North of Costa Calma, Fuerteventura, February 9, 2019

Fuerteventura is the oldest island in the Canary Islands dating back 20 million years. It has evolved from the Atlantic Sea due to a volcanic eruption. The high mountains have eroded away and the island has very little rainfall, and most of it is desert. If it were not for the desalination plants, tourism would not be possible. North of Costa Calma begins the region of Fuerteventura called the Malpais, meaning the unusable and barren region. Before tourist discovered its beaches no one lived here. When we drove through it from the airport it was empty apart from the holiday resorts long the coast. Life on Fuerteventura has always been tuff. But the booming tourism industry on the island has changed thing, improved living standards and attracted a lot of immigrant to the island from which people a few decades earlier emigrated. It must be strange for the old people living on the island to experience that the sun and the lack of rain that previously was the curse of the island now is its blessing. https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/Fuerteventura-adventure

The beach north of our hotel

A view south with our hotel in the background

The Barbary ground squirrel is an invasive species. It is from the seaward side of the Atlas Mountains and was introduced into the Fuerteventura in 1965. It is very cute and popular among tourists and is living from the many morsels that the tourists leave.

Many tourists also feed the Barbary ground squirrel.