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On the third day we made a loop around the northern half of the island. After driving through some otherworldly landscapes in beyond La Oliva, we visited two coastal villages, Los Molinos and Las Playitas, and then ascended to the magnificent lighthouse on a 200-meter-high cliff. The drive back over the Betancuria pass was one of the most spectacular on the whole island. |
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The area around the village of La Oliva is spectacular in its reddish colors.
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The landscape is barren and almost devoid of settlements, just a house here and there.
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Moon-like landscapes abound.
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Would you like to live there?
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A typical bus stop along the road. Main roads are, btw, very good - paved and in a good shape.
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The whole island is full of this little red plant. I have no idea what it's called, but it makes for a colorful foreground.
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Fuerteventura is a very windy island so people have made use of the wind power since ancient times. And yes, that's me. :)
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Los Molinos is a small villages of maybe ten houses set on a beach and surrounded by magnificent cliffs.
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Typical colors: white and green.
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An older house. I love the lamp.
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The village square.
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Deserted sandy beach.
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I don't know where all the inhabitants were, but we didn't see a soul.
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Waves crashing against the rocks.
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There's a path to the nearby cliff which you can climb with some great views.
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The thunder of crashing waves is deafening.
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Our next stop was the village of Las Playitas.
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It reminded me of some Greek islands.
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A very imaginative letter box.
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Apart from green, blue is also a popular color for house paint.
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It was scorching hot and the promenade was deserted.
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Las Playitas from the inland side: it looks like a white village in the middle of the desert.
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We heard that there is a lighthouse not far from Las Playitas. We drove along this valley ...
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... and saw an imposing structure on top of a hill. "What the hell is this?" we thought.
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It turned out this was the lighthouse we were headed to! On top of a 200-meter cliff, it offered fantastic views.
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There was a lookout point ...
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... high above the sea ...
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... with nothing but the desert and the water all around.
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An obligatory fish-eye shot. ;) Yes, the sea is almost 200 meters down below.
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The position of the lighthouse is really impressive.
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Several dirt roads deep down in the valley.
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Later on we stopped in the town of Pájara. Peter wsa dwarfed by a giant cactus.
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The church in Pájara with a lush and shady park.
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It seemed odd to us that all towns and villages were incredibly deserted. There was nobody in sight. Did we land in the land of ghost towns?
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The return trip back to the north where we were staying was spectacular again. The road between Pájara and Betancuria, lined with picturesque white stones, twists across a pass.
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Curves.
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The road on the other side of the valley.
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Flower.
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You can only stop at a few designated places.
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The harsh landscapes with sparse vegetation is very scenic.
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One of the stops has regular visitors - little ground squirrel, which are so used to people they come running when they hear a car stopping.
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They eat out of your hand or try to grab hold of the goodie to eat it somewhere hidden where there's no danger another squirrel will steal the food.
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The village of Vega del Río de Palmas has a picturesque plaza with a church.
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I noticed an unusual structure at the side of the church.
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An inn? We never found out, the place was closed and there was absolutely nobody. Completely abandoned.
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At another lookout point at the top of another pass there were two giant statues of men in thongs. :)
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Expansive views back towards Betancuria ...
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... and towards the north.
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The landscape amazed me.
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Rolling hills.
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On the road close to La Oliva we basked in the late afternoon light.
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Just before returning home we drove to the village of El Cottilo to admire the cliffs and long, wind-swept beaches.
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