Goin' South Get On a Plane and Jet Four Hours Towards the Equator. The Result . . . Fuerteventura and Sunshine. And If You Want to Get Away From the Tourists, Just Head to the Shopping Mall Get On a Plane and Jet Four Hours Towards the Equator. The Result . . . Fuerteventura and Sunshine. And If You Want to Get Away From the Tourists, Just Head to the Shopping Mall Travel

Sunday Herald › August 09, 2005

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Summary

IT only rains for 16 days each year in Fuerteventura, so most holidaymakers to the volcanic island never see a downpour. We manage to catch one of them and it feels like a privilege: a breathtaking sunset is followed around midnight by about an hour of tropical rain bucketing out of the sky. The next day the palm trees and the grass look a new shade of green and the air smells fresh and life-giving. That small amount of rain means two things: firstly, it's sunny and hot with clear blue skies almost all of the time; secondly, the vegetation you see is carefully irrigated and fussed over by an army of gardeners and farmers. Otherwise, the landscape looks a bit like the Moon: barren rock as far as the eye can see. So although the flying time from Glasgow is only four hours and it's in the same time zone, Fuerteventura is about as far removed from the constantly watered hills of Scotland as you can get.

We are spending a week in Caleta de Fuste at the Barcelo Apartments, a huge complex built around a man-made beach that comprises a hotel, several restaurants and bars, swimming pools and mini-golf as well as more than a thousand selfcatering units. It's big.

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Extract

Goin' South Get On a Plane and Jet Four Hours Towards the Equator. The Result . . . Fuerteventura and Sunshine. And If You Want to Get Away From the Tourists, Just Head to the Shopping Mall Get On a Plane and Jet Four Hours Towards the Equator. The Result . . . Fuerteventura and Sunshine. And If You Want to Get Away From the Tourists, Just Head to the Shopping Mall Travel

Most of the apartments are arranged in small groups, divided by paved walkways and hibiscus trees. We have an upstairs apartment, with a walled sun terrace that provides the twin benefits of being private and guaranteeing you keep your sun lounger while you go and get a drink (10 ste...

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