Puertito de Los Molinos: fishing tradition, lime kilns and coastal memory on the west coast of Fuerteventura.

An approach to the long history of a seafaring enclave

El Puertito de Los Molinos is a small and unique coastal hamlet belonging to the municipality of Puerto del Rosario, located on the west coast of Fuerteventura. This enclave, sheltered by high basaltic escarpments of more than 20 meters high, is one of the most beautiful corners of the island to enjoy the sunsets overlooking the sea. Its history, deeply linked to the fishing tradition, the lime industry and the use of coastal resources, is an essential chapter to understand the seafaring life and traditional economic activities of the coast of Majorca.

Unique geomorphology: a beach of hidden treasures

Los Molinos beach is located in a small cove sheltered by high basaltic escarpments. Its most unique feature is its dual nature: the first area of contact with the beach is a space of coarse pebbles (boulders) that covers much of it. However, when the tide goes out, nature shows its treasure: a spectacular beach of fine sand, ideal for a dip.

This phenomenon turns the enclave into a place of constant transformation, where the sea reveals and hides its secrets to the rhythm of the tides. The sea usually lashes this part of the island with force, being very dangerous for bathing.

Las Mareas del Pino: a natural spectacle

The most curious phenomenon of this enclave happens between the months of September and October, when the super tides occur, known in the Canary Islands as the “Mareas del Pino”. During these days, the beach of Los Molinos becomes the protagonist of the island, attracting thousands of visitors who come to see one of the most impressive spectacles of Fuerteventura.

During low tide hours, the coastline retreats enough to expose spectacular caves that can be accessed on foot. These caves, which remain hidden most of the year, are covered again at high tide, creating a natural cycle that has fascinated generations of Majoreros and visitors.

Origins of settlement: fishermen, refugees and “ranchitos”.

The history of Puertito de Los Molinos as an inhabited nucleus has its roots in the 18th century, linked to a geological event of great magnitude that transformed the neighboring island of Lanzarote.

The volcanic eruptions of Timanfaya in Lanzarote, which began in 1730 and lasted for six years, expelled thousands of people from their homes. Many of these dispossessed were forced to emigrate not only to Fuerteventura, but to the rest of the world. In significant cases, they collaborated in the founding of cities such as Montevideo, in the Río de la Plata, or San Antonio, in southern Texas.

The nomadic movement of people and small boats along the different piers of the west coast of Fuerteventura led to the emergence of the first “ranchitos”: houses or rooms to shelter in times of rough seas. El Puertito de Los Molinos was one of the settlements that emerged from this migratory process.

Fishing and shellfish farming

The presence of fishermen in Puertito de Los Molinos was consolidated throughout the 19th century. These fishermen used the enclave as a base for their activities, which included both inshore fishing and shellfishing.

We have documented news of this activity thanks to the rescue that took place on August 31, 1901, when the fisherman Ambrosio Santana, resident of Puertito de Los Molinos, rescued from the waters of the beach the shellfishermen Antonio and Luis Cabrera Llarena, aged 11 and 7 years respectively. The former was found dead, while the latter was rescued alive. This tragic event also reveals the time of the year when these activities were carried out and the name of one of the oldest inhabitants of the port.

El Puertito was, since time immemorial, a hamlet used by the fishermen of El Cotillo on their way to and from Morro Jable, being a strategic point in the coastal navigation of the west coast of Majorca.

The lime industry: kilns and exports

Along with the fishing tradition, Puertito de Los Molinos developed an important industrial activity linked to the production of lime. The Port of Los Molinos already appears in the cartography of the 18th century and, from the end of the 19th century, it was consolidated as an export point for lime stone, gypsum and derivatives.

The lime kilns that can still be seen in the higher areas of the town date back to that period. These kilns, testimony of a traditional industry that reached its peak in the early twentieth century, are an ethnographic heritage of the first order. The lime produced in Los Molinos was fundamental for the traditional majorera construction, being used both for the mortar and for the characteristic whitewashing of the houses.

The Cabildo of Fuerteventura, after its creation in 1913, considered as its own the levies charged for the export and import of products through the ports and coasts of the island. The Puertito de Los Molinos, through which an important export of lime stone, gypsum and derivatives was verified, was controlled both by the Town Council of Casillas del Ángel and by the recently created Cabildo.

Commercial movement

Between 1912 and 1918 there were commercial movements of real estate on the beach of Los Molinos: houses, rooms and ovens were bought and sold. This activity shows the vitality of the hamlet and its economic importance in those years.

Gustav Winter’s visionary project: the wind power plant

One of the most fascinating episodes in the history of Los Molinos is the project promoted by the German Gustav Winter. In 1938, decades before the first power plant was built in Fuerteventura, Winter projected the construction of a wind power plant in Los Molinos.

The technical characteristics of the project were remarkably advanced for its time:

• Capacity: 500-650 kW/hour
• Standby power plant: with an output of 500 steam horsepower

This visionary project, which never materialized, is evidence of the energy potential of this majorera coast and the innovative capacity of certain actors on the island during the interwar period. The name “Los Molinos” thus takes on a new dimension, linked not only to the possible existence of hydraulic mills in the past, but also to the aspiration to harness the power of the wind to generate electricity.

Los Molinos dam: hydraulic infrastructure

The area of Los Molinos was revitalized in the 20th century by the works promoted by the Economic Command of the Canary Islands, among which the construction of the Los Molinos dam stood out. This hydraulic infrastructure, intended for the retention of runoff water, allowed agricultural development in the nearby boards.

From 1950 onwards and during the 1960s, tomato plantations for export were added to the traditional economic activities, occupying the Los Opares and Los Molinos boards. These plantations were irrigated with water from the dam, constituting an important source of employment and economic activity in the region.

La Virgen del Carmen: patron saint festivities

If you want to know this town in all its splendor, you should visit it during its patron saint festivities in honor of the Virgen del Carmen, which are held around July 16. These festivities represent the most authentic expression of the seafaring identity of the little port.

The oratory dedicated to the Virgen del Carmen, although modest, represents the deep-rooted seafaring faith in this small enclave. The Virgen del Carmen is traditionally the patron saint of sailors, and her presence in the small port underlines the importance of fishing activity in the identity of the community.

Administrative assignment: from Casillas del Ángel to Puerto del Rosario.

Los Molinos belonged to the extinct municipality of Casillas del Ángel until 1926, when it was added to the municipality of Puerto de Cabras, today Puerto del Rosario.

Documentarily, since the merger of the municipalities of Puerto de Cabras and Casillas del Ángel, the new town council took care of registering the existing houses there for purely fiscal reasons. This inclusion in the tax records not only highlighted the very existence of the population center, but also recognized, in a way, the existence of private properties within the communal estate of Las Salinas and Jarugo.

A disputed recognition

The administrative circumstances of the little port were not always peaceful. In 1930, Ramón Peñate Castañeyra, mayor of Puerto de Cabras, was surprised when the Statistics Office wanted to exclude the little port under the pretext that nobody lived there. It was necessary to answer that the activities in that nucleus were sporadic, tacitly recognizing that they were conditioned by the state of the sea.

Infrastructure and services

Despite these disputes, the Cabildo of Fuerteventura agreed to provide funds in the amount of 200 pesetas to fix the road that led from Tefía to Puerto de Los Molinos. Also in those years, the construction of a cistern or water tank was authorized to supply water to the coastal hamlet; rainwater, because the brackish water of the ravine was not drinkable at certain times of the year.

Historical continuity and territorial memory

El Puertito de Los Molinos represents a significant example of historical continuity on the west coast of Fuerteventura. From the eighteenth century fishermen’s refuge to the current seasonal farmhouse, this enclave has maintained a human presence linked to the sea and the resources of the territory.

The remains of the lime kilns testify to an industry that was an economic engine for decades. The festivities of the Virgen del Carmen keep the seafaring devotion alive. The caves that are discovered during the Mareas del Pino (Pine Tides) remind us of the permanent transformation of the coastal landscape. And Gustav Winter’s visionary project speaks of an aspiration of modernity that, although it did not materialize, is already part of the memory of the place.

The valorization of this heritage -natural, ethnographic, industrial and immaterial- is not only a question of identity, but also an opportunity to build a future that integrates the legacy of the past with the needs of the present, offering visitors and residents a space where the memory of the sea and the land meet in a perpetual embrace.