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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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