Karine is back to her normal self, I’m on the mend but still have a very sensitive digestive track. Nevertheless, we opted to go hiking to see the 📍Arco de las Peñitas. One iconic rock formation that has a hole eroded by wind and rain. Based on the pictures we saw, it seemed like a good place to be and a barely 5 kilometre loop.
Arco de las Peñitas - Barranco de Malpaso, Fuerteventura, Spain - 386 Reviews, Map | AllTrails
This circular route runs on the Canary Island of Fuerteventura, being one of the most unique trails that can be done in this island, taking into account that part of the route runs off-trail, so it is advisable to download the AllTrails map before starting the tour. Also, keep in mind that it is necessary to scramble over some rocks in the area of the arch, so it is advisable to wear appropriate footwear.
www.alltrails.com
On the way to the trail we had the opportunity to stop back at the 📍Mirador Astronómico de Sicasumbre. Thanks to the much improved visibility over yesterday’s dusty winds, we had the opportunity to admire much more of the peninsula. A pleasant bonus to our plans.
We should have clued us in that things might not go our way was right at the beginning of the hike. While the map and the GPS trail we had from AllTrails had a clearly marked path from the parking, we found it closed and indications and trail markings pointing to another direction. No matter we thought, the trail they are indicating is on the map and connects with the one suggested a little ways away. We walked on.
Not very far into the trail we started to see blazes and rocks lining the side of the trail wherever it was possible. Not as good as Tenerife, but good marking none the less. It wasn’t long before we were in sight of the 📍Peñitas Dam, an unfinished dam originally designed to hold 30 meters of water that never held more than 21,5 back in the 1940s. It wasn’t holding any water when we visited it that day. In what I can only think was an unintentional side effect, the dam created an artificial wetland where palm trees and tarajales (a shrub) grow, as well as becoming an habitat for nesting waterfowl (ducks) of the area. Originally designed to help distribute water for farming in the region, it accidentally became a beautiful ecological oddity.
We kept following the trail to the dam. What was described to us as a loop started to really look more like a to and back. A couple of kilometres in and the few connecting trails we passed all had big X marks on them telling hikers not to use these trails. A to and back isn’t a bad thing in itself, the trail is in good condition after all so we kept going.
A little passed the dam we arrived at what should have been the intersection to the arches. In real life, like for our friend Indiana Jones, X never marks the spot; it marks a closed trail. Unlike Indi, the arch will remain lost to us. Later research showed us other potential trails to get to the arches. Based on the descriptions, the approaches are less technical than through the trail we had planed.
Disappointed and not really in the mood to keep hiking toward nowhere we turned back to return to the car. Hoping to make a loop out of the trail after all, we opted to try a connection to a trail that starts at a small chapel (the size of a shed with a cross on it) we crossed on our path about three quarters of the way up. According to the map it connects back our further down.
From the chapel there’s a set of stairs that got us to a small grotto. From there however, no indication, no blaze, only the smooth rock from the water carved ravine the dam was built in. In the distance we could see the trail resuming but no clear way there. We tried going down but it got too dangerous and slippery (dusty rocks eroded by water will not let anything adhere to it). Being in a ravine we had no other option but to climb our way back up the slippery rocks (it’s harder than going down if you’re wondering) and then follow the original trail back down.
We made it down, brought the car back to our rental agency, and chilled out for the rest of the day, leaving the arches lost to us but satisfied to have hiked in warm and sunny weather.