I said above that many of the cars sit in the same place all week. How do I know that? The sand!
Fuerteventura is a desert island, and we get a lot of wind from the Sahara Desert in northern Africa. That breeze keeps the island warm and sunny, but it also carries a lot of sand with it. If your car is outside for a while, it will be extremely sandy. So sandy, in fact, that you won’t be able to see through the windshield! Along the street, people leave large jugs filled with water that drivers can use to wipe down their windows before going anywhere. That way they can see where they’re going, and everyone will be safe on the road.
Transportation here is also really connected to the tourism that drives the island’s economy. Many of the signs are in Spanish, English, and German because tourists come from England and Germany for vacations to the beaches. The bus drivers also seem to be fluent in multiple languages. I’ve heard them interacting with tourists in English and with each other in a language I didn’t fully recognize.
Tourism also affects where the buses go. The routes to Corralejo (the really nice beaches in the north) from the airport are more frequent than to some of the smaller towns in the middle of the island. Especially on a weekend or a fiesta (holiday), it can be challenging to get to any of the smaller towns if you haven’t planned far in advance.
