GR®Isla de Lobos

Section 1

Lobos Island

The island of Lobos, declared a Natural Park, is located in the Bocaina strait that separates the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.
The first section of the GR-131 starts from this islet, so you can imagine the uniqueness of this beautiful enclave.
To access this atypical stretch, you will have to take a boat from the port of Corralejo. During this journey, you will enjoy a pleasant trip through the strait known as El Río, and then disembark at El Muelle, a pier that allows visitors to enter and leave. Here begins the first section of the GR-131, from here, there are two paths; we will take the one on the left as the one on the right leads to the little houses near the harbour known as Casas del Puertito and which are beyond our GR.

You will then follow the trail and cross the karst or malpaís, which has very little vegetation, until you reach Calera Beach, a beach where you will be fascinated by the colours of the sea. Next, the trail leaves the Caldera de la Montaña on your left, a volcanic cone 127 metres high, which you can climb using the different tracks along the way. You will be struck by the striking green of the balsam spurge (Euphorbia balsamifera). It is present on both sides of the path and of the section. 1 | Isla de Lobos along the entire route. Finally, you will walk towards the small cove known as Caleta de la Madera, which you will border to finish at the foot of the Martiño lighthouse.
We can offer you an alternative return route: It leaves from the foot of the Martiño lighthouse and also leads to El Muelle.
You will clearly distinguish it when you reach a crossroads at the end of this section. This path will take you to the Lagunitas salt marsh, where you can't miss the lagoon evergreen (Limonium ovalifolium spp. canariense). This plant is a very rare Canary Island endemism as it seems to be found only on the island of Lobos.
In addition, along the way you will find various reservoirs and lime kilns. These constructions were used by the locals to better exploit their limited resources.

Lime kilns

Lime has been produced on Fuerteventura since the 16th century, although most of the lime kilns that can be seen today were built at the end of the 19th century, when the activity was at its peak.
Lime production became really important on the island, which was the first to market it, both on Fuerteventura and on the other islands of the archipelago. This was partly due to the fact that this activity does not depend on rainfall and, therefore, did not suffer the crisis that droughts caused in other economic activities on the island.
Lime was obtained from limestone which was heated to a temperature of between 900°C and 1000°C and decomposed to form calcium oxide, also called quicklime. To reach these high temperatures, the locals used kilns, which are still preserved in many areas of the island.
In Fuerteventura there are two clearly differentiated types of ovens: industrial, coal-fired ovens and domestic wood-fired ovens. The size depends on the type of oven. However, in both cases, they are elongated truncated cone-shaped and have a door or side opening at the bottom.

Industrial lime kilns

This type of lime kiln was mainly used for the export of lime as the combustion could last longer and the production was higher than that of domestic lime kilns. These kilns were loaded with coal from the top by means of ladders or ramps. The use of coal allowed for increased production. However, this same mineral also sometimes condemned production as it is an element that cannot be found on the island; therefore, when there was no supply, producers were forced to use domestic kilns.

Domestic lime kilns

The manufacturing process was totally different from that of industrial lime kilns and the production was lower, as it used dried gorse (a type of lime).Launaea arborescens)Its external appearance is similar to that of industrial ovens, but the most obvious difference is that domestic ovens do not have a door, but rather a side opening, about a metre long, which reaches from the ground to its maximum height. It was through this opening that the gorse and pressed limestone were loaded.
Today, the artisan lime industry has almost disappeared and the remains of the kilns are a reminder of a deep-rooted activity and a tradition that is at the heart of the inhabitants of Fuerteventura.