Fuerteventura nights are dark, because they are not polluted. Despite its warm climate, the nights are cool, like in the desert. The sky is star-studded, and the moon is so big and bright that sometimes looks like the sun. Moreover, some constructions scattered around the island make the nights even more magical… They are its lighthouses, which for years have guided sailors approaching its coast and, from land, remind us every night that we are on an island in the middle the Atlantic Ocean.
Faro de Martiño – Isla de Lobos
El Faro de Martiño is a small lighthouse, only six metres high, but its construction was delayed for five years due to difficulties in the transfer of materials, which was made with “majoreros” camels and donkeys
The tower, painted in yellow, highlights the views of the island. Many are the stories that run in the vicinity of this lighthouse, but its most famous ally is Antonio Hernandez Perez, “Antoñito el Farero”, who runs it from 1936 to 1968. After his death and the automation of the lighthouse nobody has lived on the island of Lobos.
Faros del Tostón – El Cotillo
The lighthouse of El Cotillo is famous for its beauty. Since its first building, in 1897, two new towers have joined the initial set.
The highest tower, striped in white and red, and the environment where it is located make it a must photo. People take pictures, paint it, carve and even tattoo it, because it’s impossible not to adore it. It is a symbol of beauty and the marine character of El Cotillo. No wonder, nowadays it houses inside the museum of traditional fishing of Fuerteventura, which accounts for the connection of the population of the island to the resources of the sea from the prehistoric period to the present day.
Faro de La Entallada
Faro de La Entallada, located in the municipality of Tuineje, next to the fishing village of Las Playitas, is very special. Only 100 kilometres separate it from the Moroccan coast, being the closest point to the African continent in the Canary Islands. The building, from 1953, is very peculiar: stone construction, U-shaped floor plan, three majestic towers that welcome visitors, and a glass dome in the central tower, which has guided ships and aircraft for years. History attests that from this point aircraft linking the Canaries with the Spanish Sahara or the junkers during the War of Sidi Infi were guided.
The views from this lighthouse, both sea and land, from where the Natural Monument Cuchillos de Vigán, can be made out, are impressive.
Fuerteventura has more lights that brighten its nights: the lighthouse at Punta Gavioto in Puerto del Rosario, the lighthouse at Punta de Jandía at the southernmost extreme, the one at Punta Pesebre and the lighthouse at Morro Jable, peculiar because it stands in the middle of the most spectacular beaches on the island. They’re all well worth a visit.
