{"id":141339,"date":"2023-11-25T04:43:03","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T04:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magdelaine.net\/?p=141339"},"modified":"2023-11-25T04:43:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-25T04:43:03","slug":"discovering-why-hollywood-loves-fuerteventura","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magdelaine.net\/lifestyle\/discovering-why-hollywood-loves-fuerteventura\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering why Hollywood loves Fuerteventura"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>A Canary Island with star quality: Fuerteventura&#8217;s stunning landscapes have featured in Ridley Scott and Brad Pitt movies &#8211; and now it&#8217;s even easier to get to thanks to new direct BA flights<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Laura Miller visits Fuerteventura and is amazed by its &#8216;scenic diversity&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>She checks into Bahia Real Resort &amp; Spa in the seaside town of Corralejo<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>READ MORE:\u00a0The world&#8217;s safest and most dangerous countries in 2023<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As we come in to land at Fuerteventura\u2019s airport, I\u2019m intrigued by what\u2019s in store. From the air, it looks barren: arid, rust-coloured, rocky and mountainous, with the occasional pyramid-shaped peak.<\/p>\n<p>Martian landscapes come to mind, which seems at odds with this popular holiday island\u2019s promise of golden beaches and turquoise waters. But as I\u2019m to discover, Fuerteventura\u2019s scenic diversity means it appeals to a range of people.<\/p>\n<p>Surfers and parasailers take advantage of the island\u2019s strong winds and rolling Atlantic waves; nature lovers come to spot barbary falcons, Egyptian vultures and the ubiquitous chipmunks; hikers and cyclists follow craggy trails through stony terrain; and, yes, winter sun-seekers who don\u2019t do much at all.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, and the A-list film stars.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past decade, Fuerteventura has been used as a filming location for some big-budget movies. Think Ridley Scott\u2019s Exodus: Gods And Kings, starring Christian Bale, as well as Brad Pitt in Marion Cotillard\u2019s Second World War drama Allied, where the island doubled as North Africa.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/18\/14\/77964005-12764881-image-a-114_1700319544291.jpg\" height=\"475\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>On her visit to Fuerteventura, Laura Miller drives through the &#8216;wind-blasted&#8217; dunes of Parque Natural de Corralejo (pictured)<\/p>\n<p>Plenty of these exalted actors checked in to a popular hotel during filming \u2013 which just happens to be where I\u2019m staying.<\/p>\n<p>A few years ago, Bahia Real Resort &amp; Spa was dubbed as \u2018el hotel de las estrellas\u2019, or \u2018the hotel of the stars\u2019. It\u2019s a 242-roomed, honey-hued building which sits along a stretch of sand on the north-east tip of the island in the seaside town of Corralejo.<\/p>\n<p>Hopefully Pitt and the gang were just as impressed as I am with its stylish bars and restaurants, a well-equipped spa and wellness area, and a beautiful outdoor pool set amid lush trees and plants.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/18\/14\/77959903-12764881-Dramatic_crags-a-113_1700319544290.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Laura discovers that Fuerteventura\u2019s &#8216;scenic diversity&#8217; means it appeals to a range of people. Above, a sea cave in La Solapa beach<\/p>\n<p>You can dine on anything from high-end sushi to delicious local cuisine. Happily, for this carb-lover, this includes the island\u2019s signature dish of papas arrugadas \u2013 small, skin-on boiled potatoes, served with garlicky mojo rojo dipping sauce, as well as fresh fish.<\/p>\n<p>And now, thanks to British Airways\u2019 first, and newly launched, route from Gatwick, it\u2019s easier than ever to get here.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m keen to understand the island\u2019s history and geology, and set off by car through the twisty, precipitous roads that wind through the interior and along the steep, dusky hills to meet Antonio Gallardo, director of the Fuerteventura Biosphere Reserve.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/18\/14\/77959905-12764881-Claim_to_fame_The_landscape_ranges_from_bright_flora-a-110_1700319544288.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Laura sets off by car &#8216;through the twisty, precipitous roads&#8217; that wind through Fuerteventura, &#8216;keen to understand the island\u2019s history and geology&#8217;. Above, the island&#8217;s bright flora<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/18\/14\/77959907-12764881-One_of_its_many_resident_chipmunks-a-111_1700319544289.jpg\" height=\"361\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Nature lovers come to spot barbary falcons, Egyptian vultures and the ubiquitous chipmunks (pictured),&#8217; reveals Laura<\/p>\n<p>Because of its diverse ecosystems and marine life \u2013 from dolphins to turtles \u2013 the island was given Unesco recognition in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>We meet outside the small village of Vega de Rio Palmas to start the Barranco de la Penitas walking trail, which follows the bed of its long-dried-up namesake Palm River.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Fuerteventura is the oldest of the Canary Islands,\u2019 says Gallardo. \u2018The landscapes were formed by volcanic activity up to 30 million years ago.\u2019 The \u2018newest\u2019 part, it transpires, is in the north, where volcanoes last erupted a mere 50,000 years ago. And the island\u2019s hot climate is because it\u2019s closer to Africa than to Spain.<\/p>\n<p>Fuerteventura, he adds, is also one of three designated Starlight Reserves in the Canaries because of its lack of light pollution. The best time for gazing is between January and March.<\/p>\n<p>After our walk we drive south to the fishing village of Ajuy, into whose rugged coastline are deep caves. Hidden behind a headland is a natural stone arch at the ocean\u2019s edge called Arco del Jurado.<\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s another contrast, as Gallardo steers us to a path lined with towering palm trees. It leads to Madre del Agua, the tributary of a bubbling natural spring covered in bright green algae \u2013 something rare on this island where most usable water has to be desalinated.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/18\/14\/77964003-12764881-image-a-112_1700319544290.jpg\" height=\"341\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Laura visits Calderon Hond (pictured), a dormant volcanic crater. &#8216;The views are sensational,&#8217; she says\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The next day I head for the Calderon Hondo, a perfectly circular and long dormant volcanic crater which has a depth of 230ft. The wind whips around me as I scale the slippery stone, but the views are sensational \u2013 rolling red mountains and cone-shaped hills, with the ocean just beyond.<\/p>\n<p>I choose the ocean road back to the hotel, driving through the wind-blasted dunes of Parque Natural de Corralejo.<\/p>\n<p>Legions of surfers and parasailers are gathered along the shore to take advantage of the conditions. It\u2019s a beautifully wild, untamed scene. Celebrities may have come here, but the real star of the show is Fuerteventura itself.<\/p>\n<h3>TRAVEL FACTS\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Gatwick to Fuerteventura from \u00a353 one-way (ba.com). British Airways Holidays offers seven nights\u2019 all-inclusive at Bahia Real Resort &amp; Spa from \u00a31,559pp, for January 2024, including return flights from Gatwick, checked bag in the hold and car hire. (ba.com\/fuerteventura). For more information, go to visitfuerteventura.com.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/travel\/article-12764881\/A-Canary-Island-star-quality-Fuerteventuras-stunning-landscapes-featured-Ridley-Scott-Brad-Pitt-movies-easier-thanks-new-direct-BA-flights.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Canary Island with star quality: Fuerteventura&#8217;s stunning landscapes have featured in Ridley Scott and Brad Pitt movies &#8211; and now it&#8217;s even easier to get to thanks to new direct BA flights Laura Miller visits Fuerteventura and is amazed by its &#8216;scenic diversity&#8217;\u00a0 She checks into Bahia Real Resort &amp; Spa in the seaside [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Discovering why Hollywood loves Fuerteventura - magdelaine.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magdelaine.net\/lifestyle\/discovering-why-hollywood-loves-fuerteventura\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Discovering why Hollywood loves Fuerteventura - magdelaine.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Canary Island with star quality: Fuerteventura&#8217;s stunning landscapes have featured in Ridley Scott and Brad Pitt movies &#8211; 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