Question 1

Puerto del Rosario on Your Own

Accepted Answer

The sculptures, the church and the Unamuno house museum are all in the small town center, so a simple day here is on foot. Playa Chica lies just outside the center. The sculpture walk: More than 50 sculptures stand around the town, many made in the open air during the international sculpture symposium held every year since 2001. You will find them along Calle León y Castillo, on the pedestrian Calle Primero de Mayo and on the seafront promenade. The goats at the town hall: A sculpture of a goat family outside the town hall recalls the town's old name, Puerto de Cabras. Casa Museo de Unamuno: In the center next to the island government building, the Cabildo, the house where Miguel de Unamuno lived during his exile is furnished to recreate his surroundings. Check opening hours before you go. The church: The small church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario in the center honors the patron saint who gave the town its present name. A beach: Playa Chica is just outside the center, and Playa Blanca lies between the town and the airport. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Watch the clock: All-aboard is given in ship's time, which may not match the island's clocks or your phone. The Canary Islands keep Western European Time, an hour behind mainland Spain. Carry ID: In Spain you must show photo ID if a police officer asks, so keep your passport or another photo ID with you.

Question 2

Food and Drink

Accepted Answer

Goat is the main meat in Fuerteventura's cooking, and goat's milk makes majorero, a cheese from the native Majorera goat. Majorero has protected designation of origin. Its rind may be rubbed with oil, with paprika or with roasted gofio. Goat is eaten roasted or stewed, and kid as well as adult goat is used. For coffee, try a leche y leche: espresso topped with sweetened condensed milk.

Question 3

Tipping in Spain

Accepted Answer

Tipping is not compulsory in Spain, and no service charge is added to the bill. Some diners leave a little extra, and in better restaurants 5 to 10 percent when the service has been exemplary; the currency is the euro. Some taxi drivers ask foreign passengers for a tip, but it is never obligatory.

Question 4

Culture and Local Life

Accepted Answer

The people of Fuerteventura call themselves majoreros, a name that goes back to the island's first inhabitants. Carnival and the feasts of the island's patron saints fill the calendar. Carnival, with parades and the election of a carnival queen, falls in February or March, on dates that change each year. The town's own fiestas for Nuestra Señora del Rosario are held around October 7, with concerts, a fair and a pilgrimage. In Holy Week the most important procession is that of the Santísimo Cristo de la Buena Muerte, carried by soldiers of the Spanish Legion. On the third Saturday of September, pilgrims from all over the island gather at Vega de Río Palmas for the feast of the Virgen de la Peña, Fuerteventura's patron saint. In the Canaries a bus is a guagua.

Question 5

History

Accepted Answer

Fuerteventura was conquered in the early 15th century by French knights, and its first capital was Betancuria, inland. The little goat harbor on the east coast became the capital only in 1860. First people: The island's first settlers are thought to have come from North Africa. The word majorero comes from maho, the goatskin shoe they wore. The conquest: The French knights Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle began the conquest in 1402, and Béthencourt completed it in 1405, with Betancuria as the capital. Raids: The island suffered repeated raids, and in 1593 a Berber-led force reached as far inland as the capital. Port of goats: The harbor was licensed for exports in 1713, and a hamlet called Puerto de Cabras grew up around it in the late 18th century. It became a municipality of its own in 1835. Island capital: Puerto de Cabras became the capital of Fuerteventura in 1860. Unamuno's exile: In 1924 the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera removed the writer Miguel de Unamuno from his university posts and banished him to Fuerteventura. He escaped to France and told the story in From Fuerteventura to Paris. A new name: In the 1950s the town council asked to drop the name Cabras, which the town council felt invited mockery, and the town became Puerto del Rosario. Tefía: From 1954 to 1966 a penal labor colony at Tefía, inside the municipality, was used under the Franco regime to confine and punish gay men. Recent times: In 1976, after Spain left the Spanish Sahara, units of the Spanish Legion were based in the town. In 2009 UNESCO declared the island a biosphere reserve. To learn more ashore: Visit the Casa Museo de Unamuno, next to the Cabildo in the town center. For rural life, the Ecomuseo La Alcogida in the inland village of Tefía has seven restored traditional houses.

Question 6

Puerto del Rosario with Children

Accepted Answer

Families can keep this an easy day: a hunt for sculptures in town, then Playa Chica, just outside the center. Older children with a taste for surf and sand dunes will want to head north to Corralejo. Younger children: Turn the sculpture walk into a game, starting with the goat family outside the town hall, then spend time at Playa Chica just outside the center. School age: The Ecomuseo La Alcogida in Tefía shows how island families lived in seven restored traditional houses. Teenagers: The sand dunes beside the beaches east of Corralejo, in the north of the island, are popular, and the north and west coasts are known for surfing. Western beaches can have strong surf. Wind: The island is windy, so bring a light layer for the beach.

Question 7

Beaches

Accepted Answer

Sandy beaches are found in many places around Fuerteventura, and winds are steady. Near the capital, Playa Chica lies just outside the center, and the beaches at Playa Blanca, Los Pozos and Puerto Lajas are good for surfing and windsurfing. Playa Blanca lies between the town and the airport. On the west coast, beaches such as those near El Cotillo can have strong surf. The beaches beside the sand dunes east of Corralejo, in the north, are popular. Nude sunbathing and swimming are common on many of the island's beaches.

Puerto Del Rosario, Fuerteventura

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Going Ashore