...Land in Sight

San Bartolomé de Tirajana
Playa del Inglés

Ah yes... our good friends from Berlin, whom we met by chance. It's a small world!

We treated ourselves really well. Whether in the private pool of the hotel room — or at the Riu Palace buffet — life quite literally tasted great. :)

...not that things are bad for us otherwise — back at the bus we still missed almost* nothing.

*well okay: maybe the evening buffet. Freshly made pizza from the stone oven, a buffet that felt a hundred meters long, or sweet desserts.
I'll be pessimistic about it for once: too much choice is also exhausting. If you had it every day it probably wouldn't be anything special anyway. ;)

Ready to go! Off towards the island capital: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Here our nearly two-hour ferry to Fuerteventura departed on the evening of 11 April.

Ferry crossing
Gran Canaria – Morro Jable (Fuerteventura)

Oh well... what can I say.
It was rough. Very rough. :(

This time I was doubly well equipped: tablets against travel sickness as well as wristbands with pressure points, which are also supposed to help with seasickness.

Verdict: I spent almost half the ferry crossing near the bathrooms with quite a lot of nausea...but everything stayed down. :)

Fuerteventura
Morro Jable – Jandia

In the southwest of Fuerteventura, at the harbour of Morro Jable, we arrived.
First things first: a good meal the next day — on completely solid ground. :)

The photos speak for themselves: dream beaches and almost deserted.
However the odd beautiful photo is deceiving. The wind was incredibly strong and incessant.

PS: For all those who didn't know: Fuerteventura literally means "strong wind" (from Spanish fuerte = strong, viento = wind).

Fortunately you can always find round "stone walls" here and there, behind which you can sunbathe sheltered from the wind.

Jandia – Costa Calma

Ah, that was lovely! Our pitch for two nights near Costa Calma had a breathtaking view. Here the wind let up for a few hours.

My pizza longing from the Riu buffet was supposed to be soothed with a homemade pizza from our beloved oven.

...what can I say: with that view you don't really need a hotel buffet. :)

However not only we were hungry, but also our animal friends:

Atlantic ground squirrels!

These are widespread particularly on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. They were introduced in the 1960s and are today considered an invasive species.

Together they helped themselves to the leftovers of other beachgoers — mandarins and their peel. There was almost an argument. :)

Costa Calma – Puerto del Rosario

On the road again…
Christian was slightly reminded of his trip through the USA some time ago. The scenery could have been from many a wild west. :)

Good to know: Fuerteventura was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2009. 
Almost a third of the island's surface area, including coastal waters, is under nature protection to preserve unique desert landscapes, volcanoes and marine ecosystems. The island is also recognised as a light protection area.

We also stocked up on groceries, filled up with fuel and briefly visited IKEA — my old employer.

...so many paper brochures still here. Even something resembling a catalogue, which in Germany was retired after decades.

Disclaimer: No, I don't have to visit every IKEA in the world. :)
We were just looking for a kitchen utensil.

The last evening in Puerto del Rosario.
The last evening on Fuerteventura.
The last evening on the Canaries...for now!

Because: tonight our loooong ferry departs back to Cádiz in beautiful Andalusia.
If everything is on time we'll arrive on Monday 20 April around midday.

Cross your fingers for the crossing. :)
Don't be surprised if we're hard to reach at the weekend.

"Free Wi-Fi on board" — don't make us laugh.
On the way there we were happy if a text message got through once every few hours. :)

After that our route will slowly lead back through Spain, along the Mediterranean coast, through France and finally to Germany.
We'll be staying here for a few weeks before heading to Scandinavia in the summer.

Stay tuned!

...and to the Canary Islands: we'll see you again! ;)