January 9. 2020: The Fish, The Salt. The Dunes.

The pirate in the foreground. The Faro Toston in the background. This lighthouse houses a fishing museum of Fuertaventura and the site of our first stop today.

“A poor fisherman who knows the beauties of the misty mornings is much richer than a wealthy man who sleeps till noon in his palace!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

We have made several visits to the nearby lighthouse to see the sunset and noted on our last one that it houses a museum of fishing in Fuertaventura. So today, we made it our first stop. We learned so much! First of all, although you would think any island in the Atlantic would be a primo fishing spot, in the Canaries, Fuertaventura is closest to the high yield Sahara Banks and is the only island where fishing has been commercially successful. Although it wasn't always a good way to make a living. There is ample archeological evidence that the native Berbers were fishermen and used a variety of techniques to catch fish including native plants into the tide pools that paralyzed the catch. They also used bone hooks, traps and nets. Modern fisherman used similar techniques and a few more. Although the island has always been cultivated for grain since the arrival of the Spanish, fish have been used to supplement the diet and even prevent starvation in years when harvests failed.

Women of the island appear to be integral to the fishing trade. They collected all the bait and were also the ones who sold the fish.

Fishing in the Canaries uses many methods including various forms of netting, hook and line, and traps. It is a very hard working profession.

Fishing village children

One thing the museum emphasized is that the decision to fish off these islands is made on a daily basis. Behind Paul you might see that big surf coming in. There are days when it is much safer to stay ashore.

Fishing was a life of near poverty in most eras. Children were schooled at sea. They were often to required to start helping the family by age 10 and could be indentured to a fishing boat by age 12.

Children had no school and in fishing communities were expected to begin working in the industry by age 10.

The fishing museum was very interesting and we learned a lot about fishing not only in Fuerteventura but about the other islands as well. We also learned about current efforts at conservation and about avoidance of ocean plastics and plastics in general. Amazingly, we were the only people in the museum during the hour we spent there.

From here, we decided to go to the salt museum. Fishing and salt, used in the past as a preservative for fish and other foods, seemed to go hand in hand. El Cotillo where we have been staying and the Fishing Museum exists, is on the wild west side of the island where the unopposed Atlantic can crash into the shore. The salt museum is in the tamer east side. So off we went to Salinas del Carmen.

Tools of the salt trade

The island of Fuertaventura was ruled by lords. This gentleman, Don Manuel Velasquez Cabrera petitioned for the right to start mining salt from the sea. 

Mining salt from the sea is a pretty complicated and ingenius process. This salt production technique is to use a "blow hole" to collect sea foam (supposedly the part of seawater highest in quality sodium chloride) and channel that into a series of ponds that allow a gradual heating process. The ponds eventually become quite shallow where water can evaporate. In the Canaries, the months between April and October are ideal for this process and are the "salt season." The remaining months are used to maintain the ponds. In this particular salt production site we visited, up to 700 tons of salt per year are produced. 

The "blowhole." In this method, only "seafoam" is collected to produce the highest quality salt.

The seawater follow this channel to a series of ponds. 

After passing through larger ponds where the water gradually heats naturally, these smaller evaporation ponds are where the action is. The ponds are stirred twice daily manually. The salt extracted is dried on the sides of the ponds and then collected for packaging and distribution.

An incidental whale skeleton in the middle of the salt factory.

The pirate stands in front of a pile o salt next to the storage and packaging facility.

Again, this was a fascinating museum and an active salt plant as well. We learned a lot and worked up an appetite...

We also had ravioli but since it is still January, we thought we would show the healthy part of the meal.

On the way back to El Cotillo, we wanted to see the Parque Natural de Corralejo which is home to some mighty big sand dunes. Not quite as big as Mas Palomas on Gran Canaria, they are definitely noticeable and a big contrast to the raw volcanic rock fields of malpais strewn over the island.

Pirate on a dune.

These dunes are a stark contrast to the rest of the island.

Limpet seen in the water near the dunes.

From the dune seashore, we saw Isla de los Lobos, the mountain in the foreground and Lanzarote, the mountains in the background.

We finished our hiking in the dunes just in time to get back to the lighthouse for sunset.

Waves were pretty violent today. There were red flags out on all beaches on both sides of Fuertaventura. We came here by ferry and were glad we were NOT on one today.

A sunset that never disappoints.

We celebrated our last night in the Canary Island before returning home with the quintessential Canarian meal: Grilled fish, potatoes arrugados (boiled in salt until the salt crystallizes outside on the skin) and salad. 

A simple and delicious meal. We picked out our own fish from today's fresh catch.

It's been an amazing trip planned by my local Knoxville pirate and although I am fine with going home, I will definitely carry home some incredible memories of this trip.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

Paul's Ponderings:  Last night of a great trip.   We've enjoyed both islands, but Fuerteventura is pretty great.   We spent today catching up on some loose ends of a sort, which made it pretty varied overall.   The waves at the lighthouse in both morning and evening were incredible.   Tomorrow it is back to Madrid for a night, then home.   We hope to be back in 2021, itinerary to be determined.