Lanzarote – Fuerteventura
After a night at anchor in the small town of Gran Tarajal, south coast of Fuerteventura we felt the pain of swell (almost no sleep) was worth it, crystal clear and relatively warm water, at least by our standards, ca 22 C. The wind & wave forecast looks promising so we might stay here for some time.Deep lava sand guarantees perfect grip for the anchor. Last anchorage at Isla Graciosa looked ok but after checking the anchor and bottom it showed no more than 30-40 cm sand over rock which made us nervous for the grip whenever we left the boat. Back to Tarajal. According to our pilot book, Tarajal is a place that “offers a glimpse of how the island must have been before the tourist boom took off”. We agree with the author, and really like this “under developed status” as we are not very keen on having “24/7 Full English Breakfast” places and waiters trying to convince you to use their restaurant. We love places with spanish language only menus or even better no menus. Another positive feature of Gran Tarajal was very artistic mural paintings on almost all walls. Most themes from the sea.
Before coming here we spent 8 days in the new Marina of Arrecife, Lanzarote, about 60 nautical miles north from Tarajal. We liked the place a lot partly because of the “non touristy” feel and the opportunity for long walks and hikes. We really recommend the brand new marina. Relatively low marina prices (around 30 €) and extremely service minded staff. The other two marinas close to ours charged between 60 and 80 Euros a night for our size of yacht even though this is low season and the marinas are almost empty.
As suspected, since leaving the Iberia peninsula, heading south, we have had really perfect sailing conditions. Only disappointment so far has been that we have not had any luck with the fishing. We clearly need to consult a pro to get some tips. At Graciosa we had a drink with a nice German couple who had made a circumnavigation. They told us about a rather scary situation when they got a Blue Marlin, ca 2.5 meter long which had a weight of 175 kilo. As they had really heavy gear they had to reel in the giant fish. Unfortunately the Marlin died before they were able to disentangle the line and the hook. All big game fish companies today release the fish to ensure they have something left to catch.
S/Y Tina Princess 