After just over a one hour’s drive from our accommodation in Corralejo, which is located at the northern tip of the island, we see silhouettes of white and light-colored houses appear at the end of the long, straight road that we are currently driving on. Even though we drove most of our little road trip on three similar type of straight roads and we went through relatively quiet areas without a lot of variation in natural environment, I keep being amazed by the unique and tranquil atmosphere on the island. It feels different from everything I have ever experienced; it is almost like the concepts of rush and stress have not been invented here yet. It is absolutely amazing and it feels so liberating.

We approach a roundabout with lots of gorgeous palm trees on it and turn off at the sign indicating there is a parking space. We park our bright yellow rental car and I quickly take a last bite from the sandwich that we bought at a local supermarket en route. Both of us are incredibly excited to explore this village called Ajuy, mainly because it appears that its cliffs and caves are formed by the oldest rocks in the Canary Islands and are declared a Natural Monument as they stand out for their geological and paleontological interest. It is also the first time we will be on a black sand beach, which I personally think will be spectacular.

And spectacular it is. I am completely speechless when we arrive on Ajuy Beach (“Playa de Ajuy”). Its dark sand and the bright blue water show a beautiful contrast. At the end of the beach, which is around 200 meters long and 50 meters wide, there is this immense rock formation that is comprised of several bands of layers. The oldest of these bands are oceanic sediments formed during the Jurassic era, which means that this type of rock was established even before the geological formation of the island itself. It has been there for over 100 million of years and realizing this, I feel so grateful that I am allowed to watch this natural wonder. What a beautiful life it is.

At the foot of the rock formation there is a very accessible pathway that enables us to climb it. The pathway leads us along the cliffs and marks the start of our journey to the caves of Ajuy (“Cuevas de Ajuy”). The about 1.5 kilometers walk starts with the Mirador de Ajuy, which translates to the Ajuy Viewpoint. The view from this place is spectacular and allows us to oversee the beach and the fishing village from above. The rock formations at this place are really impressive. They are fossilized dunes of Pliocene calcarenite, which is a mixture of limestone and sand, and are formed by fossil remains of shells and algae. The limestone industry in Fuerteventura flourished during the late nineteenth to the mid twentieth century and as we walk along the breathtakingly beautiful cliffs in order to get ourselves from the viewpoint to the caves, we encounter one of the many well-preserved lime kilns on the island. In order to get fuel for lime kilns burning, there used to be a lot of human pressure on the environment and it partly explains the deforestation on Fuerteventura (and the Canary Islands in general).

Approximately 30 minutes later we arrive at the caves, which can be entered by using a stone staircase. As the soil is a little wet, we have to be careful but luckily there is a sturdy wooden handrail that helps us entering the first chamber of the cave safely. This chamber provides – besides some pretty impressive rock formations – a spectacular view on the sea and standing here as a human being makes you feel subordinate to all major forces of nature on the one hand but on the other hand it makes you also feel one with the universe. Obviously, we want to reach the back of this chamber and enter the second chamber as well, which makes us climb over some large rocks and go through a relatively large, dark hole. It is quite an adventurous thing to do but if you love the thrill and are someone that has an inherent urge to explore, it is definitely something we recommend you to do. The second chamber has a sandy floor so it is a lot easier to get to the end of the cave, even though it is still pretty dark around here. The ocean view is incredible and I can only imagine how it would look like at sunset. Then, we go even deeper into the cave and we are very happy we brought a flashlight with us as it is extremely dark around here. However, there is always light at the end of the darkness and we finally arrive at a staircase that is our way out. We have a final look at the beautiful, wildly swirling sea water that we can view from here, and then it is time to get back to the outside world again. What an incredibly surreal and exciting experience this was!