On Friday I had another go at Ecanfraga. This time I thought, “ok, I couldn’t go around it before, but I did go half way up. Now, I will try to go up”.
I almost succeeded, but only almost. My map doesn’t show the way up, so I have to choose how to go myself. The caldera of Ecanfraga has the usual horseshoe shape, maybe a little more angular than the others. I choose to go up by the side of the horseshoe that is closer to Villaverde. I came close, but the path disappeared completely about 30 meters from the top (that’s my estimate, and I am not very good at judging distances up). It was still possible to carry on up, the stones are solid and not slippery, but I was alone and chickened out somewhat.
So the expedition was not a complete success, and next time I will try a different side of the horseshoe. But the views, even without going to the very top, didn’t disappoint. I won’t try to identify the mountain ranges to the south, but they have beautifully “rouched” appearance, with barrancos running down the sides.
I think I can see why Tindaya (center) was thought to be a sacred mountain. It is different in shape, is not a part of a range or a system, and generally sticks out very visibly over a plane. Overall the message seems to be “I don’t belong here”.
Once again, I am amazed to find what looks like a road (?) inside the caldera. How on earth can you get there driving any sort of vehicle as yet escapes me.
The last bit, the one I didn’t quite finished. It looks interesting though, with a lot of collapsed lava bubbles forming mini-caves and grottoes.
Despite the rains of this winter, from the distance the mountain looks as barren as ever. If you look closely, there are some small plants, but I haven’t found anything particularly spectacular or unusual this time round.
Here is the route (more or less) that I took.
View Villaverde to nearly the top of Ecanfraga in a larger map
Pictures of inland Fuerteventura on Shutterstock — here.
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