postcards from gran tarajal

we landed just after lunch - and weirdly, fuerteventura is on the same time as london, which freaked me out a bit (it was a four-hour flight after all!), but it was suuuuch a long morning that we were absolutely shattered. jas and sam arrived like three hours before us, and picked up the car so were there waiting for us at the airport, then we made our way to gran tarajal - the place to call home for the next few days! along the way i was bloody buzzing; mainly because i was expecting nothing but dirt but there were looooads of flowers and plants and trees - not to mention the blue sky! - it was so much prettier than i was expecting it to be!

i guess it was like, 4pm when we finally got to the villa, and ohhhhmigosh, it is so perfect! it's obvs been recently decorated as the ikea stamp is definitely all over it, but the place itself was really big, really nice, and really spacious; we'd hit the mother load of villas, and we even each had our own room! granted, two of the four rooms were very small and with no exterior windows (they looked into the laundry, weirdly), but we each had our own bed, which was the best news ever as i was totally expecting to have to share. winnnnnning!

we just took a quick walk around the town to get our bearings, and oh.my.god there is so much street art around! i was so not expecting it to be this quirky at all, and - truth be told, i did no research on this place before we came, but that's how i roll, isn't it? it was a really wonderful surprise to see all the colours of this town with absolutely no expectations at all though, because everywhere i looked today, i was like - ah! look over there! look! more art! eep! look at the mural! honestly, i was in my element. loving this place, and i never want to leave. ever.

of couuuuurse we arrived on the same weekend as carnival. we didn't know this until we saw every man and his dog walking the streets in insane costumes, did a little digging, and figured out that's what it was. so, we had to join in - it was only right! in the centre of town was a biiiig old pop-up stage with live music and dancing that was very reminiscent of the smallest festival you've ever been to, but it was mostly for the kids. the adults were in the bars, so we joined them. i can confirm that the cocktails are stronger in the canaries, and after we'd had a fewwww too many, we were up dancing with the locals, dressed as lola, on the beach, barefoot, and having the night of our lives. heads are banging just thinking about it, but truly, it was the best night!

waaaah i am so sad to be leaving gran tarajal today, cos we've had the absolute best time these last few days! we have done and seen something new everyday, eaten some delicious food, drank some delicious cocktails, and seen some very breathtaking views. i never thought i would fall this in love with a beach town, but it's been the absolute best time, and one place i would definitely like to visit again. arrrrgh, they're calling our flight now so i'll have to leave it there. really wish you'd come too - you would have loved it! next time, definitely. and, see you soon! love, erica