Puertito de los Molinos is a coastal hamlet - fifteen people - on the west coast of the island of Fuerteventura. The hamlet is the westernmost town of the municipality of Puerto del Rosario.
The people traditionally live goat farming and fisheries; on the beach of sand and black pebbles washed up a few fishing boats.
Puertito de los Molinos is at the end of the FV-221 road, which is taken at the south exit of Tefía from the FV-207 road from La Oliva to Betancuria. FV-221 road runs through a landscape of hills and reached the farming settlement of Las Parcelas.
The road then descends toward the coast winding through the spectacular gorges of the Barranco de la Cruz and the Barranco de los Molinos. Along the road we can see stone pen where the goats are parked.
One kilometer south of Puertito de los Molinos is another creek, named Puerto de la Cruz, located at the mouth of the Barranco de la Cruz. 1.5 km north of Puertito is the Playa de Jarugo, a sandy beach but where swimming is dangerous; 0.5 km further we find the Playa de La Mujer (“Range of Women”); one can reach both beaches by a track from Tefía or a coastal path from Puertito.
Agricultural colony of Las Parcelas was founded in 1946 along the dam was built Los Molinos, to give activity to 30 poor families of Puerto de Cabras (Puerto del Rosario) assigned each parcel included a housing, two hectares of land and 56 pesetas to buy the necessary farm equipment. The land was dedicated preferably to the cultivation of cereals, but when the amount of water allowed, vegetables and fodder for livestock (millet and alfalfa) were also cultivated. Many owners left the colony in the 1950s or 1960s to return to the capital, Puerto del Rosario, or to emigrate to Gran Canaria or in Western Sahara. There are now only six families descendants of former owners.
The dam of Los Molinos is located in the valley Barranco de los Molinos; This dam was built to irrigate land in agricultural colony of Las Parcelas, located two km downstream of the dam. Construction work began in 1943 under the leadership of General Garcia Escámez et Iniesta, and the dam was opened three years later. At the same time were built dams of Las Peñitas in Betancuria, and Río Cabras in Puerto del Rosario.
The tank capacity was first 500,000 m³, and in a second phase was increased to double (1,000,000 m³); this is the most important dam reservoir of the island with 100 m long and 40 m wide. The dam is usually only half full; it is only during the rainy year 1991 it was full to the brim. Furthermore, salifère source, located at the base of the dam, said that its water could never be used for irrigation of crops.
To reach the Embalse de los Molinos, we must turn left on a dirt road from the first house in the Colonia de Las Parcelas; one reaches the tank after 3 km away.
_small.jpg "The village of Puertito de los Molinos in Fuerteventura. the hamlet. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
_small.jpg "The village of Los Molinos Puertito Fuerteventura. Enclosure for goats. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
Situation_small.jpg "The village of Los Molinos Puertito Fuerteventura. Enclosure for goats. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
_small.jpg "The village of Puertito de los Molinos in Fuerteventura. the Barranco de la Cruz. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
Visits
The _small.jpg "The village of Puertito de los Molinos in Fuerteventura. the Barranco de la Cruz. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
_small.jpg "The village of Puertito de los Molinos in Fuerteventura. the Barranco de la Cruz. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
_small.jpg "The village of Los Molinos Puertito Fuerteventura. salt deposit in the Barranco de la Cruz. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
The western coast in _small.jpg "The village of Los Molinos Puertito Fuerteventura. Rocky coast of Los Molinos. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
_small.jpg "The village of Los Molinos Puertito Fuerteventura. Rocky coast of Los Molinos. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
_small.jpg "The village of Los Molinos Puertito Fuerteventura. Rocky coast of Los Molinos. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
_small.jpg "The village of Los Molinos Puertito Fuerteventura. Rocky coast of Los Molinos. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
Practical information
.jpg "The village of Los Molinos Puertito Fuerteventura. Restaurant Pon (author Xosema). Click to enlarge the image.")
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