Graciosa (Part 1)

Alex and Lucy’s change of flights left us with something of a quandary. We had already booked BV into and paid for 5 nights in the little marina up at Graciosa but the authority we did that through wasn’t open at the weekends to change the booking. We wanted to visit Graciosa and the north of Lanzarote but we needed to be quite a lot further south on Tuesday 17 October to meet Alex and Lucy who would now be flying into Fuerteventura.

Orzola

So, a couple of days ahead of our original plan, we left the marina at Arrecife and made our way up to Graciosa and the anchorages which we had intended to visit during Alex and Lucy’s stay with us. There was no wind to start with but it built gradually from the southeast as we progressed north. The wind died away, blanketed by the high ground, as we passed the small [Ed: and very shallow] port of Orzola from where the ferry to Graciosa runs and we continued around the northern tip of Lanzarote under power.

Northern tip of Lanzarote, Punta Fariones   

The scenery here is really dramatic with cliffs 500 metres high overlooking the narrow El Río strait between Lanzarote and Graciosa.

Rounding Farion de Tierra (L) and heading towards Playa del Rojo   

Rounding Farion de Tierra we turned southwest and headed towards the anchorages. On this side of the island the prevailing southeasterly was being funnelled from the southwest along the west coast of Lanzarote and was blowing strongly straight into the El Río strait. Our intended anchorage was at Playa Francesca on the south side of Graciosa but this bay is open to wind and swell from the southwest, so we changed our plan and headed for Playa del Rojo, a beach on the Lanzarote side of the strait.

Puerto de Caleta del Sebo on Graciosa   

This gave us our first proper glimpse of Puerto de Caleta del Sebo on Graciosa; everything was much smaller and browner than I had expected!

Anchored off the breakwater east of Puerto de Caleta del Sebo   

Taking a closer look, we saw that there was actually some excellent shelter off the breakwater just to the east of Puerto de Caleta del Sebo, so we diverted there. We anchored on a large patch of sand over beautifully clear blue water. It was mid-afternoon and so we decided to relax here until the wind died down in the evening (if it did), when we could re-assess which would be the best anchorage to stay at overnight.

A closer look at the village   

From the anchorage, we could get a closer look at the village with its distinctive white cuboid villas.

Playa Francesca   

In the early evening the wind did, indeed, die down so we moved into the anchorage at Playa Francesca. There were quite a number of yachts already in the anchorage [Ed: they must have had an interesting time of it in the afternoon’s wind] but by the time we arrived it was peaceful and still – perfect for sundowners! It’s a beautiful spot and with sun out (it had been pretty cloudy all day) we probably had the best of it with the golden sand glowing in front of the dramatic, wild backdrop of the volcanic cones.

Anchored off Playa del Rojo   

Although we had booked into the port’s marina for 5 nights from Sunday, we only had time to stay one night if we were to meet up with Alex and Lucy in Fuerteventura. So, it was quite fortuitous in a way that the wind woke Nicky up on Sunday morning. Once again was blowing directly into the Playa Francesca anchorage, this time from the east off the high ground on Lanzarote putting us quite close on a lee shore, so we decided to move and then enjoy breakfast. Rather than going into the marina at that point, we took the opportunity to go over to the Playa del Rojo anchorage, thus completing the set of available anchorages in this part of the islands. As an anchorage it worked well for us for the few hours we were there. It’s a relatively shallow shelving bay so there was no hope of getting close in under the cliffs and in their wind-shadow. Indeed, there were some impressive downdrafts in the bay. However, the anchor dug in well on sand and there was more than enough space for all the anchored yachts and at least the same number again, if not more. But, having checked out the 3^rd and final anchorage, after a couple of hours we felt that it was time to move into the harbour and see what Graciosa island had offer ashore.

Graciosa, Canary Islands, Spain