Four go to Fuerteventura (2026) – Day 6

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Day 6 – Saturday 14th March

Morning readers! Thanks for following our latest adventure! Just a couple of days left before we return to Blighty, where the highlight of TODAY is to be the Grand Parade tonight in town – all part of the annual Corralejo Carnival! 👍

We’re here with great mates, Paul & Sue. Last time we were all together, was in Corralejo, back in January, 2024 and we had a great time. This year, we’ve timed the break to coincide with the annual Corralejo Carnival that runs from the 5th until the 15th March. For 2026, the headline celebrations include: the Grand Parade (Cabalgata) on Saturday, March 14th, with other major events including the Drag Queen Gala, Adult Queen Gala, and the Burial of the Sardine (yes, really!). 

Our temporary home is at Las Marismas Hotel in Corralejo and we’ve bagged a one-bedroom apartment each with bed (obviously!) & breakfast for the duration of our stay. We also hired a car at the airport to give us the flexibility to explore more of the area.

10.30am: After our now-familiar late, late Breakfast, as we made plans for another tough day – guess where?

11.15am: Slap on the lotion, find the best spot, grab the free lounger-cushions and remember my reading glasses. Yep! We’re poolside again!! 😎🌞. Flanked by Paul & Sue, that’s where we stayed. Better still, if anything, it was actually warmer than yesterday, where the occasional breeze was, for once, a welcome and occasional interruption 👍

1.55pm: In that time, I finally finished my reading quota for this week – “Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red” by Andrew Thompson (thanks, Janet!) – a great book packed full of ‘I never knew that‘ moments. Reading aside, that was now enough rays for us today, and it was now back to the room for the obligatory siesta 💤😴💤😴

5.45pm: Time to head into Town and join the rest of mankind to see the Grand Parade and then grab a bite to eat.

6.15pm: By the time we arrived, it was already quite busy with the ‘Avenue’ lined on both sides with people like us awaiting the start of this year’s celebrations. We had agreed yesterday that initially, we’d try and find a position higher up to get an uninterrupted view. We spotted a Bar on an upper floor that was all part of the Las Palmeras (how appropriate!) shopping area, appropriately named ‘The Lager & Ale Sports Bar‘. From a distance, it didn’t look too busy, so we tried the closest lift (switched off!) and then the nearby stairs that got us to our vantage point.

This turned out to be a good decision as we could see almost to the start of the planned procession. We also got our drinks in double-quick time AND a seat too – albeit a concrete bench! Still, we were in position and ready for the off.

Since we arrived, it had been challenging to find out the specifics of this year’s event. Given that this is a big annual celebration, we expected the town to be awash with posters and general information. Not quite! Even our hotel didn’t seem to know the precise timings of events. Now in position, with drinks in hand, we took our cue from a drone flying overhead, that we assumed must be ‘in the know’. It sat in the air, hovering, for a good 20 minutes before ‘returning to home’ (presumably because it was in need of a new battery!). It clearly wasn’t just us then who wondered WHEN it would all officially begin.

7.10pm: We wondered no longer! We could see movement in the distance and heard the sound of distant drums (we were to learn that these would be a BIG feature of the event as the evening unfolded!). Let the evening begin! 👍👍

The Grand Parade

Another uncertainty for us was the SCALE of the event. Would it be ‘just a few’ Floats and performers… or something bigger? By now, the streets were packed on both sides and we congratulated ourselves on our position above the organised chaos down below.. I decided to get a lot closer – and I’m pleased I did. Five minutes later, I was in amongst the action and that turned out to be a good decision.

It soon became apparent that this was, in terms of scale, a really BIG event! With my new ‘ground level view’ looking up the Avenue, there appeared to be miles of vehicles and performers. As the procession passed, all became clear as the crowd prepared itself for an assault on the senses- in a very good way!😉

I’ll just leave these here!

We had Drum Bands alternating with dancers all supported by Float after highly decorated Float. Visually, it was absolutely stunning. The Drum Bands were dressed in their finery and playing as if their lives depended on it! Fantastic! In all my days, I’ve never seen anything that approached the colour, the size, the spectacle and the pure enjoyment that was on display tonight!

And they kept coming. I lost count of the number of Floats, but later we estimated there were more that 50/60! 😮😮

In amongst the highly regimented Drum Bands and the immaculately dressed Floats, there was room for a lot of quirkiness too! We had no idea who some of the characters represented, but it didn’t matter as everyone was having a lot of fun getting into the spirit of the event!

I was only close to the action for about 30 minutes, but there was clearly a lot more to come! I headed back upstairs to join the others where Ann had been snapping some ‘distance shots’.

We decided to get ahead of the crowds and walk to the Restaurant, just 10 minutes further on.

8.05pm: Would the restaurant be mobbed? Would we get a seat? Slightly bizarrely – ‘no’ and ‘yes’. They easily found us a table even though the restaurant was already quite busy.

They even put us by a window, and so we got a reasonably good view of the procession as the evening wore on.

9.55pm: The meal and the service were excellent (especially the latter, as they were now getting very busy). For me, it was probably the best meal of this holiday as they clearly know how to serve a steak. Being able to see the action too, was a real bonus. The procession was continuous throughout our meal – two-and-a-half hours of dancing, drumming and waving finally brought this year’s celebrations to a close just after 9.45. We skipped Dessert and headed out amongst the crowds.

It had been an excellent evening and we all agreed it had been worth booking the holiday to coincide with the town’s annual event.

10.30pm: We wandered along to the now-familiar marquee, where a Salsa Band was playing. Not surprisingly, it was the busiest we’d seen it since we arrived last Monday. By now, some of the more quirky performers had ‘broken ranks’ and were wandering aimlessly around the town in various states of inebriation. In fact, some weren’t walking it all, preferring to be carried or simply propping themselves up in vacant corners. It was easy to spot the Brits amongst it all. Loud, proud and with more than a few dressed as Batman (nope, me neither!). It became clear that over and above the official Carnival performances, some had simply used the event to dress up – after all, it was a Saturday night!

10.45pm: Ann and I went in search of ice-cream – and El Momento Gelato Artesanal came to the rescue with its generous scoops of multiple flavours – Snickers/Cherry/Caramel and Strawberry combo for me, whilst Ann (on standby with Rennies for me!) was far more refined and restrained with (just) Snickers and Caramelised Toffee. Paul and Sue stayed on to enjoy a hot chocolate whilst we took the now familiar walk back to the Hotel, following (at a safe distance) three paralytic Scotsmen who had clearly enjoyed the evening and wanted to sing about it whilst walking along the middle of the road. Brits abroad, ehh!? Almost as memorable as the Carnival itself! 😕

Wow! What an evening! Thanks Corralejo for an unforgettable event!

11.35pm: 💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤🥱🥱. 11.35???? See you tomorrow (maybe!) 😉.