Surfing in Esquinzo in the south of Fuerteventura

Esquinzo on Fuerteventura is a small settlement on the east coast of the southern peninsula. The southern peninsula begins at Costa Calma. This is also where the long, beautiful sandy beaches begin, which are popular with both holidaymakers and surfers.

While these beaches are still very wide at the beginning, they become somewhat narrower towards the south. The hinterland also changes from the initially desert-like "Istmo de La Pared" to the mountainous landscape of southern Fuerteventura. On the long beach you will find narrow stretches and rocky headlands, with larger bays opening up behind them.

The small headland best known among surfers, with the adjoining bay, lies below the small tourist settlement of Esquinzo.

When the wind conditions are right, long, gentle, left-hand waves can break here, just like you might remember from old surfing films like "Endless Summer". Surfing in Esquinzo in the south of Fuerteventura means therefore surfing wind waves.

The beach section below the village of Esquinzo, where the waves break, can already be seen from the motorway. At this point, the motorway leads over a high viaduct from where you can see down to the beach.

If you are coming from the motorway, take the exit for Butihondo. If you are coming from the north, this is the last exit before the motorway ends and you enter Jandia.

After the exit at the big roundabout, follow the old country road for a few hundred metres towards Esquinzo and then turn into the settlement. The small road in the village will take you to the natural park area above the beach. On the other side of the road is the only supermarket in town.

You can either park the car up here at the edge of the bay or carefully follow the gravel road to the small car park directly in front of the beach, which you can already see clearly from here. Then you park right at the beginning of the wave.

The waves in Esquinzo always break from right to left and are therefore also called "left-hand waves" or "left-handers".

As with all beaches where waves break regularly, the position of the sand on Esquinzo beach also changes. Compared to other beaches such as La Pared or Cruz Roja in Jandia, the shape and position of the waves in Esquinzo do not change so much. The wave almost always starts in front of the distinctive headland lined with large stones that divides the beach into two sections.

Surfers who can paddle and surf unbroken green waves safely start the wave directly in front of the stones. Surfers who are new to surfing are a little further to the right of the stones at the start of the bay.

On good days, you can surf this wave from the beginning of the headland far into the bay.

The stronger the wind swell, the bigger the waves in Esquinzo on Fuerteventura. Nevertheless, there are only a few days a year when you can surf in Esquinzo with a shortboard. The best board for these gentle, long-running waves is a longboard or Malibu. Fishboards with a lot of volume are also suitable, but they need slightly bigger waves to work properly in Esquinzo.

The waves in Esquinzo are generated by so-called windswells. As the name suggests, such a windswell is created by strong local winds. These winds are not rare in Fuerteventura and were also the inspiration for the island's name. Literally translated into English, Fuerteventura means nothing other than "strong wind". These strong winds are most frequent in spring and especially in the summer months.

To form waves that we surfers can ride, the wind has to blow for at least one and a half days at a time. However, it's not only the duration that matters, but also the wind strength and direction.

As a rule, the wind speed should be consistently above 20 knots. It is also important that the wind does not come too much from the north. Otherwise, the wind waves will not reach the east coast of the southern peninsula of Fuerteventura and thus Esquinzo.

Most days the wind on Fuerteventura comes from a north-easterly direction. Winds from this direction are always offshore thanks to the geographical orientation of the south on the east coast, and thus also in Esquinzo.

This means that wind waves in Esquinzo on Fuerteventura often break when the wind is offshore and are therefore particularly clean and easy to surf.

If the wind comes from the east, it also forms wind waves, of course. However, this windswell is formed when the wind is onshore. Then the wind on the west coast is logically offshore and the waves in La Pared break particularly clean and well.

In Esquinzo on Fuerteventura you can surf at all tide levels. Advanced surfers tend to surf close to the rocks of the headland at high tide. Beginners surf at low tide in white water or the first, green waves further away from the stones.

Like the other surf spots and beaches on the east coast, there are relatively few to no dangers in Esquinzo.

Due to the waves hitting the side of the beach, there is a current that runs parallel to the beach from north to south. This current is not dangerous because it does not pull surfers out to sea or onto dangerous rocks or cliffs.

However, this current pushes you away from the beginning of the wave. This means that you should always look for landmarks on the beach of Esquinzo to be able to determine your own position in the water. Otherwise, when you're waiting for waves, you often don't realise that you' ve already drifted too far down the beach.

Waves generated by local winds have less power than "normal" waves. The latter are generated in the North Atlantic and only break on the west and north coasts of Fuerteventura after they have travelled several thousand kilometres.

In addition, wind waves break in relatively shallow water. You should always get off your board carefully in Esquinzo after surfing a wave. The sand is soft, but the water at the end of a wave is often only knee-deep, far too shallow for head dives or similar. Of course, this also means that the waves breaking over the stones at the beginning of the headland break in very shallow water. Although these waves have less force, you should still be careful not to accidentally stumble.

However, these risks are marginal compared to "normal" surf beaches, which is why Esquinzo in Fuerteventura is also a popular surf spot for beginners and families with children.