Fuerteventura Taxis are some of the best in the area. Always clean and always fast, they are a pleasant and fairly cheap way to get around.
They are usually the best cars on the road, and certainly the ones that hit the best speeds (no matter how legal).
Having spent quite a bit of time in various cities around the world, I can say that the taxis here are by far the best. The cleanest vehicles and the smartest drivers; That being said, I just got in a taxi a moment ago and it was the first rickety taxi I’ve been in since I arrived in Fuerteventura about 6 months ago. But even that is better than taxis both in Moscow and in New York.
Being a regular user of public transport, I have become a bit of a snob when it comes to other modes of travel, I don’t know how to drive and I don’t see the point of walking too much. Oh yes, a walk is fine, but a journey on foot must be rewarded with a good alternative mode of transportation on the return from that same journey; one that doesn’t involve sweat or legs. I am also a keen cyclist but have yet to try it here as the roads and driving across the road scares me a bit. Besides the fact that no one here seems to understand the use of indicators when turning.
Yesterday I was in Corralejo and decided to take some taxis around the town as I had to run some errands. I went to the taxi stand near the Rock Island Bar and found an unfamiliar street a mile away near the port. Giving the driver the address, he just said ok and got me there right away. Very impressed no hassle no wrong turns 10/10. I then stopped another driver and asked him how much back to Caleta, he just smiled at the impending fare he would charge and he started ushering me into the taxi. OK, not so good, I asked for a price, nothing else, so it failed there. One more try, I got into another taxi and asked how much the entrance to the dunes cost. Upon receiving a reasonable estimate of the fee, we left. He did what all taxi drivers do here: seatbelt, small roads, seatbelt on, bigger roads (why not keep it on?). We got to the dunes and the fee was 40c different which I happily paid.
If you were to do a similar experiment in New York, a very different picture would appear, New York is a grid, avenues go up and down, streets intersect, simple. The number of times I’ve taken a cab in New York and the driver reported that he was lost is unbelievable. It’s a grid, how can you miss it!
My last ride for the day would be back south to my house, not a cheap ride and don’t ask for this unless you have a lot of cash (I don’t, but my girlfriend does). I asked to go along the scenic route (the bus follows this same route), along the coast as much as possible. The dunes look almost snowy in the sunlight and for the first time, I felt a bit of Christmas spirit starting to stir. South of here the sand ends abruptly, and this leads to the bushland we’ve all come to know and love, still the ocean view is superb, and I’m in heaven: speeding in a Mercedes Brand new, and the driver has kindly opened all the windows, the music on the stereo is good, and my girlfriend is paying. Perfect.
Fuerteventura taxi drivers, I greet you.