Formentera? Where’s that? UPDATE
You’d be forgiven for not knowing the location of this little gem of an island. It’s surprisingly easy to reach and has a delightful personality all its own.
Formentera is one of the Balearic Islands to the east of mainland Spain, in the Meditteranean. It’s the little sister island to Ibiza and is only a 30-minute ferry trip away.
Here’s a few facts and figures:
- Beaches, beaches – so many of them for such a small island and white, clean and beautiful.
- The island had been occupied by the Carthaginians, then the ancient Romans, the Visigoths, the Byzantines, the Vandals, and the Arabs.
- Eventually the island added to the Crown of Aragon and later became part of the medieval Kingdom of Majorca.
- The main island of Formentera is 19 kilometres (12 miles) long and is located about 6 kilometres (4 miles) south of Ibiza in the Mediterranean Sea.
San Francesc, Formentera
- The major villages are Sant Francesc Xavier, Sant Ferran de ses Roques, El Pilar de la Mola and La Savina.
- Formentera comprises one municipality, also called Formentera, and has a population of 9,962 (as at 1 January 2010).
- Its land area is 83.24 square kilometres (32.1 sq mi).
- Cars are easily hired in the port and there’s a good choice of conventional or electric vehicles. There are more electric vehicle charging points here than anywhere else in the world, given its land area.
- Mopeds and bicycles are available to hire; the terrain is mostly flat and there are dedicated cycle lanes in some areas.
- The island has four Martello towers.
- Ferries to Formentera from Ibiza operate every half hour in high season.
- A local Ibizan (eivissenc) variant of the Balearic dialect of the Catalan language is spoken in Formentera though English and other European languages are frequently heard too.
Discovery Walking Guides carried out an intensive cartographic survey on Formentera a few weeks back and design of the new Formentera Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map is well under way.
For full details about the new Formen
tera map, click here.
KICKSTARTER PROJECT
How would you like to be part of the launch of this exciting new map project? For a modest pledge you can help this project to fly – and receive free maps too.
There’s still time to be a part of this exciting project.
Take a look at DWG’s Kickstarter Project here.
Ibiza – white beaches, azure seas, verdant pine forests UPDATE
Forget the tabloid image of all-night clubbing, loud music and young visitors in various states of inebriation and undress.
The real Ibiza is a beautiful place, blessed by a wonderful climate with many hours of sunshine each month.
Numerous fine white beaches and little coves tempt the swimmer and sun-worshipper, while walking/biking trails meander through wild flowers underneath a canopy of fragrant pine woods.
A few Ibizan facts:
- Ibiza is one of the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean east of the Spanish mainland.
- It’s a naturally beautiful island with white sand beaches, turquoise seas and verdant pine woods, olive groves and wild flowers.
- The island has a long history of invasion by various forces including the Ancient Romans, the Vandas, Byzantines, the Moors, the Norwegians and were finally claimed by Spain. Nowadays, the ‘invaders’ are tourists.
- Ibiza is 572.56 square kilometres (221.07 sq miles) land area.
- The highest point of the island is Sa Talaiassa, at 475 metres (1,558 ft).
- The population is estimated at approximately 132,500.
- Eivissenc, a dialect of Catalan, is spoken on Ibiza, as is Spanish. English is widely spoken in tourist areas.
- Though renowned for its clubbing scene, there are beautiful beaches, pine woods and walking/biking routes across the island.
One of Ibiza’s beautiful coves (on the west coast)
Until now, the maps available for the island of Ibiza have been basic and without the kind of detail you need to enjoy exploring.
That’s all set to change as Discovery Walking Guides has completed their ‘on the ground’ mapping survey. Design of the new Ibiza Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map is well under way.
Click HERE for all the details of the new Ibiza map.
KICKSTARTER PROJECT
How would you like to be part of the launch of this exciting new map project? For a modest pledge you can help this project to fly – and receive free maps too.
There’s still time to part of this exciting project.
Take a look at DWG’s Kickstarter project here:
La Palma – the World’s Steepest Island
Walk! La Palma – new 3rd edition
Authors: Charles Davis and Jan Kostura
ISBN 9781782750215 £12.99
La Palma is the most north-westerly and the steepest of the Canary Islands; arguably it’s the steepest island in the world.
Views to Pico de la Nieve (Walk 29)
If you’re looking for a walking destination that’s wild, beautiful and unforgettable, La Palma will not disappoint.
Here’s a sample map section; there’s one for each of the 37 routes, along with full walk descriptions, photographs and GPS information.
Pico Birigoyo, Cumbre Vieja, La Palma (Walk 7)
For more information about Walk! La Palma and the companion La Palma Tour & Trail Map see Discovery Walking Guides’ website.
Dartmoor News – New research shows Sittaford Tor as Old as Stonehenge
Did you see this interesting article in the Telegraph yesterday, 16 May 2015?
Dartmoor has a long and fascinating history; this new research suggests that some areas have an even longer history than was previously understood. See for yourself – take the walk.
The weather is perfect now for exploring British walking. If you want to take a look at the ancient stone circle of Sittaford Tor then follow Walk 9 in Walk! Dartmoor. The walk is a pleasant three and a half hour circular route which includes plenty of interest including the Tor.
For more information see:-
Madeira: The Garden Isle – a new walking guide
Enduring popular as a walking destination, Madeira remains a beautiful and breathtaking island.
Resident authors and researchers, Shirley and Mike Whitehead know it like the backs of their hands and have come up with 41 routes and trails ideal for the ‘leisure’ walker in this new publication Madeira Walks: Volume One.
Volume 2 of this series will follow later in 2015 which concentrates on more challenging and high altitude routes.
All the routes are carefully described and are beautifully illustrated with images taken along each route.
Every route has its own highly detailed ‘Tour and Trail’ map section showing the route and waypoints clearly marked; research is done while carrying GPS 
equipment to ensure accurate walking information.
For more information about the new book and Madeira Tour & Trail Maps and Madeira Bus Maps, take a look http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/mad.htm
Fuerteventura Super-Durable Map is here!
Fuerteventura Super-Durable Map 2015
Just arrived – Fuerteventura Super-Durable Map. HIghly detailed and right up-to-date and printed on a special polymer withstanding rain, wind and folding many times. The island appeals to windsurfers, cyclists, walkers and adventurers, and has miles and miles of pure, clean beaches too.
It’s an intriguing island with a timeless quality, the raw bones of the island shaped by a volcanic past. Unique – once experienced, never forgotten. Read more here
Aloe Vera thrives in Fuerteventura’s desert conditions.
http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/fuerteventura.htm
On Fuerteventura’s east coast
Wind and Watersports on Fuerteventura
Gran Canaria – wonderful walking
Thanks to Chris Kurton who has just had a wonderful walking holiday on the dramatic Canary Island of Gran Canaria.
Here’s one of Chris’ photos taken while walking; a view from a col towards Gui Gui.
See the GPS record of one of Chris’ routes, a circuit of Mount Tauro, http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/695801198/share/0?lang=en
See lots more images taken by Chris while walking the island in Walking The World group on Facebook; click https://www.facebook.com/groups/discovery.walking/
And for information on maps and walking on Gran Canaria see http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/gcan.htm
The Sierra de Aracena – walking in Spain
Uunspoiled, green countryside near Galaroza.
Having explored Spain’s Sierra de Aracena some years back for a walking guide and map, it was interesting to see a long and enticing piece in today’s Saturday Telegraph magazine about this little-visited region:-
Another green and beautiful walking route, near the little town of Fuenteheridos.
Spain offers so many wonderful walking regions, yet Sierra de Aracena remains little-known – which is of course, part of its charm. If you want dramatic mountains, look elsewhere. If you like wonderful green, natural walking interspersed with hamlets and little characterful towns, you’ll enjoy this area. It’s the perfect ‘get away from it all’ place.
The little town of Cortelazor.
If your interest has been sparked, take a look at map and walking information from DIscovery Walking Guides: http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/sierradearacena.htm
Lanzarote – walking the Caldera Blanca
Wow! The interior of the crater, Walk 39, Lanzarote.
Our thanks to Robert and Penny, recently returned from walking on Lanzarote. Here’s what they told us:-
Standing on the volcanic crater rim of Caldera Blanca, Lanzarote.
We have just returned from 10 days walking in Lanzarote. Your book was a great help as there is little in the way of signs or clear path markers. Without your book we would have frequently got on the wrong
route.
One comment, on walk 39, Caldera Blanca, We agree this was a
fantastic walk and the view from the crater rim were fantastic.
However, if we were to do this walk again we would have gone round the
other way (anti clockwise). The decent from the top was much steeper
and the path was full of small stones which required great care to
safely negotiate. We would have been much happier going up that way.
We walked in La Palma a few years ago and again found the guide great.
Thanks again for a great guide.
Robert and Jenny P
Walk! Lanzarote :- Updates and Notes
Los Cocoteros to Costa Teguise – best views on route
Our thanks go to Howard and Penny who recently returned from a walking holiday on the Canary Island of Lanzarote and have sent us these useful notes and updates for those who walk after them.
For more information about the book and map they used, see http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/lanz.htm
Dear David and Ros,We have just returned from 2 weeks in Lanzarote guided by your excellent version 3 of Walk! Lanzarote. (We visited in 2008 with version 1)
We had a wonderful time and really had no issues at all in finding our way though a few little changes have arisen which we suspect arose after your visit. We particularly enjoyed some of the new routes.
Walk 13 The path from wp13 to wp17 has now been bulldozed out as part of the Orzola to Playa Blanca formal route so is now very easy to follow
Walk 22 This has now been upgraded into a defined path with illustrative notice boards and you are advised that stepping off the path is punishable. The English version of the notices are written in best Brussels Eurocrat speak so it is quite entertaining but the beauty of the place is not lost.
Walk 36 After the quite treacherous drop down to wp6 it was clear we were not wanted on the stone wall so we made a direct line for the extreme right end of the wall where we picked up the path. Looking at the footsteps we were not alone.
Walk 33 We set off up the path from the Recycling Bins at the start only for a lady from one of the houses to shout across to say we were on the wrong path. Clearly we were not the first walkers she had re-routed. The bins have been moved ca 75m up the road. The route begins from the path by the bus stop. How you got to wp 4 in 29 minutes amazed us, we were fairly close to your timings throughout the island but it took us close to an hour for this part of the route. We also struggled from wp 4-6 turning left far too early, it would have been clearer if wp5 had not been detailed and the route was described simply as aiming from wp 4 to the right hand side of the saddle where the track is clear at wp6.
Walking in the Haria region
Walk 39 Wonderful.
For those with restricted time we would combine walks 29 and 30 starting at wp1 in Haria and going directly to wp13 (a quick trip up to wp12 is well worth while) then continue to wp17 where you join walk 29 at wp4 and complete walk 29 from there.
Finally we wondered if anyone else had the same experience as us in Ye (walk 36). We were met at the church by two delightful small dogs who befriended us for the day, sticking with us all the way round. Sitting with us when we stopped to eat and then on return trotted off. They seemed to treat us as their dog walkers for the day. Has anyone else performed this service?
We see you are planning Fuerteventura, we have not been there so look forward to you guiding us around that island soon. One request though, please can you publish this with a ring bound spine, they are so much easier to work with.
Many thanks again
Howard and Penny
PS. Note for David, there is a new roundabout on the LZ30 where the LZ402 joins from Famara – a Cartologists work is never done.
discoverywalking 