A friend recently told me that you are close to enlightenment when animals start to appear in your life. I did not know this fun fact, but someone is certainly close to enlightenment after the experience my friends and I had this past weekend.

Living in Fuerte for almost 8 months now, I can’t believe I haven’t yet visited the iconic Arco de Las Peñitas. However, I’m glad I saved this experience as something to look forward to.

If you don ‘t know…Fuerteventura is the land of goats. The capital, Puerto del Rosario (Port of Rosario) used to be named Puerto de Cabras (Port of Goats) Honestly, I want to be reincarnated as a goat in Fuerteventura. They are the happiest and chillest creatures, spend all day in the sun, and give zero fs;  my spirit animal, truly. Whilst en route to Las Peñitas, a cohort of the aforementioned goats descended from the mountain we were driving on, plopping themselves right in the middle of the road. They leisurely made their way to the side of the road, but remained very close to our car in a staring-competition sort of way. 

Goats weren’t the only animals we encountered on our drive. We took a pit stop at the Mirador de Betancuria, which I have stopped at quite a few times, and we saw the most beautiful crows (sounds weird, I know…but hear me out). I’ve seen these crows every single time I’ve stopped at the overlook since I arrived here in the fall. I always see just two crows, and I’m convinced that only these two crows live on the island. Usually, crows give me the ick (I think of the time my childhood dog chomped down on one in our backyard). But let me tell you…these crows are different…man, they are pretty. The overlook is about a thirty minute drive from our final destination, but guess who was in the parking lot to greet us when we arrived?…yep, TWO black crows. 

We were also greeted in the parking lot by a black lab, probably no older than 2 years old. She came hurtling towards us, and I embraced her with open arms (probably not the best tactic when an unfamiliar dog approaches you), but I just couldn’t resist. We named her Betty. Betty was not a stray. She had a collar, and we think she came from the stand alone house by the parking lot. We let her come along on our journey, or more accurately, she let us come along on hers. The Arco de Las Peñitas is situated in the Barranco de Las Peñitas, and it is not the easiest thing to find if you don’t know where to look. In fact, we took the wrong path on our way up to the arc. Betty, being the local she is, knew exactly where we wanted to go and guided us in the exact direction of the arc. When we took our little detour, Betty forged a different path and patiently waited for us in the correct spot as we realized our mistake. After Betty guided us to the part of the trail that was unclimbable for a canine, we said our goodbyes, and she set off in the direction of home. 

The Arco de Las Peñitas was as beautiful as I imagined, but I think my favorite part of the experience has to be all the unexpected animal interactions.