Today, we traveled to Fuerteventura! The Canary Islands consist of seven major islands (as well as quite a few smaller islands), but the only island we have visited so far is Tenerife. We’ve seen some of the other islands from the air and heard about them for years from Teresa and Diego. Tenerife is the largest of the islands, both in terms of area and population. Compared to many places, Tenerife is relatively dry, receiving only about 10 to 15 inches of rain each year. But all of the Canary Islands are dry, making Tenerife fairly lush compared to its neighbors. Fuerteventura is markedly different from Tenerife. Fuerteventura is the second largest island in the archipelago but has only one tenth of the population of Tenerife. Part of the reason for the sparse development is that Fuerteventura is far dryer, receiving about 3 inches of rain per year. Fuerteventura is also very sunny and windy, making the already dry landscape even more extreme. All in all, we were thrilled to be on our way!

Despite low-lying clouds and rain around the Tenerife airport (TFN), we had an on-time departure. As we rose through the clouds, we could see Tenerife’s 12,000-foot-tall volcano, El Teide, looming in the distance.

(In 2017, we went almost to the top of El Teide.) Our flight would only take about 50 minutes, passing just north of another Canary Island, Gran Canaria. The map below also shows just how close the Canary Islands are to Morocco and Western Sahara.

The landing in Fuerteventura was a little bumpy, our first indication of just how windy the island would be, but we were soon on the ground.

For reasons we still quite puzzle through, were told that taking pictures like this was “illegal.” Woohoo! Team Hubbard is now an international criminal syndicate! (Please forgive the quality of this photo. It is not our finest work. We had to rush taking the photo once it became clear that the local authorities were growing restless.) After a quick bite to eat, we sorted out our rental cars and hit the road, heading north to Corralejo, the small town that would be our home for the next few days.

After a 40-minute drive, we arrived at the small apartment we had rented. I’ll save some photos of our place for later, but suffice it to say that it was adorable. We hit the local grocery store for provisions and had a quick dinner with our Spanish friends. We went to bed excited for the days to come!

– Will