flynny Posted July 6, 2017 Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 (edited) Has anyone been?? the wife has just booked us a villa for 2 weeks over there, I,m not too keen/ or looking forward to it, but we have to keep the kids (9 and 6) entertained, and the villa complex has the pools etc etc Any recomendations of places to eat /visit etc ( we dont like the touristy places, but i have a feeling thats what the island is!!!!!) Flynny Edited July 6, 2017 by flynny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 6, 2017 Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 Its really nice mate we have been a couple of times hire a soft top jeep and go inland and the other side of the island to were the resorts are, stunning beaches with beach bars and fish restaurants. Catamaran trips from corralejo (spelling) What area you staying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flynny Posted July 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 Its really nice mate we have been a couple of times hire a soft top jeep and go inland and the other side of the island to were the resorts are, stunning beaches with beach bars and fish restaurants. Catamaran trips from corralejo (spelling) What area you staying staying on the very top north west coast , I believe it's 30 min drive from corrajallo, The villa looks great and is in the middle of no where , we've got a car for the duration as we like to explore, Fish restaurants will do for me Flynny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 6, 2017 Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 Nice fish bar was either at or near el cotillo. The roads on that side of the island and the inland roads are fab. That side is away from tourism (or it was) propper Canadian. You will like it mate. Oh calleta de fueste is worth a trip eat in the restaurant above the lighthouse overlooks the marina 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delwint Posted July 6, 2017 Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 (edited) We've been around 10 times, and always stayed at caleta de fuste, although we've travelled all over the island. Jandia at the southern most tip of the island has a lovely beach with shelves quite quickly. And mostly caters for Germans and if it tickles your fancy has a nudist beach 😉 Sotovento has a lovely beach too but is a little remote, if you are into kite surfing then this is one of the places to go on the island. As when the tide goes out it leaves a large lagoon 18" deep or so where it's ideal to learn. Caleta de fuste is a popular resort with lots of restaurants and a fair few shops, jewellery, electrical goods, clothes and the normal holiday toot. For a great steak go to fado rock restaurant you can't miss it it's the one with a huge queue!!! The beach is in a big horseshoe shape and if the tides are right at the time of going then you will enjoy a nice sandy beach and you have to walk a fair way till the waters up to your neck. The sand dunes if you have children is a must!! The sand blows from the Sahara and has formed quite big dunes. The kids love running up and down them or rolling. Flag beach is my all time favourite as I kite surf always a good wind, pure white sand and the water shelves quite slowly. Corralejo in my own opinion is a bit like Blackpool, however loads of bars and restaurants. Small beach with a few bars you can sit and watch the world go by. And you can catch the ferry to lanzarote if you like. Also the water park is there and that's a good way to spend a day. Good excuse for the dad's to act like kids again 😉 El cotillo is a lovely little village it has a small harbour and various restaurants. And has an old lookout tower which you can have a look around and it's free. Can't remember anymore places at the minute but there's lots more. Oh yes two golf courses which are both good. But forget any game youve ever before going on here as I've taken a 3 wood on a par 3 and still come up short because of the strong wind. Hope this has helped a little Atb Delwint Edited July 6, 2017 by Delwint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElvisThePelvis Posted July 6, 2017 Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 Go as south as you can, Moro Jable has a fun off road track to the Atlantic coast beaches which are fun. Ex round the world yacht trips are great and good fishing on the charter boats (although a bit early for marlin) Haven't been for years ( 2001)but Jandia up to Costa Calma were less Benidorm like. Used to have a villa in vista calma when it was 10 houses and a bar.. but probably 30 years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flynny Posted July 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2017 We've been around 10 times, and always stayed at caleta de fuste, although we've travelled all over the island. Jandia at the southern most tip of the island has a lovely beach with shelves quite quickly. And mostly caters for Germans and if it tickles your fancy has a nudist beach Sotovento has a lovely beach too but is a little remote, if you are into kite surfing then this is one of the places to go on the island. As when the tide goes out it leaves a large lagoon 18" deep or so where it's ideal to learn. Caleta de fuste is a popular resort with lots of restaurants and a fair few shops, jewellery, electrical goods, clothes and the normal holiday toot. For a great steak go to fado rock restaurant you can't miss it it's the one with a huge queue!!! The beach is in a big horseshoe shape and if the tides are right at the time of going then you will enjoy a nice sandy beach and you have to walk a fair way till the waters up to your neck. The sand dunes if you have children is a must!! The sand blows from the Sahara and has formed quite big dunes. The kids love running up and down them or rolling. Flag beach is my all time favourite as I kite surf always a good wind, pure white sand and the water shelves quite slowly. Corralejo in my own opinion is a bit like Blackpool, however loads of bars and restaurants. Small beach with a few bars you can sit and watch the world go by. And you can catch the ferry to lanzarote if you like. Also the water park is there and that's a good way to spend a day. Good excuse for the dad's to act like kids again El cotillo is a lovely little village it has a small harbour and various restaurants. And has an old lookout tower which you can have a look around and it's free. Can't remember anymore places at the minute but there's lots more. Oh yes two golf courses which are both good. But forget any game youve ever before going on here as I've taken a 3 wood on a par 3 and still come up short because of the strong wind. Hope this has helped a little Atb Delwint Excellent thanks Pal Go as south as you can, Moro Jable has a fun off road track to the Atlantic coast beaches which are fun. Ex round the world yacht trips are great and good fishing on the charter boats (although a bit early for marlin) Haven't been for years ( 2001)but Jandia up to Costa Calma were less Benidorm like. Used to have a villa in vista calma when it was 10 houses and a bar.. but probably 30 years ago! Many thanks mate Flynny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted July 7, 2017 Report Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) The roads are great. It can be very windy and you can get sand blasted on the beaches. As stated most of the beaches are naturist friendly and you can do a helicopter if you please without anyone bating an eyelid. The interior of the island is very rugged boulder strewn landscape. It must resemble the moon in most places. The colours up in the mountains is pretty. I seem to remember that there was a big lighthouse up on the north coast but that the coastline is just very jagged rock and the sea was very rough. We went on a hydroplane boat trip from Corelajo harbour to puerto del Carmen over on Lanzarote. On route we saw a big manta ray and loads of flying fish skimming along the surface like small model planes. The wind and the strong waves and current need to be considered if you go in the sea. There was a small sheltered beach down in Correlejo. Have a safe trip and have a great time. Most of the island is open and there is a bit of bling shops in the towns but they are small towns. There are areas that resemble a cross between the Sahara and the moon. You'll see what I mean when you get there. Edited July 7, 2017 by fortune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delwint Posted July 7, 2017 Report Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) As fortune said the wind needs to be taken into consideration. It may not seem very hot but the amount of times I've seen people seriously burnt as a result of not bothering putting suntan cream on, as they don't think they need it!! Just remember your not very far from Africa. Edited July 7, 2017 by Delwint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol p Posted July 7, 2017 Report Share Posted July 7, 2017 I when there in 2006, correleja I think. Hot , windy, barren. Yup, not going there again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted July 7, 2017 Report Share Posted July 7, 2017 What I failed to understand was why at some time people had toiled in the heat to make boulder stone walls around rock/ big boulder strewn fields. The ground was just rock and dirt. They can't have grown anything or kept animals in these rock fields because there was nothing to eat or drink there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a303 Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 Fado rock does EXCELLENT steaks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simjakcal Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 I went there back in the late 90s and loved it..i would go back again...as said it can get very windy.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 Thought the place was twinned with Iwo Jima (same look due to the black sand) 500, 000 goats can't be wrong Liked the ground squirrels near Caletta. Fed them several times a day. The donkey market was quiet when we went. Only found the one gunshop but all it had were Gamo airguns. Got a couple of the local knives. Saw one hunter one day. Wierd looking dogs similar to the Pharoah Hound. Strange place (& I spent three years in Dudley) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 The dog would probably have been salooki, Spanish hunting dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 The dog would probably have been salooki, Spanish hunting dog Thanks But NO SalOOki? Never heard of that one!! SalUki yes....heatd of that Persian breed The dogs I saw were the LOCAL Canary Islands breed Podenco Canario. You're consistent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 You're consistent. ?/?? What does that mean my friend ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 My apologies I got that wrong, I was referring to "galgos" Spanish greyhound type thing. Some friends of ours have a rescued one from spanish mainland. When I saw your post I assumed you did not know what type of dog it was, as I am a heplful sort and thought it was same breed as our friends I asked the Mrs what Lynda's dog was as I couldn't remember the Mrs said saluki so I conveyed that info. Anyway seems I was wrong anyway 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 What I failed to understand was why at some time people had toiled in the heat to make boulder stone walls around rock/ big boulder strewn fields. The ground was just rock and dirt. They can't have grown anything or kept animals in these rock fields because there was nothing to eat or drink there. They keep native goats for the production of cheese. At one time I believe the island farmed 30,000 goats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 They keep native goats for the production of cheese. At one time I believe the island farmed 30,000 goats. I'd not be surprised if that number was higher now. There seemed to be lots of the smelly **** all over the place near where we were. Could have made it a very interesting couple of weeks if there was the option of hunting the escaped ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 I think the stone circle walls were intended to keep the wind from blowing what little soil there is away. But I haven't googled it to confirm so I may not be correct. I quite liked the barren landscape and the small inland villages were quite pretty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 I think the stone circle walls were intended to keep the wind from blowing what little soil there is away. But I haven't googled it to confirm so I may not be correct. I quite liked the barren landscape and the small inland villages were quite pretty. The smaller stone circles, like the ones on Lanzarotte, are built to protect the plants growing within them. Often they are just semicircles, built to protect against the prevailing wind. Doing this stops the water drying out and also protects the plant against the wind. The plant, be that vine, tomato or whatever is planted in the soil then the soil is covered with ground up lava, called picon which retains moisture and is nutrient rich. It's a very efficient system and we successfully grow grapes and tomatoes on our holding. We also use the same regime on larger fields, raking the picon off the ground to plant then raking it back after planting. This produces a very fertile soil when a small amount of fertiliser is added and only a minimum amount of irrigation is required. There is a quarry not that far from us that grinds up the lava into picon and one can buy it by the lorry load, in addition to the use I have just described, we use it for everything from roof insulation to concrete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 The smaller stone circles, like the ones on Lanzarotte, are built to protect the plants growing within them. Often they are just semicircles, built to protect against the prevailing wind. Doing this stops the water drying out and also protects the plant against the wind. The plant, be that vine, tomato or whatever is planted in the soil then the soil is covered with ground up lava, called picon which retains moisture and is nutrient rich. It's a very efficient system and we successfully grow grapes and tomatoes on our holding. We also use the same regime on larger fields, raking the picon off the ground to plant then raking it back after planting. This produces a very fertile soil when a small amount of fertiliser is added and only a minimum amount of irrigation is required. There is a quarry not that far from us that grinds up the lava into picon and one can buy it by the lorry load, in addition to the use I have just described, we use it for everything from roof insulation to concrete. Interesting. Never heard of Picon before though I'd have seen it at the farming museum in Fuerteventura. Is it costly stuff to buy compared to other fertiliser/aggregates? I wonder if it'd do the mother-in-law any benefit if I added a couple of shovel fulls to her tea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delwint Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 Every time I saw a small stone circle, every now and then a naked person popped up like a gopher from behind it 😳 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 I remember that there were large sculptures of stuff like a big cactus, a floatplane and a farmer milking a goat on roundabouts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.