Although Fuerteventura is nowhere near as developed as the other large Canary Islands, it has a charm all of its own and is well worth visiting. Described as being created from Volcanic Fire and Human Resilience, it boasts a rich history as captivating as its stark beauty. One of our members, Phil Theaker, has spent many weeks there and has got to know the island more as a resident than a tourist.
He started by describing the formation of the islands, developing from a set of underwater volcanoes into islands as we know them today, Fuerteventura being the oldest and El Hierro being the youngest. From the sub-sea volcanic activity some 250 million years ago, Fuerteventura rose above the water surface about 21 million years ago. The island is situated about 100 km from the North West African coast, with only 11km separating it from Lanzarote. Although volcanic, it is a true desert island—in the sandy sense of the word—with vast dunes and over 150km of glorious beaches.
Massive amounts of erosion have taken place over the eons, decreasing the height of the peaks and also giving the island it’s characteristic rocky, dusty appearance.
View approaching the airport
The first evidence of human habitation is from between 1000 and 300 BC, and it first appears on the Map by Angelino Dulcet in 1339. The French businessman Jean de Bethencourt began his conquest in 1402-4 after obtaining the royal permission of Henry III, King of Castile. He established the first settlement in Betancuria, an area surround by hills and at the head of a watercourse, flowing to the west coast. It is not visible from the sea. In the 18th century, the Island had fallen under the control of a Heredity Militia (Their mansion, La Casa de Los Coronoles is an interesting building to visit). The capital moved to Puerto del Rosario in 1863 and in 1912, for the first time in its history, Fuerteventura was officially allowed to self-govern.
Each island is ruled by an island Council named a Cabildo Inula, then each island is subdivided into smaller municipalities called Ayuntamientos, of which there are 6 in Fuerteventura, La Oliva in the north to Pájara in the south. The island has a resident population of just over 128 thousand, c.f. the Canaries with 2.25 million. The number of tourists each year is over 2.2 million.
Betancuria
Incomes in Fuerteventura are much lower than mainland Spain and the UK. However, Because the cost of living being high due to transport, VAT is only 7.5% and really the islands are looked upon as a development region. There are social challenges to living on the island: it is a low-income economy, but these days with high property rental prices, meaning there is a lack of affordable housing. Like other countries there are also problems with there being too many holiday homes.
Remote workers (from all over Europe/world), are now commonplace, and they have higher wages, higher disposable incomes as they are not subject to Spanish Tax. There has also been high local immigration, for example 7,000 from Italy with the majority in Corralejo, in the north of the island. Little of the tourist income stays on the island, limiting investment. There are also Asylum Seekers – across over 70km of the Atlantic from Africa. Jobs are service jobs rather than wealth producing – there is no significant manufacturing.
Current industries are: Tourism – Hotels, Airbnb, Motorhomes; fishing – all local, mainly supplying restaurants and hotels (and supermarkets). Agricultural products are: Tomatoes, potatoes and goats’ cheese and meat. There is also expertise in renewable energy – solar and wind turbines and water purification – all water is seawater purified by reverse osmosis. There are plans for future industrial developments apart from tourism, they revolve around the film industry and technological areas such as Biotechnology, Optics, Astrophysics and Space Technology.
Development along the coast is fairly restrained, especially since the island was made part of the UNESCO Biosphere and Starlight Reserve in 2009. Two hotels in the National Park may even be demolished! There are probably no hotels over 5 stories, certainly in the north of the island. There is plenty to do: Surfing, Windsurfing, Kitesurfing, Mountain Biking and Trekking (warning: go properly prepared). Whilst animal and plant life is limited due to the climate, especially the lack of water, there are small animals, an interesting selection of birds, many migrating, and over 740 species of plants.
The facilities on the island are good, especially given its remoteness. There are excellent medical services (state and private), primary and secondary schools, beautiful roads, due to no inclement weather. The predominant religion is Roman Catholic churches, with few Protestant and English-speaking ones, our speaker goes to the Anglican Chaplaincy in Corralejo. There are at least 5 supermarket chains, good bus services, reasonably priced taxis; restaurants galore – a mixture of obviously tourist ones and local ones if you know where to find them.
Gran Tarajal – not a tourist destination
There is a good selection of museums which are fairly small and hopefully bi- or tri-lingual. They cover, social history, cheese, windmills, salt production, fishing and the history of grain production, to mention a few.
https://www.fuerteventuraguide.com/gran-tarajal/Things to do on the island: in the north you can visit the large sand dunes in the Parque Natural de Corralejo, the caves at Ajuy are well worth visiting, as is the Isla de Lobos, by catamaran, or take a ferry to Lanzarote, less than half an hour away. Or of course you can just chill out on the beaches or in the local bars. The towns of Betancuria, Gran Tarajal, Corralejo and the capital Puerto del Rosario are all well worth visiting.
Phil finished by explaining a little about how he passes his time there. He has a nice flat and is only 100 metres from all the action in Corralejo.
Bird’s eye view of Corralejo
Christopher Hoult gave the vote of thanks for a fascinating and informative talk. He admitted that he had only visited one afternoon, from Lanzarote, but perhaps that might change.
Largs Probus Club next meets in the Willowbank Hotel on Wednesday 27th November at 10am when, at a coffee morning, three members will give short talks.
New members are always welcomed at the Club. If you are 50 or over, retired, or nearing retirement, (men only, I’m afraid) you can attend three meetings as a guest and find out what a relaxed and friendly time we have. That’s plenty of time to decide whether to become a Club member or not. Please check out our programme and then use our Contact Form if you wish to attend as a guest, or to enquire about joining.