4-Xtremes – Part 48: Bizarre natural phenomena and a cheese fondue on the beach

When we thought of Fuerteventura, the main images that came to mind were oversized tourist developments, and pensioners spending their winters by the pool. We already told you last time how wrong we were! On Fuerteventua, we were both fascinated by the bizarre and barren landscapes and  spellbound by the charming village of Betancuria in the island's interior. The historic white and terracotta-coloured buildings, surrounded by palm trees, are built into the valley itself. This municipality of just 800 inhabitants was once the capital of the island and is now regarded as one of the most beautiful villages in Spain. And quite rightly so, we think!

Our stay on the island is coming to an end. While spending the last few days with Andrea's sister, we come across a bit of a challenge. As you may already know, we had disassembled the middle seat in our Axor to  make room for Aimée’s bed, meaning that  we couldn't use the truck for excursions. Instead Andrea's sister we hired a small car so we could visit the famous Corralejo sand dunes. But all's well that ends well:   the coastal road that passes the dunes has a weight limit of 3.5 tonnes, so we couldn't have driven along it with the Axor anyway – in the end, we were glad we hired a bouncy little rental car!

Swiss cultural heritage in the Canary Islands.

Fuerteventura is also a well-known paradise for windsurfers and kitesurfers. One particular hotspot is Jandía beach, which stretches for kilometres on end and which floods every day to form shallow lagoons. But we want a break from the relentless wind and so keep driving! We enter a small valley, where we decide to spend our last evening on the island indulging in a little Swiss nostalgia with Andrea's sister in the form of a cheese fondue on the sea front.

The next day we’ll be on the ferry to Lanzarote. The island was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1993. The landscape is characterised by countless distinctive cones made of eroded volcanic ash, scultped over decades by the wind and rain. The volcanic ash is also mined and used to cultivate the vines grown on the island. The coarse grained ash retains moisture and prevents weeds from growing.

Lanzarote also has a very varied coastline: flat beaches with heavy surf, small bays tucked between the jet black lava and truly white sand beaches – Lanzarote has it all.

And because the island is so dry, essential tasks like filling our water tank quickly become a challenge. You can count the places where you can get drinking water on one hand. Unlike on the greener islands like La Palma, where there are lots of public taps with spring water, here on Lanzarote, we need to find automated water dispensers where you can get 50 to 100 litres of water for one euro. It's a sobering reminder of just how valuable water is on these barren islands.

Photos: 4-Xtremes