Fifty Shades of Beige
Today we're back on the road. Our overnighter in Playa Blanca turned into two nights which gave Charlotte time to do some work and me time to get the blogs uploaded. We then had a lovely meal out with Ken and Kath, our very kind hosts, eating way too much food but enjoying every second of it.
Saying our goodbyes we had a breakfast of pain au chocolate, or Neopolitana as they're called here by the ferry and after a quick thirty minute crossing we landed in Correlajo, Fuerteventura.
The next few hours were spent riding along the coast on a gravel road passing beautiful black rocky bays. The salty sea air cooled us down as surfers bobbed out on the water like seals, waiting to catch a wave.
There were loads of vans parked up and people out enjoying the surf, it made me think of all the little jobs I want to do to Vera the van when I get home. I could totally see myself living vanlife out here like the lucky ones we saw today.
After a little pitstop at the Faro del Tostōn lighthouse with it's three towers we continued onto the town of El Cotillo.
Grabbing supplies from the supermarket we sat in the shade eating our lunch and watching the waves crashing on the rocks. It felt good to be back on two wheels. Heading south we followed the rugged coastline along dusty, rocky tracks.
The beaches were beautiful, the sea vibrant colours of aquamarine in the shallows and the surf big and noisy.
Turning inland we lost the sea breeze and the temperature crept up, phew it was hot! Everything was a different shade of brown or beige, scorched by the sun. Although we did pass through a tiny corridor of trees as a nice change of scenery.
Charlotte was riding way ahead of me and I was feeling like there was nothing in my legs, pretty strange after a days rest and plenty of real food. Never mind, I bimbled along at my own pace, taking in the scenery with ABBA's new song 'Don't Shut Me Down'.
Heading back towards the coast it was back onto weaving trails with the wonderful sea breeze and before long we rolled down into Puertito de Los Molinos for a nice cold drink. It was a tiny place with huge crashing waves and the restaurant was fairly busy but we managed to get a table in the shade where I sat rather dazed and out of it whilst trying to revive myself with a can of liquid sugar.
Starting to feel rather tired we had to move as there were more miles to be ridden. Joining the road we started the incline inland and it was a bit of a grind to keep those wheels turning. Seeing the road stretched out before us it was a case of just getting your head down and spinning the pedals.
Leaving the tarmac behind we turned off onto the Camino de la Pena as we rode towards Llanos de la Conception, our last supply point for the evening.
Stopping at the only bar in the small town we ordered drinks so that we could use the toilet and refill our water bottles for the nights camping. I was feeling absolutely shattered and knew that I didn't have much left in me for the day. The route headed back towards the coast where we planned to find a campspot and with only an hour before sunset we reluctantly hit the road.
After an initial climb a nice road descent greeted us and we passed our first sign of cattle with a large farm on the side of the hill.
As the tarmac turned to gravel we were riding into the last of the days rays.
Brown hills surrounded us and the ups and downs of the gravel track were testing on our tired legs. It just seemed to go on forever and we needed to stop somewhere soon for the night as the light was fading fast. Charlotte saw a trail going up a hill and walked up to recce it as a possible campspot. Reappearing with a big thumbs up, we wheeled our bikes up the path that would hide us from at least one direction of the road.
Pitching our tents as in the rocky ground the moon started to rise over the hills and we could hear the goats bleating on the hillside. Checking my GPS I was relieved to see the reason that I felt so shattered - we'd ridden just short of 50 miles, quite the introduction to Fuerteventura. Time to refuel the body and hit the hay!
