2012 Fuerteventura Travel Report

Here I am again, my fourth year of Fuerteventura. After having skipped last years trip due to the Sumatra visit, I have re-organised my travel budgets a bit. One just does need it all: a girly week with mum in the sunshine during winter, and getting grounded in Tangkahan a bit later in the year.

Well, last year skipping made sense as mum accompanied me to Sumatra, thus girly and grounding came in one package. This year I am back to Robinson Club Esquinzo Playa (German site) and feeling the urge to give an update. Not that a lot has changed; my accounts from 2008 and 2009 are still valid. I guess it’s my viewpoint that took a bit of a turn.

Back then I already was quite the Internet girl. I paid some 14 Euros for a week and proudly connected to the world using my blue little Samsung netbook. Then I had to learn that the hotspot situation was a bit thin, rooms didn’t have connection and only on the terrace one could dive into the depth of wisdom and gossip. Pride about my capabilities of handling the equipment however, superseded the disappointment and I was a happy bunny.

These days I found a lot of hotspots but was told that I had to pay €25 per week. Hmmm… this is a bit steep for an all-inclusive club, while a lot of the even smaller hotels offer Wifi for free. Here one gets drowned in alcohol any time of the day but for internet one has to pay… if you know me a little: I went on strike and rather not do internet. Now I am sitting very poshly upgraded with a MacBook enjoying a really rather spectacular view, but can’t read my emails. All I can do is write reviews like this. Ha!

This however is the only minus – the club is constantly striving for sustainability and environmental conciseness, something which I am rather interested in since the Sumatra eco-tourism trip. This year we did a club tour and saw the solar heating, the washhouse and the state of the art kitchen, and we were told about the problems to resource food on an island on which nothing grows. Resourcefulness is a big issue anyway. It is hard to explain to the mainly African workforces that every food that leaves the kitchen and doesn’t get eaten has to be skipped, while their families back home hardly know how to get by.

Different from the olden days, now the buffets don't look as lavish anymore - yet still fantastic - but food is getting brought out on demand to be able to serve things the next day as well. Additionally staff is allowed to dine from the buffet after the guests have left. Robinson front end staff was always allowed to dine with guests, so the club's boundaries between staff and guests always were soft, hence opening the buffet to the workforces behind the scenes is a logic extension of their philosophy. Although the club separates waste it mainly gets dumped in one space, due to Spain’s environmental conciseness not being as vigilant as the German or English; Robinson Clubs however keep going in order to set an example and to be able to push limits. And of course the club cats are still there and happy.

Those cats supply an endless stream of joy for everybody and are an example how ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking can enhance the living environment. Now two new unusual recruits do their duty for the club by keeping the number of pigeons at bay: Buzzards! They regularly give a little flight show and although they don’t actually catch the pigeons, they look threatening enough to make them keep a distance.

This island shows vividly that tourism is a coin with two sides. Without tourism people here wouldn’t have a proper living, but with tourism a whole bucket load of issues arises and I am glad that Robinson Clubs are addressing those.

Another thing that didn’t change is the Aloe Vera Information Centre in Jandia. I was so glad to hear that they receive quite a bit of custom through ILP, which means that people read my website. Yay! If you are in the area you might want to consider doing an Aloe Vera workshop. Participants will be able to get hold of an almond, olive scrub powder, which mixed with Aloe gel is a fantastically rejuvenating peeling.

As for the fun part – you may know that every time we are here we do something special – this time it was a buggy tour. We already got worried we might run out of options. We already had done the catamaran, jet-ski, Segway, Lanzarote, and an island tour. So the buggy it was. We could have gone on Quads – four wheeled motorbikes on which the passenger sits behind the driver – but we chose the buggy which basically is a go-cart and in which one sits next to each other. 

Such a fun! Following the guide like ducklings their mum, we were the last in the row and bit the dust. Criss-crossing the countryside we went to the West coast first, a rugged beachfront where swimming is not possible due to strong undercurrents dragging everything out to see. 

Then back to the East side we saw surfers like we never saw them before. This is the surfing Mekka. Every year the windsurfing world championships are held here. Splendid territory!

On our way we stoped at the restaurant Bahia La Pared, which I can highly recommend. The fish is superb and the variety is amazing. This is the nice thing when doing those extra trips, one gets in touch with local people and businesses.

Like the visit to the zoo; I even had the opportunity to meet my cousin who I hadn’t seen in 17 years. She is working at the sea lion department and since arrival day I already had seen her on brochures and posters advertising the zoo. We had heard good things about the zoo and had planned a trip anyway. So this was not just a great opportunity to catch some local flair but have a family reunion as well.

A small thing, which however made this trip particularly nice is the impact individuals have in the service business!

The lovely fella who manages the arrival and departure of guests, takes care of the suitcases and has a way with people which makes one feel welcomed and valued, and which is so different from the fake receptionist behaviour one finds all too often the more expensive the hotel is; the bar tender who remembers so well the favourite drink and with a wink attempts to tease the guest into trying something new; and last but not least the cleaner who day after day replaces the welcome flowers. Those were beautifully scattered over the bed, and when she found them ‘rescued’ in a jar, she kept replacing dead heads. I felt reminded of Chip Conley's TED talk in which he describes how important it is to value the efforts of staff. Robinson Clubs surely create an atmosphere in which individual style can thrive. Every time I come to my room those flowers put a smile on my face.

Thank you, guys. You made my days!

---

More pictures of the trip on Picasa

Bar Restaurante Bahia La Pared: La Pared - Pajara, Tel 928 54 90 30, Opening hours 12-22.

Quad/Buggy Tours: Quad Adventure Excursions, Tel 928866552

Fuerteventura 2008
Fuerte - The Island
Fuerte - Dirary & Club Life
Fuerte - Shopping (unfortunately La Ola is closed now)
Fuerte - Jet Ski
Fuerte - What else?

Fuerteventura 2009 
Travel Diary
Travel Read

Yeeehaw! I am off!

Sorry, no advice... just sheer joy of going away! It's my annual girly week with mum to Fuerteventura, 20-22C, slightly windy, beach, all inclusive... my favourite club holidays at Robinson Club Esquinzo Playa.

During my first two years there I filmed and wrote quite elaborately, but now it will all be about re-fuelling and gaining focus for the month to come. Hope you enjoy the travel accounts from previous years.

Fuerteventura 2008
Fuerte - The Island
Fuerte - Dirary & Club Life
Fuerte - Shopping (unfortunately La Ola is closed now)
Fuerte - Jet Ski
Fuerte - What else?

Fuerteventura 2009 
Travel Diary
Travel Read

Love

Back in Town

Yay! the joys of November... We are back in Tuebingen, my favourite little town in Germany, foR the wine fair. Oh, I am so much a creature of habit: we are in the same hotel with view on the river Neckar, and it seems that the number of swans has increased;when I woke this morning and looked out of the window 16 of this beautiful creatures had breakfast,dipping their long necks into the cold water. Brrr... Last year the weather was warm, this year it is rather nippy with 0C predicted tomorrow morning.

This time we are a bit smarter, though. We travelled with an empty suitcase... Well, full of blister foil it is. We will hit town now and tonight we will stock up on a few bottles of wine and some whiskey, I hope.

... And this is the first time that I am trying to block in the i-world entirely. A year ago I still used my cute little netbook and a camera, this is my first real test for the iPad with iPhone... Oh, how posh am I? However, the equipment disappoint's at least the standard browser. The i-World onl works well if one is familiar with the app-world. Thus this post has to be bland, no pix and not spell-checked. I find it somewhat peculiar that a good thousand pounds of equipment only work if a vast crowd of people produce bazillions of little code snippets for it. Strange world...

However, this is about our short holiday and not an IT blog. The sun just came out, and a town is waiting to be hit. So let' press the publish button and get out there!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Always yours
Rika

My Wonderful Tangkahan - Prelude 2

The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme - SOCP

After having visited what was formerly the Botanic Gardens and which is now Ian Singleton's new project for conservation and education we moved on to the SOCP centre which as we are told is located kind of back to back to the Botanic Garden and hence protecting each other from unwanted visitors.

Now: The SOCP was an very emotional affair for me, and to introduce you to the matter with some facts and stories directly from Ian, please have a look at this video which is provided on YouTube by the centre.

I saw those animals. I saw those cages. One part of me wants to shout out: Oh how cute! the other part of me drives tears into my eyes because I should not see them there, I should not be able to find them cute.  

There we were at the SOCP

The cage in which dad, mum and the two babies live

Mum and one of the babies. We could not get too close, to avoid infections and to not make her too nervous.

Dad, in the adjacent cage

 

Ian Singleton and Jess McKelson from RAW discussing projects

RAW is supporting the SOCP whenever possible, e.g. part of our fee for the day trip was used as sponsorship for the programme. Jess now will be putting focus on helping to find a suitable site and funding for mum and her twins, so that she will be out of the cage and raise the little ones in a safe environment as naturally as possible.

Some might ask if all that money and all that effort is worth it. I have heard voices saying, that with the same amount of money so much more can be achieved in South America where land is cheaper and circumstances are less difficult; that the approach of rescuing individuals is not helping for the bigger picture.

Well, I have a few things to add. Firstly, if confronted with an individual - who would be able to put it down for cost reasons? Secondly, orangutans play a vital role in preserving rainforest as gardeners of the jungle, as they distribute seeds over far distances. And thirdly, this is what I found on Wikipedia about their conservation status - critically endangered:

from Wikipedia: distribution of orangutan in Sumatra

The Sumatran orangutan is endemic to Sumatra island and is particularly restricted to the north of the island. In the wild, Sumatran orangutans survive in the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), the northernmost tip of Sumatra.The primate was once more widespread, as they were found more to the south in the 19th century such as in Jambi and Padang.There are small populations in the North SumatraLake Toba forests. A survey in the Lake Toba region found only two inhabited areas, Bukit Lawang (defined as the animal sanctuary) and Gunung Leuser National Park The species has been assessed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000. It is considered one of "The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates." A survey in 2004 estimated that around 7,300 Sumatran orangutans still live in the wild. Some of them are being protected in five areas in Gunung Leuser National Park;

It is estimated that today only around 6000 Sumatran orangutans still exist. Not a lot! Every individual is important to enrich the gene pool. These 6000 do not live in one big area in which genes would be exchanged freely to maintain a healthy population. Roads and logging have cut the population into small groups already, some of them too small to avoid inbreeding. The fresh genes of those two babies are very much crucial for the bigger picture of orangutan survival in Sumatra. They need and deserve our help!

Socialisation cages

The resocialisation approach at the SOCP is pretty much hands-off. Although it appears a bit sad that those little ones are behind bars and don't get cuddles, it is their best chance for getting an ape lifestyle quickly. Humans might be good in cuddling, but they fail miserably in ape-ish skills. Research has shown that these little ones learn much faster from each other. In those cages they bond quickly and like street children they are able to survive in their environment at an earlier age then they would if getting used to a humanoid lifestyle.

Good luck, little fella!

 You can support the SOCP by donations via their website.

My Wonderful Tangkahan - Prelude 1

Now that the scene is set by the previous blog update, let's move on to the actual diary snippets. So there we were, starting our journeys from our homes in Germany and Ipswich to meet at London Heathrow.

I arrived early and the sensible thing to kill some time is with muffin and cappuccino. And then eventually, the trip felt real: Mum arrived!

 

We killed some more time together, so much to talk about, checked in our luggage, and then boarded the flight to Munich which should deliver us to an aircraft with nice and cosy business seats which had our names on them. So far so simple, so far so Heathrow... delayed by thunder, delayed by sick passenger, delayed by paramedics not arriving, delayed by paramedics not knowing what to do... there the nice and cosy business seats had lift off without us.

Arriving in Munich we moved into a good hotel and got re-booked to ... Singapore Airlines!... woohooo!

I can tell you, one day less Singapore yet travelling Singapore Airlines instead was worth it. Half of the time it was raining in Singapore anyway, Sentosa Island was a bit of a disappointment and a rip off as mum knew it from some years back mainly for a lovely place with butterflies and beaches, whereas now it basically is a kind of Disney World, and shopping was out of the question as we were overloaded anyway. 

So we were glad to move on to Medan the next day. Not that it was nicer there, in contrary, but it brought us closer to the actual adventure.

Medan, a vast area of houses, rich, poor, markets, dusty, hot, and hellish traffic ...

 

The Grand Swiss-Belhotel Medan is the best hotel in town and the place where one wants to stay. For taxis look for the blue ones, but even then be very vigilant and better get the tour operator or a hotel to pick you up, 50.000 IR is not cheap but a fair price. There is a modern mall accessible from the hotel with fantastic restaurants and coffee places so no need to go out into the hellish atmosphere of the city without a guide.

We had arrived a day early for contingency and to kill the additional time we had booked a trip to the centre of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme. We got lucky that Ian Singleton the director of the program (and scientific advisor of Orangutan Land Trust, my main charity) was available to show us round. First stop was the botanic gardens, the latest part of the project where an education centre is to be established on a grand scale: This will be conservation live and close-up. I am hoping to be able to go back in a few years time and to see what he has achieved.

Education garden on a larger scale

First impressions of jungle greeneries...

... and the respective creepies.

 ... and tomorrow I will tell you about the orangutans at the SOCP.

Little fella in  quarantine... and he is one of the lucky ones!