Our plan for our last full day in Fuerteventura was to travel to Jandía, which is a region at the southern end of the island. In fact, most of Jandía is a natural park. We had a few destinations in mind, but were also looking forward to exploring the area, which has lots of small coves and hidden beaches. Though we didn’t know it when we set out, by the end of the day, we would hit five different and wonderful coastal spots.

With Catalina still sick, our Spanish compatriots decided to stay in Corralejo, so around 10 am, an unsupervised Team Hubbard set off heading south on the FV-1. After driving for a couple of hours, the troops were getting hungry, so we stopped in Morro Jable, a fairly developed costal town where we hoped to find some lunch. But Morro Jable was a little too much like the places we had already been. We were hungry for food, but we were also hungry for new adventures. With grumbling stomachs we decided to get back on the road, hoping to find lunch in the small village of Cofete, which was our first destination. Teresa and Diego had raved about Cofete, and we knew there was a restaurant of some sort there.

The pavement ended just outside of Morro Jable. Goats stared at us as we drove down the dusty, volcanic dirt road. We soon reached an intersection, where another dirt road led north into the mountains towards Cofete. Diego had warned us that the road to Cofete was rugged, and our GPS made us a little nervous about what was to come.

Our GPS didn’t lie, and Diego might have undersold the harrowing drive. The narrow dirt road was simply bonkers, full of sharp turns and completely devoid of any safety precautions. Guard rails? Nope! Space for cars to pass one another? Hah! Goats? Heaps! How about beautiful views? Definitely.

After about 40 minutes of white-knuckled driving, we finally arrived at the small village of Cofete. It’s not much to look at, but the remote setting was breathtaking. The village is sheltered from the sea winds behind a small hill. On top of that hill is a small windmill, which appeared to be the only source of electricity in the area.

Fortunately, as we had hoped, there was a small restaurant, where we had some delicious croquettes.

Refreshed and reenergized, we set off for the beach.

Though Fuerteventura gets less than 10 inches of rain per year, the day was a bit cloudy and very breezy. Rather than spending time in the water, we walked down the beach to see what we could find. The beach literally runs for miles.

As we walked, we poked around for shells. Lydie found some other ways to entertain herself:

We would love to visit Cofete on a warmer, sunnier day. The beaches are beautiful, and the stark, mountainous backdrop is stunning. Today was unfortunately a little cloudy and windy. And even on the best of days, the water in the Canaries can be a little cool. Still, before we left, I had to take a quick dip. Who knows if I will ever be here again?

Mission accomplished, we got back to the car to see what else we could find in Jandia. First, we had to head back over the mountains on the same death-trap of a road. We soon reached the dirt road that we had been on before, but instead of turning east towards Morro Jable, we turned west with a vague goal of searching for some a lighthouse or two. I was pretty sure that I had seen some on a map.

As we drove, we saw some smaller roads heading south towards the water. We turned down one of these roads, parked the car, and wandered down to the beach in an area near La Playa de Las Pilas. Julie was particularly excited to see how calm the water was on this southern side of the island, compared to the crashing waves on the western side near Cofete. We spent some time wandering around the shore to the sound of gentle waves.

We found a few small shells in the surf.

Cassie assembled a cairn, as she has done on many of our travels.

Once we got our fill of this spot, we hopped back into the car to continue on towards the lighthouse. First, we decided to stop along the way at La Playa de los Ojos – the Beach of the Eyes. With a name like that that, we really didn’t know what to expect. As we drove closer, we could see that this beach was back on the west side of the island, where the waves were much bigger. We could also see that the land was higher here, with cliffs overlooking the sea. Using the GPS we parked the car roughly where the beach was supposed to be and walked towards the cliffs and the ocean. I headed a little south, but didn’t find any beach, though I did get a great view of Julie, Lydie, and Cassie as they stood over a giant cave. (They had no idea it was there until I showed them the picture I took.)

We spotted a beach a little north of the cliffs, and soon discovered a path leading down to the beach.

Once we reached the bottom we headed back towards the cave to see if there was any way to go inside.

Sadly, the tides were not in our favor. Still, with the sun shining, we enjoyed the secluded beach.

After cavorting a bit, we headed back to the car and continued on to the lighthouse. A short drive later, we reached the “lighthouse” – Faro Punta Pesebre. Frankly, it was a little underwhelming.

But the setting was incredible!

Looking north we could see Cofete in the distance, just below the cloud-shrouded mountains on the left side of the picture. While the lighthouse was dinky, the rocks and crashing waves were impressive. We enjoyed watching the waves pound on the rocks, surging up to cover a large flat shelf of rock that jutted out from the cliffs.

The cliffs in the other direction were just as impressive.

The rugged beauty of this remote spit of land was captivating. And windy!

Cassie and I clearly have different problems when it comes to our hair. Looking at the water, waves, and rocks, the girls and I were tempted to climb down the cliffs to explore more, but discretion won out in the end. We piled back in the car and started making our way back towards civilization.

Along the way we decided to stop at one more beach – La Playa Morro de Potala. Once again, we parked the car nearby and walked down a path towards the water. This beach was back on the southern end of the island, where the land sloped gently to the water.

Near the water’s edge we discovered a small circle of stones, apparently made by some enterprising beachgoer to provide a little shelter from the wind.

We were again impressed by how much calmer the water was on this side of the island, just a few minutes from the pounding waves near the lighthouse.

We waded in the water to cool our feet, but soon it was time to go. It was already 6 pm, and the drive back to Corralejo would take us more than two hours. We soon made it back to the paved roads and headed north. We chatted and listened to music as we drove, with the sun setting over Fuerteventura.

It had been a special day of family adventure. We had hit five wonderful spots on the Jandia coast: Cofete, La Playa de Las Pilas, La Playa de los Ojos, Faro Punta Pesebre, and La Playa Morro de Potala. Lydie and Cassie provided further entertainment for us as we drove.

With the hour growing late, we were once again getting hungry. Cassie suggested take-out shawarma, and we all thought it was a brilliant idea.

We went to sleep tired, full, and happy. This had been the kind of day we would remember fondly for years. Days like this are why we travel.

-Will