Graciosa

anchored at Graciosa

We are back at our very first Canarian landfall – Graciosa, the little island at the top of Lanzarote, otherwise known as ‘the gem of the Canaries’. We originally wanted to visit its beautiful anchorage at Playa Francesca, but it was untenable to due to the strong SE winds that blew for ten days straight. This time, we have fulfilled our ambition, and spent several days anchored off the stunning sandy beach.

But first, let’s recap.

From Gran Canaria, we returned to the children’s favourite spot, the Isla de Lobos, off Fuerteventura. Our friends on ‘Magic Dragon’ came across from Rubicon to join us, and the children were delighted to spend time together again. They splashed around in the lagoon, jumping in off the kayak, and making fake ‘bonfires’ on the beach from the prickly branches they found.

kayak fun in Lobos lagoon
(it is meant to be upside-down!)

Lobos lagoon beach

Reuben's bonfire-making skills,
shame no fires allowed!

Sol & Meadow joined our crew as both boats headed across to Lanzarote, and we got some great shots of each other under sail. 

Pirates Reuben & Sol

'Magic Dragon' under sail

Katie & Meadow on the boom

We then had a peaceful few days anchored off Marina Rubicon visiting our old haunts and each other’s boats – and watching the sun set with a beer at Darren’s favourite spot, Bar One! 

We had a belated celebration of Sam’s 40^th birthday, and even treated ourselves to an adults-only meal out while Magic Dragon’s friend (and trainee triathlete) babysat all the children. Thanks Leanne! A rare treat indeed.

Sunset at Bar One, Rubicon

HAPPY 40th SAM!!

We made a last visit to Isla Lobos until the swell made it too rolly, then we headed across to adjacent Corralejo, and anchored in the relative calm of the harbour. Calm, that is, except when the Fred Olsen ferry powered in or out and set us rocking with its huge wake!

‘Island Drifter’ came and anchored nearby, and we caught up with Helen & Mike, who had been hopping all the way up the coast of Fuerteventura, scoping out possible anchorages.

By this stage, a strong NW wind had set in – the first we had experienced all winter. The long beach was full of colourful kitesurfers making the most of the conditions.

anchored in Corralejo, with Fred Armas ferry on the move, Isla Lobos behind

kitesurfer whizzing past at speed

All three crews joined up for an ‘expedition’ up to the mountain behind Corralejo. It was a proper caldera with a sunken middle, and towered invitingly over the town. With Lee as our guide, it still took us a good half hour to get off the roads and onto a proper ‘path’, by which time the children were flagging. We had brought along a picnic but wanted to get somewhere nice for lunch. Specifically, Reuben wanted to go ‘into the middle’. Finally, we found the way in, and had a lovely lunch out of the strong breeze, right in the centre of the impressively large caldera.

Katie looking down into caldera 'bowl'

We watched as a small bird of prey hovered in one spot before plummeting onto his prey. We wondered what it could catching, there didn’t seem to be much in the way of wildlife.

Everyone was in better humour with full tummies, and the children happily played for a while. The boys made their own little den in one of the mini-mountains within the caldera bowl, and the girls made a great fire pit, surrounded by stones, and full of wood, ready to light!

Then we made a move to get to the top. It was hard walking, as the ground was littered with sharp crunchy volcanic stones, perfect ankle-twisters! We had a visit from a couple of inquisitive chipmunks along the way, who gratefully nibbled on a few pecan nuts. They came incredibly close and the children were delighted to watch them, and even sat down to do a quick sketch. Sadly the chipmunks didn’t stay still for long!

Dave, armed with a sword!

Reuben watching nearby chipmunk

The route to the top got steeper and steeper until we were almost dragging Reuben up, we had to hold tight to his hand as there were some serious gusts of wind that could have blown him right off!

Finally we reached the summit. 

                Group photo at the top of the caldera

the long route down

We stopped long enough for a celebratory sweet each and a group photo, but it was too windy to stop long. Also we had to figure out the way back down. The route around the rim looked a bit too narrow and dangerous in the wind, so we followed a passing jogger’s advice and descended the more sedate back of the caldera, despite it taking us quite a long way inland. We had a brief stop in an intriguing-looking cave on the way back, then followed the ‘long and winding’ road all the way back to Corralejo. The children did really well, the boys chasing each other (and us) as we walked, and the girls scheming to camp out for a night in the caldera – but not finding any willing adults to accompany them!

We all had aching legs by the time we sat with a drink at the Banana Bar. Helen’s phone app calculated our distance walked as 9 miles. No wonder!!

'Magic Dragon' crew pose with sand dragon sculpture

After a happy few days together, it was time to part ways. Helen & Mike headed off to Tenerife in ‘Island Drifter’, and we headed north to Arrecife. The NE winds were still blowing strong, and we had a bouncy ride until we got into the lee of Lanzarote itself. Four hours later, as we were about to enter the harbour, a tiny sailboat came flying past with two guys hanging off one side. The swell had calmed down by now but they still must have been having the ride of their lives!

Dave measuring wind speed at F6-7

little sailboat off Arrecife.

We spent Easter in Arrecife. Unlike the UK, the shops here were completely empty of chocolate eggs. Luckily, we had picked up a chocolate bunny each for the children in Corte Ingles in Gran Canaria, and had saved a packet of Mini Eggs and some Cadbury’s Crème eggs and from our trip home in January. So, we managed to do the traditional Easter egg hunt and make chocolate rice krispie nests. We even made our own hot cross buns from scratch!

Reuben's Easter nest

Home-made hot cross buns!

We didn’t see any Easter parades in the town, just one traditionally-dressed music group playing in the main street. People just seemed to be out and about as normal enjoying the sunshine. We took our dinghy through the stone arches into the town lagoon, and enjoyed an Easter beer at one of the waterfront bars.

town lagoon, Arrecife

cheeky Easter beer!

We also saw the wooden model boats out sailing. We had previously seen them stowed away in their storage shed along the promenade. They looked pretty impressive then, each 1.7m long and beautifully handmade and painted. Sailing around in the harbour, they looked even better, especially as there were three out together, each controlled by a man on the shore and following a ‘course’ around the mooring buoys!

model boats, Arrecife

model boats, Arrecife

The ‘Magic Dragon’ crew came up to see us for a final farewell before they caught the ferry back to France. (They run a triathlon training holiday centre there – tri-topia.com). The children had a play on the beach, building more ‘fire pits’ with the black lava rocks, then we all traipsed up to the 17^th floor of the Gran Hotel for drinks overlooking the beach.

Last drinks with 'Magic Dragon' high above Arrecife

It was time to prepare for the long trip home. We restocked our provisions at the big ‘HyperDino’, lashed and stowed everything on deck, dived under the boat to scrub the bottom clean, then headed the 35 miles up to Graciosa, where we expected to spend a few days before heading off to Madeira.

Playa Francesca is a remote anchorage with clear turquoise water situated 2 miles from the main town. Its curved bay has rocks in the middle and two idyllic sandy beaches either side, with a shallow reef off the point. Each day, trip boats from the town arrive with inflatable toys, kayaks and snorkels, and drop off passengers on the beach. By three o’clock, the beach is ours again.

Playa Francesca anchorage

swimming at Playa Francesca

still swimming in the sea!

The children have had fun jumping in the surf, building ever-more intricate sandcastles – the last one had six deep holes that tunnelled under the sand to meet up! – and an inventive ‘shell-crushing sand-making workshop’, which made me smile! We have all enjoyed swimming in the sea, and the children have swam out to the boat several times, Katie twice in one day!

The super-sandcastle before...

...and after a mini-landslide!

Reuben's sand-making workshop!

We trekked the 2 miles into the town for bread and supplies. The path leads right over a flat sandy area that floods with seawater. The first time across, it was dry but completely white with dried salt (which they used to harvest here). The next day, the tide was in, and we skirted the salty lakes, only to discover we had got cut off by the tide! Twenty feet of surprisingly fast-flowing water separated us from the sandy beach. Dave heroically took off his trousers and carried the children across.

wading through salt water pools

cut off by the tide!

The town itself, Caleta del Sebo, is a small collection of low, white houses grouped around the harbour, and the town beach. A ferry brings holiday-makers from Lanzarote, and a scattering of bars and restaurants cater for their needs. There are bikes to hire, dive trips, boat trips and safari jeep tours. 

There is a post office, pharmacy, two small supermarkets, and a fantastic bakery. Everything, of course, has to first arrive by ship in 'mainland' Lanzarote, then come across by supply ship to Graciosa. 

Graciosa town beach

watching the supply boat unload

The white church has a boat-themed interior – ‘fishy’ candlesticks, a pulpit made from a ship’s wheel and a rudder, a table from an anchor, and a pair of oars in the corner. What we hadn’t realised on our first brief visit was that the carved stone fish outside was made by our friend Marie Davies from Topsham, on their cruise here in 1998.  They stayed for several months and their boys even attended the local school.

nautical-themed church

fish sculpture by Marie Davies

We had a blast of strong NE winds, and moved into the harbour for a night. Here, we met up with another British yacht, also bound for Madeira. We had both been poring over weather forecasts, but whereas we weren’t impressed with the forecast headwinds, he decided to take the chance and run for it. He had a lighter, faster boat and should just make it before the winds picked up again. With a heavier boat, we would be much slower and faced bashing the last hundred miles into strengthening winds.

Grey skies, what's this?

coats out for the first time in months!

After he left, we returned to the anchorage but wondered if we should have gone after all – too late now! He did arrive safely 2 ½ days later, but it was a pretty bash-y trip and much slower than he had expected. We would have been slower still and bashing into head-winds for longer. 

Still, we had a balmy few days on the beach. We discovered a little shanty house on a nearby rocky spit. It showed signs of recent habitation and, sure enough, one evening we saw a man going inside. What a lovely spot to camp out!

Playa Francesca beach, with 'shack' on far headland

kids kayak ashore at Playa Francesca

The landmark dominating the anchorage is the mountain behind the beach, the Montana Amarillo. It had to be climbed! The sandy path led us around the mountain base, towards the north of the island, where we got views of the next islands further north – las Alegranza, also part of the marine nature reserve. From here, it became apparent that the mountain wasn’t as solid as it appeared from the anchorage, but was ‘hollow’ around the back. It was the remains of a caldera, but just the front half of the mountain remained, with a semi-circular rim around the top.

Katie with our anchorage behind

It was a steep scramble up the end slope, and we watched a silhouetted line of figures pick their way down the slope on the opposite end. The ground is so dry here that your feet can’t get a grip, and simply dislodge more stones with each step. I couldn’t help but yearn for an earthy (muddy) British footpath! It amazes me how anything grows here at all, but numerous little plants and flowers poked up through the sand, and the rocks were all covered in bushy lichen.

flowers spring from the sand

plants growing in wind shelter, covered in lichen

Once at the top, it was an easy walk around the rim, with fantastic views down over our anchorage, back along el Rio to the Punta de Faniones rocks, and across the north of Graciosa with its three other mountains to the outlying islands. Stunning! We perched on the concrete around the summit mark to eat our picnic, and again, saw two hawks circling close above us. They were a welcome sight, unlike the hordes of tiny flies that decided we made a perfect landing spot. We didn’t hang around after eating, and were soon silhouette figures ourselves slipping down the other side!

view north from the top, Islas Alegranza in bckground

looking over Caleta de Sebo to el Rio entrance,
  Lanzarote across the water

heading down the other side, 

So...  we find ourselves back in the harbour for the second time as another batch of strong NE winds blow through. The sea swell near Madeira is predicted 2.5 to 3m all week. It is nearly 300 miles to Madeira (3-4 days), and we would like to give the children a comfortable ride, but maybe we are just going soft after 3 months of island-hopping….

We have been in Graciosa a week so far, and winds have been either from the NW (bang on the nose) or from the NE (a better direction), but very strong – Force 6-7. My parents have had to reschedule their flights to Madeira and we are beginning to think that the expected Force 4-5 NW winds might never come.

However, there are worse places to be stranded and we are trying to keep in mind the old saying: 'The sailor with the most time has the best weather’.

Fingers crossed…

windy conditions in Graciosa