Baywatch and traditional Spanish food

WITH its white sand, turquoise water and palm trees the beach is just the sort of tropical paradise you would expect to feature on a glossy travel brochure.

But even though I have never set foot on it there is something vaguely familiar about it.

When I speak to staff in the local tourist office in Morro Jable on the southern tip of the Canary Island of Fuerteventura I soon find out why.

“It’s the beach where they filmed the television series Baywatch,” one of them tells me proudly.

“The location shots were filmed in California - but few people realise that lots of beach and ocean scenes were done here on Fuerteventura.”

Surprisingly when I enquire at hotels near the two main beaches on the island - at Jandia and Playa Barca - no one is aware of their television history, but everyone is interested.

I ask more and more questions and finally after half a day of enquires I strike gold.

On the wall of fame at the first hotel to open in the south of the island, The Robinson, was the proof. A photograph of David Hasselhoff and beach babe Pamela Anderson in their red swimsuits - along with other people involved in the cult program.

And below the photograph a paragraph in German explains that they were on the island to film the series.

But when you travel to the south of Fuerteventura you soon realise why television producers would opt to shoot footage here.

The beaches are amongst the best in the world. Better still they are vast and uncrowded and the water is crystal clear and safe.

Immediately opposite the hotel I stayed at, the four star Faro Jandia, is a 24 kilometre stretch of the finest, whitest beach you can imagine, with not even a sweet paper to sully it.

There are a few sun loungers and parasols but all pretty low key, and if seclusion is what you’re seeking you only need to walk along the sand for a few minutes to find it.

From where the waves break on the shore out to deep water the beach shelves gradually so it’s safe for swimmers young and old, but just like in Baywatch there are lifeguards on duty.

A two euro bus ride from outside the front door of the Faro Jandia is a similar scene at the Playa Barca Beach but this one is famous as the home of the annual European wind surfing championships.

Try to time your visit to coincide with high tide because a natural phenomenon sees the creation of a beautiful large lagoon on the beach every day. The water is only about three feet deep so it’s perfect for swimmers and surfboard virgins.

Traditionally British tourists have holidayed on the north of Fuerteventura, leaving the south to the German market.

Now, thanks to tour operators like Thomas Cook there is a programme to the south of the island from the UK so the German monopoly is starting to become diluted.

The south tends to be hotter than the north but unlike other islands in the archipelago the temperature tends to be more moderate, staying in the mid 70s all year round. But remember that’s a shade temperature.

And of course you don’t have windsurfing championships without wind, so parts of the island can be blowy.

The second largest of the Canary Islands Fuerteventura is anything but built up and there are vast areas of coastline and mountains where you won’t see another person or a building.

Apart from the capital, Puerto del Rosario, the main towns tend to be small and certainly spread out so unless you hire a car or take a tour it’s not that easy to get from one to the other so select your hotel carefully or you could find yourself a little off the beaten track.

As luck would have it the central location of the Faro Jandia was ideall because we only had to walk out of the front door to access the central shopping area and across the road alongside the picture-perfect beach was a coast hugging pathway to the quaint old town of Morro Jable, a comfortable 30 minutes stroll away.

While the main streets of Jandia have an interesting mix of modern, stylish boutiques and shops selling everything from tax free electronic goods to tobacco at prices cheaper than the airport - take note if you are a smoker - the old town has a more laid back, traditional feel.

The waterfront has some attractive seafood restaurants as well traditional Spanish bars where you can enjoy tapas while you watch the waves rolling in.

But not everything in Fuerteventura is geared to the coast. We sampled a tour called Flavours of Fuerteventura designed to give a flavour - literally - of the interior and the dramatic landscape out of sight of the sea.

At Agroturisimo La Gayria we met Pepe, who has his own small farm and vineyard and produces a very acceptable red and a particularly palatable dry white which he serves to visitors with dishes of olive oil flavoured with oregano and chunks of bread to dip into it - just like the locals - and some slices of home grown tomatoes

Nor far away we had chance to sample some goats cheese while looking around a goat farm which has 4,000 females and four very happy males.

Fuerteventura has a population of 100,000 people but some 60,000 of them live in the capital, Porto del Rosario. That means large swathes are uninhabited.

Strangely enough the island has changed its capital four times over the years but the original, Betancuria, founded by Norman conquerors in 1404 is now a quiet picturesque village which is well worth exploring, and one of the stops on our excursion.

Wherever you travel on Fuerteventura, however, you stand a chance of coming across chipmunks.

Apparently someone imported two some years ago and chipmunks did what chipmunks do and now there are several colonies of them. But at least they are friendly and it keeps the tourists happy snapping holiday shots of them.