60FEATUREFLAG BEACH
International cuisine
Fast forward to now. Corralejo has more than 50 complexes
and hotel resorts, surf camps now dotted all over town,
parks, shopping centres selling all the trinkets you can
purchase, Burger King and plenty of tarmac roads with
gleaming white painted crossings and row upon row of street
lights! A massive selection of international cuisine to choose
from with bars, cafes and night clubs. A harbour full of boats
and two gleaming top of the range ferries. Tourists and
residents from all walks of life and places around the globe
stroll the streets day and night.
We can no longer drive down to the water’s edge, we can no
longer light a fire and roast sausages in the middle of the
beach washed down with a jug of homemade sangria. We
can’t walk barefoot through the sandy streets of town.
We look back with nostalgia to a bygone era of adventure, of
long days on the water often in hardcore conditions with no
rescue services, and telling the tales of a near miss on the
north shore that day and finally swimming back to shore or
being rescued by a fisherman (or a passenger ferry in Ben’s
case!). We chat about fun nights in a small mixed crowd
around a bonfire amidst the sand dunes and sharing the
same passion for the sea.
Down at Flag Beach the sea is now dotted with windsurfers,
a spectacle of colour and action with a sport called
kitesurfing also in view. On windless days a now popular
import from Hawaii named SUP has become popular. The
sails are more muted with their livery and easier to rig;
boards shorter and fatter and so much easier to sail!
Summer months
Customers now talk to us from afar, via the web, before even
arriving on Fuerte. The summer months see the beach
rammed with sun worshippers and sports people young and
old. We have sun beds and parasols and a beach bar with
WIFI. There’s a mobile phone specifically for wind checks.
The most beautiful beach in the world
Windsurfing may not be what it was in the 1980s and life
may not be as simple and relaxed. But we would not change
the last 30 years for anything. The view from our office on
the most beautiful beach in the world, the fresh smell of the
salty Atlantic air every day on the way to work, the sun on our
face and the wind in our hair; of being able to windsurf every
single day we go to work.
For that we thank all those who have supported us and it
made it possible over these last three decades; who have
learned to windsurf with us, improved their skills with us and
shared their passion for the sea and windsurfing with us. See
you soon!
uk
WIND
SURFING