Los Molinos on the west coast of Fuerteventura is a hidden pearl of a village. On the way there we tried to take a shortcut through the countryside, only to be told after 30 minutes on gravel roads that the road on the map wasn’t passable by anything larger than a dirt bike. Well, at least we found great scenery, interesting buildings and even chipmunks.
So after getting back on track we finally entered Los Molinos throug the small canyon leading down to the village. Los Molinos is maybe an old fishing village, none of it exist anymore, and consist of about 15 houses cramped together on one side of a small stream running down through the canyon. A colony of ducks house where the stream enters the ocean and the setting is picturesque, to say the least.
We took a short hike among the rock formations made of volcanic rock (what isn’t on Fuerteventura) south of the village and the scenery is amazing – the ocean has eaten away the rock and created a wall hovering between the sea and sky.
There are two restaurants in Los Molinos, and being the people we are, we choose the one that looked more rustic and that is located at the far side of the village. Here we met Juan and his step-son Robin, that act chefs/waiters/guides and, as we would discover, snorkeling instructors. We told Juan that we wanted to see the red crabs that Emma had read about, and all of a sudden he fetches diving gear, fins for all of us and gets into his wet suit himself, happy to show us the crabs.
After a short walk to a small lagoon we plunged in the water and with Juan’s help we navigated the rocks and got first hand information about where to see the crabs and other fishes, among them a squid that he tried to harpoon. Unfortunately we did not see any crabs but lots of other fish and a water so clear it was hard to believe.
Here is a short video of the snorkeling excursion
After snorkeling for about 40 minutes we tried Juan’s menu. Fish or meat with potatoes and vegetables, everything straight from the grill. Pescado de la dia was barracuda, something none of us had tried before, and it was delicious. After telling Juan about it he gave us his and Robin’s portion of barracuda head – Juan only eats the head of the fish because it is the best part, the eye being the best of the best! So of course we had to try it, and it is really good, still I got a bit sick knowing what it was that was crunching between my teeth.
Well we had the best of times with Juan and Robin. If you read this and tried to call me, I am sorry to say that my phone got stolen the next day and please send me an email at jonas@adventurewithjonas.com/ so we can keep in touch!