This was a day of lovely little surprises. Mike rose early to walk around for photos and check out the church in the early light. Alas only the cat was there hoping to be let into the church, demanding quite vocally to Michael to no avail. So Michael headed back where we had coffee, kefir and yogurt and readied our day packs. The rest of us are slow enough that Michael had time to return to the church once open to get some more inside shots.
Our first stop today was Los Tilos for a hike up to the viewpoint/ lookout. It was only 3km, but mostly vertical! Dan burned 1100 calories according to his wrist. And Michael likely burned more – he carried his tripod for the whole trek. He needed it – it was quite dark in the woods with exposures pushing 2 seconds. We followed with a picnic of beer, cheese, bread and fruit along side the local finches – still no canaries though! They were quite cute – there was even a banded one at the lookout at the top of our hike.
Next stop, Charco Azul – the natural water pools in the black lava rocks. A surprising gem. We were hesitant at first but ended up going in for a swim. The air was not very warm and the water was cold – about 18C is the avg in Feb. I am so glad we jumped in – it was wonderful. I have never swam in such cold water and it was better than I expected. I wasn’t the least bit cold when we came out – I guess I was still numb.
Amazingly it is all free – change rooms, washrooms, tiled pool decks, and lovely landscaping and umbrellas on the decks. We haven’t paid to enter a single park or trail either – quite a refreshing change!
Next stop was a chance find which Michael keenly spotted. The Ron Aldea rum distillery was on the route. We sampled many rums – some close to cachaca as well as well aged ones. We also were provided with samples of flavoured gin, a very nice vodka, and 2 interesting whiskeys. If we can find the ‘grain whisky’ at the duty free we will pick some up – it is now out of stock. Apparently their rum is available in Canada now, but not sure where – will have to keep an eye out. Again – no charge for all the tastings which included their top of the line!!! Each couple did buy a bottle so not a total giveaway for them.
And on to home – but not before chancing upon another great find! This time we stopped for a photo op which overlooked some caves and found an archaeological museum – free again! We learned about the pre-hispanic natives who were here from about 100 BC to 1500 AD. The men were taken to Spain as slaves and the women taken as ‘wives’ – aka sex slaves. They were of West African descent and now are extinct. One theory is that the Romans conquered their land on the mainland and shipped some of them along with their goats to Fuertaventura. Another theory is that they came themselves by boat, but lost the technology or ability to return. Both sound quite slim to me….
Back home for a refresh and then off to dinner at Chipi Chipi which was excellent although we ate outdoors and it was quite chilly. Google had indicated $$$$ but it was similarly priced to other places here and still less expensive than at home.
This time back for euchre and agreement on tomorrow’s agenda – off to visit the black beaches and the west coast as well as a local town of Santa Anuz. Fingers crossed for a warmer day!
