Our trip to Fuerte this year started a little differently than we expected. As usual we arrived at the airport two hours before departure, which had always been plenty of time to check the baggage and get through security. But once we saw the queues at the security check points after we had dropped off our bags we started to worry a little bit. According to the info screen the waiting time was 60 min, both at T1 and at T3. But since the line for T3 security started at Terminal 1 the 60min sounded very optimistic. We only had one hour though to get though security if we wanted to catch our flight. So we went to Terminal 4 and prayed that we would get through in time. And we did. It took us „only“ 60 mins (another family we met on board to Zurich told us that it took them two hours). We ran over to our gate (apparently boarding was about to start) but since there was no bus, boarding was delayed by 30 min. Once we were in the plane the waiting continued as they had to unload suitcases for about an hour, testament to the fact that not everyone had made it. We arrived late in Zurich but also our final flight to Fuerte was delayed so we had plenty of time to get to the gate. All in all we are so thankful to have made it but we could’ve done without the extra suspense 🙂
Once we arrived on the island everything went much more smoothly. Since this is now the third time here it does feels like a second home. Our apartment for the first 8 days is beautiful and located centrally in Lajares, so we can walk to grab a bite to eat or drink something at the only bar in Lajares that is open after 6 pm.
Our surf lessons started early the next day on the west coast of Fuerte, near Cotillo. It was great to see our coaches from last year again, our kids were also super excited and ran into their arms. They are a big part of why we come back, year after year. Another family joined us for the first couple of lessons so the kids had their own kids surf lessons. It took us (or better, our bodies) a few days to remember what surfing was like but then it was like we could build on everything we had learned in the previous times. We really had missed the sea and surfing.
On Sunday we took a break from surfing and finally drove to the south of Fuerteventura, something we had not done the last times. It took us 1.5 hours to get to one of the famous beaches in the South, the Playa de Sotavento. It’s an seemingly endless beach that goes on for miles, with a lagoon that fills up with high tide. If you arrive during low tide you can walk through it, during high tide you might have to swim (at least the kids had to). It’s a beautiful place to build sand castles, jump in the waves and watch the wind surfers. And even though we went on a Sunday it wasn’t too crowded. On the way back we took the slightly longer scenic route back north.
