From Costa Calma, we crossed the island to La Pared, where we admired the breakers at the coast.
When we left La Pared to the north, we were driving on a scenic route, just that we didn’t see much of it, as heavy rain was passing over the island at that time. But it didn’t last very long, and when we reached the village of Ajuy the sun was out again, and we could explore the beach and find a restaurant.
We had actually come here to explore some smuggler caves along the coast. Because of the rough sea and the high breakers, the beach and the riverbed were flooded and the access to the coastal path was blocked. We did not try to find another route, as for sure we wouldn’t have reached the caves anyway, as they are at sea level.
The next day, we stopped at Pájara, to admire the lovely church. It was open and the two navels each had a beautiful altar. Often, small churches exude much more spirituality than huge cathedrals.
After a cup of coffee, Café Leche Leche, to be exact, we continued north on a very scenic route, this time without rain, and enjoyed the landscape very much, stopping at every lookout.
We reached Betancuria, which is named after Jean de Béthencourt, who founded the town in 1404. It was the original capital of the Kingdom of the Canary Islands, and later capital of Fuerteventura. It was razed by pirates in 1593, but remained capital of Fuerteventura until 1834, when first Antigua and later Puerto del Rosario became capital of the island.
Once, the island was divided into two Guanches kingdoms, one adhering to King Guize and the other to King Ayoze. The territories of these kingdoms were called Maxorata (in the North) and Jandía (in the South). They were separated by a wall, which traversed the La Pared isthmus, and we read that there are still some remains to be found.
We will continue our tour along the coast – more next!