At long last the winds and sea have settled for day-or-two so we setsailon
Tuesday 17th for a day at the island of Lobos (SeaWolf Island), tho sadly
there are no longer any seals to be seen! It was so nice not to be battered
by the winds, which have frayed our nerves a little over the last few weeks.
It was only 5nm to the island from Playa Blanca across the Estrecho de la
Bocayna towards Fuertaventura. We anchored on the south side of the island
in 5m of crystal clear turquoise sea, so tranquil. We just chilled enjoying
the surroundings and snorkelling in the clear waters. We decide to chance an
overnight stay as the winds were not due to pickup again for 24hours, and we
had a good night. We would have liked to stay another day to walk on the
island and do some diving, but the winds freshened around 10am the next day,
and knowing that high winds and even a gale was due to set in, so we decided
to see if we could reach Puerto del Castillo on the east coast of
Fuerteventura. We up-anchor and head down the El Rio and out to sea but
1.5hrs out and the winds increas through 14, 22 and eventually 27knots ENE,
plus the waves were larger with breaking crests - so another 2.5hrs appeared
dicey if the winds continued to increase as the small Marina had an easterly
entrance so could prove a problem if the swell was too high. We therefore
played safe and about-turned making for the shelter of Is. Lobos again and
Corralejo Harbour and Marina on the North coast of Fuerteventura. When we
arrived it was hot and sunny with a nice breeze, a nice sheltered spot to
sit out another Blow!
A fantastic firework display across the waters of the Bay that same evening
heralded a week of Festivities 'In Honour of Our Lady of Carmen' their
Patron Saint of Fishermen - there was a week of Traditional Dancing,
Traditional Singing, a Pop Concert, Dances and sporting competitions galore,
ending with a traditional BarBQ on the beach.
The Old Town by the Harbour still retains a good percentage of traditional
Majorean homes, many of which have been extended into restaurants on the
seafront. A larger tourist area stretches around the eastern side of the
Bay, which is fringed by traditional looking buildings in the main and
windsurfers fly across the bay waters. There is plenty to do here with
Kiteboarding, Windsurfing and surfing along with Cat. and boat trips to the
islands, mountain-biking and walking, snorkelling and diving. The nightlife
is also very good with a good selection of live music in the bars and
restaurants. Corralejo has a flavour of Galicia about it, with their beer
and traditional foods on sale here and we understand that a number of
Galicians from NW Spain have settled here. Plenty of good supermarkets,
including our favourite Spar.
The pontoon mooring fees are only 6? a night, tho there are no showers. We
therefore use our Solar Shower in the cockpit and use the FerryPort toilets
during the day when open.
We hope to move on direct to Morro Hable on the south of the Fuerteventura
in the next few days.
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