with very shallow depth all the way to the shore.  There were lots of fish, so we swam and snorkelled for a while, then chatted to Sandra, Nele and Noah from Tuvalu on the beach.  Whilst we were chatting we noticed that the swell was starting to break over the far edge of the lagoon.  We had a race against time to get back over the reef to our boats before the tide got too low!

That evening, Hayley and Megan set up a little cinema in Megan’s room, with a sign on the door in English and German (Cinema/Kinos) and all the curtains pulled so it was dark. Nele and Noah came over and they watched Moana, a fitting film for a group of catamaran cruising kids😊.

Isla Lobos

Movie night on Raftkin

We had a rolly night in Isla Lobos, so we moved on the next day to Gran Tarajal, about halfway down the east coast of Fuerteventura.  It was our best sail day yet – warm, with a building nor-easterly breeze behind us that took us on one long leg all the way down the coast.  We were fortunate to get a berth in the marina and we were 4 boats down from Tuvalu.  Happy days.

We liked Gran Tarajal.  It was an easy walk to the beach from the marina, an easy walk or ride to the shops and there was a good bakery very close by too.  It was not really a tourist town either, so we had a glimpse of how ‘real Canarians’ live. 

Gran Tarajal - beautifulemurals everywhere

Fishing boats in Gran Tarajal

 We celebrated by birthday on Sunday 22^nd with breakfast out, a cake for morning tea freshly baked and delivered by Tuvalu, then in the evening they came over for dinner on our boat.

Birthday cuddles in bed

Yummy birthday cake by Tuvalu :)

Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 October we hired a car.  After boat school drove first to the northern tip of Fuerteventura.  We thought we might find some surf on the west coast, so we head for El Cotillo.  Unfortunately, the surf was too big and the beach was closed.  We drove over to Corralejo at the northern tip of the island, where we could look across and see Isla Lobos and then Lanzarote in the distance.  We found the beach with golden sand and had a swim in the warm, clear water.

Surf beach El Cotillo - very organised

Fun at the beach near Corralejo

Sand dunes south of Corralejo

The next day we headed south to check out Costa Calma, a famous windsurfing/ kitesurfing destination, as well as the anchorages to the south to get an idea of where we should sail to next.  The big tidal lake at Costa Calma was almost drained, but was still amazing to see.  We drove down to Morro Jable and checked out the anchorage and marina and met one of the locals…  Then we stopped at the beach at Costa Calma for a swim on the way back.  The water was warm and clear.

The big lake (drained) at Costa Calma

Where's Wally - can you find the squirrel?

Time for a swim at Costa Calma (lake in background)

Kids stay in forever in the warm water

We had originally planned to leave on Wednesday or Thursday, but after a reassessment of the weather forecast we decided to stay on until Saturday.  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday settled into a routine in the marina – school in the morning, beach in the afternoon, kids playing Level 8 with Nele and/ or Noah before dinner. 

Noah and Hayley - beach buddies at Gran Tarajal

BMX Bandit

Sunrise over Gran Tarajal marina - its 8:15am!

On Saturday morning 28 October we got up ‘early’ (which is 8am here, given the sun rises at 8:15am) and had a quick breakfast before we joined Tuvalu for another mountain climb. This time our quest was a little more realistic, being the hill right behind the town.  It was a great way to say farewell to this interesting town.  When we got back to the boat we tidied up and set sail for Morro Jable, at the southern tip of Fuerteventura.

Heading up the mountain with great enthusiasm!

View over Gran Tarajal

Boot Camp at Gran Tarajal (thanks to SDEPs for the program)

We had another lovely sail down the coast with Tuvalu, then found a good anchorage at Morro Jable.  The wind died out and there was next to no swell, so it was a very peaceful anchorage.  The water was definitely the clearest we have seen – we could see straight to the sandy bottom 10m below.  Lots of swimming, snorkelling, playing on the beach and another mountain to climb.

Tuvalu anchored off Morro Jable

Heading in to the beach for some snorkeling (and ice cream)

Morro Jable from Raftkin

Mountain climbers! (from left Noah, Nele, Megan, Hayley, Dave)

The kids celebrated Halloween with Tuvalu.  They all dressed up and Sandra painted their faces, then they came back to Raftkin for a final game of Level 8.  There were lots of lollies!  Sandra and Tobias came over for a farewell drink too.  After four weeks sailing from Isla Graciosa to Morro Jable, it was time to go separate ways.  Tuvalu are heading for Tenerife and La Gomera; we are heading for Gran Canaria.  We have been very fortunate to share our experience of the Canary Islands with this extraordinary family and we will miss them very much when we sail on.

Halloween, cruising style (Thing 1&2 and Captain Jacqueline Sparrow)

Off for trick or treat

Look out, Pirates!

Wednesday 1^st November we waved goodbye to Tuvalu in the morning, then we spent the day on the anchorage doing school work and cleaning the bottom of the boat.  In the afternoon we head to the beach for a last swim, walk along the beach and an ice-cream.  When we got back to the boat it was time to lift the anchor and sail overnight for Gran Canaria, and the next stage of this adventure.

Farewell Tuvalu