Four go to Fuerteventura (2026) – Day 8

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Day 8 – Monday 16th March

Welcome back, everyone! I appreciate your readership over the past week – there’s been plenty going on! Today’s a short one as we’re heading back to the Airport this afternoon – and home! 😀. The last Post for this holiday! 🍻👏😘

As I’m sure you know by now, we’ve been staying here in Fuerteventura with great mates, Paul & Sue for the past week. Last time we were all together was in Corralejo, back in January, 2024, and we had a great time (in spite of my left hand being in a cast! 🥴. This year, we timed the break to coincide with the annual Corralejo Carnival that ran from the 5th until the 15th March. For 2026, where the headline celebrations included: the Grand Parade (Cabalgata) last Saturday, March 14th, with other major events including the Drag Queen Gala, Adult Queen Gala, and yesterday’s Burning of the Sardine (yes, really!). 

Our home for the week has been the 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 had also hired a car on arrival at the airport to give us the flexibility to explore more of the area.

10.55am: After checking out, we took the drive to Castillo Caleta de Fuste on the east coast. It’s a holiday resort developed in the 80s and ‘loved by the Brits’. In my book that’s either welcome news or ‘something else!’ 🤔😮. In spite of the very precise sat-nav directions, the route was ‘interesting’, mainly down to the construction/extension of the FV-2.

12.24pm: It took a while to find the area’s famous beach, but when we did, parking was easy AND free.

Actually, as we attempted to finish our journey ,it was all quite confusing as to exactly where we were. We deduced that although the beach was in our intended location, we were actually slightly off-kilter, in nearby, Puerto Castillo.

Nothing wrong with that, of course, wherever we were, it was all very nice! Warm? Just bordering on too warm as we settled down for a well-deserved beer!.

1.05pm: We grabbed a seat in the nearby Barcelo Resort called The Show Factory and attempted to order some drinks and a light snack. Barcelo seemed to own the whole area around here, and it showed in the shocking service. Yikes! A challenging task in itself just to order drinks and nachos! And we weren’t the only ones, as the table next door was getting increasingly agitated playing ‘spot the waiter’! Whilst we waited, we people-watched! We eventually got our drinks and snacks, but it was easily the WORST service we’d experienced since being out here.

Still, the Sun had definitely got its hat on – and that eased the frustration. Just! 😎🤔.

2.40pm: We decided to head back to the hire-car that by now had been roasting for the past few hours. Ann and I concluded that it wasn’t our kind of area at all – it all felt a bit ‘false’ and ‘manufactured’. It had all the right ingredients – plenty of places to eat/drink, wall-to-wall sunshine and a constant parade of people to observe going about their business, just not very ‘natural’. After a final wander around the nearby Souvenir Shop, we said our goodbyes.

Back in the car, I drove us on the short journey back to the airport. Thankfully, the sprint was short and jam-free.

3.15pm: We returned the hire-car without any fuss, and once we found the Departures area. We easily found four seats whilst we waited for the departure desks to open.

4.22pm: In fact, for once, things got BETTER. After a fairly swift piece of ‘extreme queuing’, our bags were all checked in, and then we noticed they had called the flight early.

7.01pm: We were soon boarded and on our way home! The flight was pretty full – and pretty full of people who had clearly forgotten their suntan lotion. Ouch! Pink is the new mahogany! 😮. Those easyJet seats were uncomfortable enough without needing any extra help from super-sensitive skin! 😵‍💫🥴

10.28pm: Less than four hours later, the early departure and the wind in our direction meant we made good time, and we were soon retrieving our bags and queuing with the rest of mankind to get through Immigration. Good to see that the eGates at Brum were as reliable as ever – but selfishly, at least I got through without incident (and that makes a change!) 😀👏

00.07am: After picking up Sue’s car, we were soon negotiating the national collection of bollards as we exited Birmingham Airport (what are they doing here? HS2? 🤔). A clear run meant we were on familiar roads until the overhead gantry announced that J2&3 were closed on the A14. A swift detour by Sue around the back roads near Kelmarsh saw us avoiding cats and badgers who were also out late, and we arrived back on the Farm at just after midnight. Quick hugs all around, and after transferring our bags to our car, we were on our way home.

00.47am: Unpack tonight? Nope! Put on the first (of many) washing loads? Absolutely not! A quick check of the post? Not a chance! Wonder why DPD threw a package over the back gate even though we put a big notice on the door to place anything in the porch or deliver to a neighbour? That conundrum is for tomorrow!

Back to reality then!!?? 😮😮. See you on our next adventure! 😍😍