| Betancuria-massive |
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The Betancuria-massive is a mountainous area in the west of Fuerteventura. It streches from Pájara in the south to the village Betancuria. With a length of 15 km, a width of 10 km en peaks f 600-700 m 'massive' is a big name for this area. |
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| All over Fuerteventura you notice the lack of vegetation. In history, there were forests here, but for several reasons like agriculture and the idea that trees used a lot of water, the trees were cut down. Afterwards, they found out the trees preserved the water, so now there is hardly enough water left for a scarce vegetation. As the higher hills catch more rain, the hills are greener around the top than at the foot. |
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Climbing mountains is very hard work. Not only for yourself, but also for your shoes. Wieke managed to loose both her soles. First she lost one sole, the other one followed only half an hour later. And these were shoes she had for more than 12 years. And she claims the shoes were regularly used all those 12 years. Hah, and we're supposed to believe that. Not ! |
 The main road through the Betancuria-massive has a lining of white concrete. This way, you can easily see which pictures are taken here or elsewhere. |
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This plain of mud is built as a water reservoir, to keep some of the rain. The cutting down of the trees also resulted in an enormous erosion-problem, as there were hardly any plants left to keep hold of the sand. In only a few decades the reservoir was filled with the earth, flowing from the hills together with the rain. On the picture below you see the weir from the downstream-side, illustrating the amount of sand in the reservoir. |
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| Downstream of the weir, in the barranco, are some pools, providing frogs a place to live. Strange, this water's on the wrong side of the dam. |
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