Fuerteventura has many beaches offering a variety of wave sizes and wind strengths. These change from day to day, but the geography of the island means that it is usually possible to find somewhere that is right for your ability level. This makes it an ideal as a place to learn kitesurfing or surfing, develop your skills or revel in your sport.

The kitesurfing in the North of Fuerteventura is suitable for all levels and there are two main spots, Flag beach and Cotillo.

Flag beach is the main spot for those staying in Corralejo. This huge beach is on the road heading south from the resort, about 5 mins out of the town centre. The wind is predominantly cross-shore and there is a specific section of the beach set aside for kitesurfing. The best months for kitesurfing are March to November when the sea tends to be flatter and the wind consistent.

Cotillo (about 15 mins from Corralejo) is a charming village on the west coast and an ideal location for boat-based learning at any time of year. Our instructors will run you down to the harbor where you can jump into the boat and you’ll be on the water in just a few minutes. It is not as busy as Flag Beach, more scenic and you can enjoy the great little village of El Cotillo before and after your time on the water – highly recommended.

A big thank you to Tommy from the Magma Kiteschool for donating this article to us. For more information, you can contact the Magma Kiteschool via their website at www.magma-kiteschool.com

Ok – so it was helpful to be able to watch movies in Spanish if we’d already seen them before…. but there’s only so many gameshows, news programs, or slapstick comedy shows a person can handle before going completely insane.

You can now also get extra Spanish channels by getting a digibox or by subscruibing to a Spanish service provider. We however, wanted something English for ourselves – it’s all down to personal choice.

So we looked at the options before embarking on English Speaking Television. We were torn between a Sky box without a subscription… or Nilesat. We eventually opted for Nilesat, which is broadcast in Arabic… but has a number of English Speaking Channels… including plenty of movies – which pleased us greatly. It does have Arabic subtitles – but these aren’t too distracting, because of the shape of their alphabet.

For anyone planning to get Nilesat – it involves a one off fee for the satellite engineer to fit you with a box and a dish – but no monthly subscription. Here are just a few of the schedules for the English speaking Channels so you can see before you buy. Remember some of the timings will be in KSA not GMT, so take off 3 hours).

Fox Movies

Fox Series

MBC 2

MBC 4

MBC Action

MBC Max

Dubai One

There is also BBC World News 24, and a variety of other general channels.

Schedules for channels on other service providers that you may find useful are here too:

Setanta Sports

Canal+

Spanish Television

Sky Television

UK Television

For prices of the various English speaking options available – please contact one of the Satellite television in Fuerteventura providers already on the Island. Happy viewing!

There are a variety of  games available to join in on – and here is a selection of just some of them.

Primitiva
Info: Tickets can be bought at any of the licensed outlets. You can either choose your own 6 out of 49 numbers or get a lucky dip and let the computer make the choice for you.
Draws: Thursdays and Sundays.
Primitiva website in Spanish

Bonoloto
Info: Very similar to the Primitiva with six out of 49 numbers.
Draws: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Bonoloto website in Spanish

La Quiniela
Info: Very similar to the the British Football Pools, the player has to predict the outcomes of various soccer matches
Draws: Dependant upon games
La Quiniela website

El Gordo
Info: El Gordo de Navidad, meaning “the Christmas big one”, was first introduced in the 18th century, by the king, as a way to give the poorer folk a chance at some money of their own. Today it is a massive event in Spain… with groups of people also joining together to buy a ticket. It is the largest draw of the year.
Draws: December 22.
El Gordo website in English

El Niño
Info: Shortly after El Gordo, comes El Niño, to mark the fiesta of Los Reyes (· Kings).
Draws: 6th January
El Niño website in Spanish

ONCE
Info: You may have seen disabled people selling these tickets around the towns and resorts in Fuerteventura. You can also purchase these at special kiosks in most of the towns. This charity game is run by the national association for the blind, the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles.  ONCE employs over 20,000 disabled people to run the lottery, and the kiosks are all manned by the blind and disabled.
Draws: The bigger draws are on Fridays and Sundays, but there is also a daily draw for smaller prizes too.
ONCE website in English

EuroMillions
Info: This is our lottery of choice – and is run across a large chunk of Europe. The jackpot is usually a biggie, with “rollovers” cranking the prizes up to astonishing amounts over just a couple of weeks.
Draws: Fridays
EuroMillions website in English

Good luck!

Weather at Christmas in Fuerteventura. First of all… yes… there is the obvious lack of snow. Ok, so I don’t remember a white Christmas from my old home in the UK since I was a wee whippersnapper… but in Fuerteventura you won’t see so much as a crisp frost. How great to get up on Christmas morning, and take a meander along the beach… perhaps have a quick dip (for the braver ones) and a sunbathe. Then either a lazy lunch at one the many fabulous Fuerteventura restaurants or do your own traditional roast turkey at home. Many restaurants now do a formal Christmas slap up meal – with all the expected trimmings.

Food. Speaking of food, the Spanish tend to have a major feast on Christmas Eve. This is often the largest meal of the year, with plenty of courses. If there’s one thing the Spanish can do extremely well… it’s dining! Lobster is a favourite feature, and there is always a big roast… usually suckling pig or lamb. All of this is accompanied by lots of of side dishes. There’s no specific menu as such… only the requirement to eat well. Both Alan and I love our food… so we’re big fans!

Got a sweet tooth? For a few weeks before Christmas, the supermarkets are chock full of chocolates, nougats, dates, and many more sticky sweet goodness. Go on, treat yourselves – it’s only once a year, eh?!

When? The Christmas season in Fuerteventura all starts on December 8th, with the “Feast of the Immaculate Conception”. This day is a fiesta on the Island, so don’t try filling out any paperwork, or doing anything admuinitsrative on that day. Christmas Eve usually sees Spanish restaurants out of the main resorts closing early so that staff can go to the Christmas Eve mass, or simply spend time together as a family. However, Christmas Day is not the same here as in the UK – there are no oodles of presents around a tree for example, or stockings hanging from mantlepieces.

Nativity Scenes. Dotted around the island you will find Belénes, which are miniature nativity scenes. However, these are usually erected with a Fuerteventura twist, and are often miniature versions of of the Island… complete with little landmarks.Look out for the little boy doing a “number two”. Apparently if you spot him, it means plenty of luck for the following year. I’m yet to find him, but I’ll keep trying!

New Year. This was the 3rd consecutive New Year we have spent in the Canaries, and we weren’t disappointed. The bars and restaurants were all full to the brim, and there were plenty of people milling about in the streets. Firework displays (plus the unofficial ones from bars and restaurants too), beeping horns, and much in the way of merriment. We were in Playa Blanca – and the views of the fireworks at the Corralejo dunes were fabulous – so we’re thinking of spending New Year’s Eve there this next time around.

Las Tres Reyes. This is the biggie for the Spanish children. Presents are traditionally given on this day of the kings (January 6th), when there are street parades through the towns, and kiddies queue up to receive sweets and goodies from the 3 Kings… or Las Tres Reyes. Each ayuntamiento will usually lay on some form of celebration for this. The children will also lay their shoes outside their front doors on the previous evening, stuffed with straw for the camels of the travellers… only to be replaced the following morning with gifts.

Christmas TV in Fuerteventura. Of course you have your usual family Christmas movies. Look out for Harry Potter, Love Actually, and Christmas carols for everyone to sing along to. Can’t you bear to miss the Queen’s speech? Well, don’t worry because the King of Spain, Juan Carlos, gives his words on Christmas Eve, around 9pm.

Winnings?! A massive Spanish tradition is the largest lottery of the year – El Gordo – with a huge cash prize. Christmas 2008 saw 2.32 million euros, being drawn on the 22nd December.

Less Commercial. The main difference we have noticed is how understated the whole holiday season is. You’re not bombarded with Christmas carols in every shop from the end of September… no stressful panic buying of presents… no overloaded credit card bills arriving in January. Yes, I think we’ll stay for more!

Note to travellers.  Sit on the side behind the driver when travelling from Corralejo to Puerto del Rosario – for the best views of the beaches during your journey.

Right – onto the timetables… which is what you’re interested in really, isn’t it?!

Here, however, I had enough problems trying to work out what the Spanish sizes of clothing were, let alone what styles I liked – so here for you all is a free “cut out and keep” guide to Spanish clothes sizes that will fit easily into your purse or wallet. Now with that stress out of the way – you can get back to some serious shopping!

Do remember however, that as with anywhere – sizes may vary greatly from one manufacturer to another – so don’t blame us if you can’t fit into that size 10 dress. It’s either the manufacturer’s fault… or yours for having too many cakes and red wines! Oh, and to confuse matters even further… if the clothes are imported from outside Spain, then they can be different again. Confused yet? Perhaps you should book yourself in for some frequent wine stops with the ladies whilst you’re out and about .)

Click the image to see full size.

Corralejo art

It is said that Corralejo is the busiest of all the resorts on the Island but it is nothing like the resorts of Tenerife or mainland Spain.

Once a little fishing village Corralejo has spotted the opportunity to benefit from Fuerteventura’s many fans, and now evolved to rely on mainly the tourism industry. The town itself has a very cosmopolitan feel with holiday makers travelling from the likes of mainland Spain, France, Italy, Scandinavian countries, Germany and of course the United Kingdom and Ireland to name but a few.

Corralejo has been built sensibly having learned by the mistakes of other

Corralejo beach

Spanish resorts and apart from two hotels (that are 6 storey’s) nothing has been built more than 3 storey’s high from the road, so no nose bleeds when taking the escalator to the 26th floor like other area of the Canaries or
the Costas on the Mainland!!

There are a few town beaches scattered around the coast of Corralejo that are easily walked to (no more than a 15 minute walk) from the majority of Apartments found in Corralejo but nestled on the outskirts of Corralejo is the Grandes Playas a stretch reaching for 14km that has white golden sand that encompasses the Sand Dunes in the Natural Park known as La Jable. This is one of the many features of Fuerteventura that gives that wow factor to any Holiday maker!

Corralejo gastronomy

With its many bars and restaurants in Corralejo there really isn’t a dish you can not be served. Although the main street is where the majority of tourist restaurants are situated … for those that want the Spanish feel they should take a wander to the mainly side streets a sample real Spanish Tapas.

This article and images were very kindly donated by Tim who has a selection of luxury holiday apartments in Corralejo, and who has lived there with his good lady, Ju, since 2004.

Enjoy those waves!

Go to wavewatch.com for your local surf forecasts