Fuerteventura 2: The Hotel, Salt Pans, Yellow Beach

Our home for the whole week was Las Marismas Apartment Hotel in Corralejo, in the north of the island. It was very pleasant and quiet, I especially liked the fact that the whole building complex was low-built, the apartment was spacious, the food was abundant and tasty, but we made a mistake when booking the package by taking both breakfast and dinner. The latter meant we had to be back at the hotel at 8 p.m. at the latest to catch dinner, which was at the exact same time as sunset, and if we were on the other side of the island, enjoying the best light of the day, it was next to impossible to get back in time. Needless to say, we skipped dinner a couple of times. Forget the stomach, photos come first! :))








The following day we rented a car. Fuerteventura is small, only about 1600 square kilometers, but you don't want to deal with public transport when taking photos is your main objective. Buses don't tend to go to idyllic locations at sunset, much less wait for you to finish the photo session. ;)

It was late, almost noon, when we left Corralejo. We headed south and after an hour we stopped at salt pans with a museum called Las Salinas del Carmen. The light was harsh, but the salt evaporation ponds were interesting anyway.



There was also a whale skeleton on display. It doesn't look big in this photo ...

... but believe me, it was HUGE!

We explored the coastal area to the south a bit but were soon stopped by this sign.

Close to Corralejo, there is a Parque Natural de Corralejo, consisting of the desert and sandy beaches. The sand was yellow, the sea was deep green and turquoise, and thanks to the constant wind it wasn't too hot to walk around.




To be continued ...

Fuerteventura 1: The Flight

Finally! For everybody who's been asking: the photos from Fuerteventura are selected and post-processed! :)

We booked this trip quite a few months ago, but one day before the departure my boyfriend fell ill and had no option but to stay home. We couldn't cancel the holidays without losing most of the money, so I had to find somebody on a short notice - in a matter of hours! - to go with me. My brother Peter was the "victim", and it was a good thing too as we would probably never decide to go on a trip together, so this turned out to be one great week of brother-sister bonding. :)

The flight from Salzburg to Fuerteventura took five hours, a bit more with a brief stop-over in Lanzarote. Flying over northern Africa offered views of the coast and desert, but poor atmospheric conditions rendered all photos mostly grey. A few Photoshop hours later and voilà, "art"! ;)






The window was dirty, of course, and in addition ice crystals formed on the glass. Never mind the reflections. ;)



The view of a Lanzarote coastal resort ...

... and a golf course.

To be continued ...

Fuerteventura

One week of sun, sand and sea! I was in photographic heaven. :)
I'm still sorting through a pile of photos so you'll to wait a bit before they get posted, but for now let me just show you the feelings I have about this short getaway. ;)

Spring colors of the Predel and Vršič passes II.

The first part of our road trip was behind us.
After driving through the Koritnica valley we turned left before Bovec and started up the Trenta valley. The weather started to play some tricks on me with clouds obscuring the sun from time to time. We made several short stops along the Soča river, one of the most pristine Alpine rivers in Europe, but I'll have to come back just for the photos of Soča - on this trip I simply didn't have enough time to explore various spots and play with the tripod.



Trenta is simply beautifully scenic. Many footbridges, typical architecture, green meadows and, of course, the emerald Soča.

Higher up the valley there is a monument to Dr. Julius Kugy, gazing towards his favorite mountain, Jalovec ...

... the peak of which was now shrouded in clouds.

The conditions at a higher elevation were still wintry.

Along the road to the Vršič pass a viewing platform offers great views over the Zadnja Trenta valley and the surrounding mountains.

One of the most striking rock faces in the Julian Alps for me: Veliko Špičje.

At the Vršič pass, which was just opened earlier that day, it was amazing to see the deep corridor cut into the snow.


Snow walls were high ...

... even up to 10 meters.

Interesting layers of snow on a milestone.

Driving back home we caught the last glimpses of sun rays on the mountains above Gozd Martuljek.

Mt. Kukova špica in the golden hour.

We were lucky to catch the last fine day. The following day the weather fouled up and it's been raining ever since. Just great, with the holidays and all. :(
The whole travelogue with more photos is here.

Spring colors of the Predel and Vršič passes I.

I was waiting for April 25 when the road over the Vršič pass was supposed to be opened. Colors of spring were calling to me, and the combination of the green forests and white mountains was too appealing to resist. :)

We started in the morning and the first picture I took was in Gozd Martuljek.

We then stopped in Kranjska Gora for a cup of coffee with my aunt and crossed the border with Italy. Our destination was the Mangart lakes.

I couldn't believe the amount of snow! We walked around in short sleeves, yet there was still at least 20 cm of snow.

Steep ravines in the Mangart range:

The only peak that wouldn't reveal itself was Mangart. I took a random photo and only found out at home that there were two climbers/skiers descending down the northern slope. Can you see them?

The second lake was just as green.

More snow.

Next we drove past the town of Trbiž to the Rabelj Lake:

After climbing the Predel pass at 1165 meters above sea level we were back in Slovenia, admiring a bridge that is being built across a steep valley.

Soon the village of Strmec came into view:
Just before the village of Log pod Mangartom this panorama opened up. I think the whole trip was worthwhile for this photo alone.

Driving down the Koritnica valley we saw a huge avalanche amidst the already green trees. It will take a long time before this one melts completely.

To be continued ...