An approach to the long history of a coastal village<\/strong><\/p>\n Puerto Lajas is a small coastal town located on the leeward coast of the municipality of Puerto del Rosario, about 3 kilometers north of the island’s capital. This quiet fishing village allows you to contemplate the sunrise and enjoy a calm environment. People come to Puerto Lajas to disconnect, to surf or windsurf, to see the fishermen’s boats rocking, to bathe in its cove and to enjoy some delicious tapas in front of the sea. <\/p>\n Its history, deeply linked to the aboriginal presence first and to the fishing, cereal and lime traditions later, represents an essential chapter to understand the human occupation of the Majorero coast and the evolution of the small secondary ports of the island.<\/p>\n The mahos arrived in Fuerteventura in several stages, coming mostly from the North African coasts. Apparently, the point from which they began their movements to the Canary Islands was in the vicinity of the mouth of the Dr\u00e2a River, near Cape Nun. They made contact with Fuerteventura, the nearest island, through various shallows of easy disembarkation. Among these points were Puerto Lajas, Playa Blanca and coastal areas of Tuineje. <\/p>\n The fact of being one of the first enclaves where the mahos took land was reflected in the territory. They left their mark in the form of petroglyphs, pre-Hispanic manifestations that can still be seen in Puerto Lajas. <\/p>\n The rock formations in Puerto Lajas consist mainly of small channels and small bowls. They are located very close to the coastline and are affected by the rising and falling tides. <\/p>\n This type of engraving consists of small hollows, no more than 20 centimeters deep, carved in the rocks with a concave shape. Sometimes, when the dippers are close to the sea, they can be confused with those that are molded in a natural way by the prolonged erosive action of a pebble on the rock. <\/p>\n If anything characterizes Puerto Lajas is the small terraces of living stone on its coastline, the origin of its toponymy. Several historians and archaeologists, including Antonia Perera Betancor, argue that these “slabs” were made intentionally by the mahos. They constituted a small quarry from which they extracted long and narrow stones, which they later used to make the lintels of their houses. <\/p>\n This idea is not negligible, because a few meters inland, there are still remains of an aboriginal settlement that corroborate the stable presence of indigenous people in this coastal enclave.<\/p>\n After the Franco-Norman conquest and the disappearance of the aboriginal settlements, the Castilian settlers continued to make use of various “infrastructures” and traditions left by the Mahos. Among them are the “oteaderos”, observation points on the coast used for surveillance and defense of the territory. <\/p>\n The watchtower that watched over Puerto Lajas was located on the mountain of Timanaire, from where this stretch of the leeward coast was visually dominated.<\/p>\n Puerto Lajas already appears in Torriani’s map of 1592, named as “Puerto de Lajas cala”. However, due to its small size, the lack of drinking water and its proximity to Puerto Cabras, which concentrated the main port functions of the area, this enclave was relegated to being a secondary port. In fact, it is not mentioned in the island’s Cabildo Agreements, which reflects its scarce institutional relevance in comparison with other ports on the island. <\/p>\n This condition as a minor port conditioned its historical development, keeping it as a small fishing and artisanal nucleus on the margins of the large commercial flows.<\/p>\n As for the cereal world, as a silent witness of a flourishing industry, the Puerto Lajas mill remains standing. This mill was owned by Antonio Alonso. It was originally located in the center of town, but a few years later it was moved to its current location, a little further south, a place with greater wind circulation. <\/p>\n This mill represents the importance of the cereal tradition in the economy of Puerto Lajas, which combined fishing activities with the processing of grain for the production of gofio.<\/p>\n Regarding the “drinking” water of Puerto Lajas, there is a curious reference. The French Joseph Pitard and Louis Proust, in the early twentieth century, on his visit to Fuerteventura, noted that the residents of Puerto Lajas: <\/p>\n “They have built around their house small holes in the ground, covered with a stone carved in the shape of a bucket, so that they do not let a single drop of rain escape when it decides to fall”.<\/em><\/p>\n These reservoirs, known as maretas, used to be communal in nature. They constituted an ingenious solution for the collection and storage of rainwater in a territory without permanent sources, allowing the stable settlement of the population in this coastal enclave that lacked drinking water. <\/p>\n The industry of this small coastal town was mainly cereal and lime. There are still remains of lime kilns in Puerto Lajas, testimony of a traditional industrial activity that reached its peak in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. <\/p>\n The lime produced in these kilns was essential for the traditional majorera construction, being used both for the mortar and for the characteristic whitewashing of the houses. The presence of lime kilns in Puerto Lajas, together with those of Puertito de Los Molinos, is evidence of the importance of this industry on the coast of the capital municipality. <\/p>\n The patron saint festivities of Puerto Lajas are celebrated on October 12, in honor of the Virgen del Pino, patron saint also of the diocese of the Canary Islands. The devotion to the Virgen del Pino in Puerto Lajas comes from very old. <\/p>\n The carving of the Virgin of Nuestra Se\u00f1ora del Pino that today shelters the hermitage of Puerto Lajas has a curious history. It was commissioned to the sculptor Jos\u00e9 Armas Medina in 1946 for the city of Sidi Ifni, a Spanish colony at that time. This image was to be a copy of the carving of Our Lady of the Pine that is venerated in the sanctuary of Teror, in Gran Canaria. Carved in wood and polychrome, Jos\u00e9 Armas charged 7,500 pesetas for his work. <\/p>\n When the territory of Sidi Ifni was transferred to Morocco, the Virgen del Pino was taken to Fuerteventura in 1965 and enthroned in Puerto Lajas, replacing another image that was venerated since the 40s of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n Why, if the patron saint of Puerto Lajas is the Virgen del Pino (whose feast day is in September), are her festivities not celebrated in that month? The answer is simple and curious. The parish priest Leonila Molina, the architect of these festivities being celebrated on October 12, thought that the image brought from the former colony belonged to the Virgen del Pilar, whose feast day is on October 12. So the parish priest went ahead with his idea: that, at the end of the festivities of Puerto del Rosario (around October 11), the festivities of Puerto Lajas would begin, whether it was the day of the Pino or not. <\/p>\n The hermitage was paid for by the residents of the village and inaugurated on October 12, 1966. This temple, built by popular subscription, represents an example of community collaboration to provide the village with the necessary religious services. <\/p>\n The patron saint festivities of Puerto Lajas, celebrated around October 12, are a moment of encounter, devotion and celebration that reinforces the collective identity of the town.<\/p>\n Puerto Lajas belonged, in its beginnings, to the municipality of Tetir, one of the traditional municipalities of Fuerteventura that grouped several rural areas of the interior and north coast of the island.<\/p>\n It was incorporated into the municipality of Puerto del Rosario (then called Puerto Cabras) on June 24, 1925, even before the administrative reorganization of 1926 that involved the dissolution of the municipality of Casillas del \u00c1ngel. This early incorporation into the capital municipality determined its later development, linking it administratively to the growing urban center of Puerto Cabras. <\/p>\n Puerto Lajas treasures a rich natural heritage, both of marine fossils and avifauna. A great variety of migratory birds come to this part of the coast to feed, making the enclave a point of interest for ornithology lovers. <\/p>\n The cliffs and the coastal strip preserve fossil remains that bear witness to the island’s geological history and the changes in sea level over the millennia.<\/p>\n One of the most serious aggressions suffered by the Puerto Lajas coastline was the extraction of sand from its seabed – not to say plundered – which was taken to Morocco for the construction of various infrastructures. This activity caused significant ecological and landscape damage, the consequences of which still persist. <\/p>\n Today, Puerto Lajas is a popular destination for residents and visitors alike. The cove, sheltered and with calm waters, is ideal for swimming. The wind conditions make it a suitable place for surfing and windsurfing. <\/p>\n The promenade, with its restaurants and beach bars, allows you to enjoy the local gastronomy in front of the sea, with fresh fish as protagonist.<\/p>\n The tranquility of the town, together with its historical and natural wealth, makes it an ideal place to disconnect, stroll, watch the sunsets and immerse yourself in the history of a coast that was the point of arrival of the first settlers of the island.<\/p>\n Puerto Lajas represents a fascinating example of the long history of the majorera coast. From the first mahos who landed in its shallows more than two millennia ago, through the Castilian settlers who used its watchtowers and coves, to the fishermen and vacationers of today, this enclave has maintained a close relationship with the sea and its resources. <\/p>\n The petroglyphs and the flagstone quarry testify to the presence and ingenuity of the ancient settlers. The watchtower of Timanaire speaks of the need for surveillance and defense of the territory. The maretas, the lime kilns and the mill reflect a diversified economy – fishing, agriculture and industry – adapted to the conditions of a secondary but active port. And the hermitage and its curious history reflect the faith, the memory and the capacity of a community to build its own spaces of identity. <\/p>\n In its rocks with cups, in its mill, in its lime kilns, in its chapel, in its maretas and in the memory of its people, Puerto Lajas continues to write its history, that long history that began when the first mahos sighted its shores from their boats and that, transformed but not extinguished, is still alive in this small cove on the leeward coast of Fuerteventura.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Puerto Lajas: seafaring tradition, lime kilns and aboriginal footprint on the leeward coast An approach to the long history of a coastal village Puerto Lajas is a small coastal town located on the leeward coast of the municipality of Puerto del Rosario, about 3 kilometers north of the island’s capital. This quiet fishing village allows 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Maho territory: first contact and aboriginal footprint<\/h2>\n
A point of arrival of ancient mahos<\/h3>\n
Cave engravings: channels and cups<\/h3>\n
The “lajas”: an aboriginal quarry<\/h3>\n
The watchtower of Timanaire: coastal surveillance<\/h2>\n
Puerto Lajas in the historical cartography<\/h2>\n
The Puerto Lajas mill: cereal industry<\/h2>\n
The tide gates: water catchment systems<\/h2>\n
Lime kilns: industrial heritage<\/h2>\n
The hermitage and the devotion to the Virgin del Pino<\/h2>\n
The origins of the devotion<\/h3>\n
An image with history: from Sidi Ifni to Puerto Lajas<\/h3>\n
The origin of the date October 12<\/h3>\n
The Hermitage<\/h3>\n
Administrative assignment: from Tetir to Puerto del Rosario<\/h2>\n
Natural heritage: marine fossils and avifauna<\/h2>\n
Sand mining<\/h2>\n
Puerto Lajas today: tradition and modernity<\/h2>\n
Historical continuity and territorial memory<\/h2>\n