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During September the island of Fuerteventura celebrated one of its most important annual festivals.

The Romeria de La Pena festival, or fiesta of Our Lady of the Rock, started with a procession around different places on the island before arriving in Vega de Rios Palmas, in the centre of the island, where music, food and dancing welcomed the attendees. This festival takes place annually on the third Saturday in September, which this year fell on the 19th September. The residents of Fuerteventura certainly know how to put on a festival and this year was no different with the usual colourful national dress, flags and banners decorating the streets and a big choice of special culinary delights. Other highlights included traditional dances that have been passed down from generation to generation, largely through the vehicle that these festivals provide.

The Virgen de la Pena is the patron saint of Fuerteventura and this festival ranks equally in importance with the Fiesta de San Buenaventura, which celebrates another of the island's patron saints. Both celebrations are similar in style and significance to the annual carnival, which happens earlier in the year. The dates for the main Fuerteventura Carnival depend on the timing of Easter and are expected to be 8th to 14th March in 2010, but just about every town and village on the island holds its own version of carnival during the first four months of the year, so there are plenty of opportunities for tourists to experience the occasion. The Fuerteventura carnival may be smaller than its more famous counterparts in Rio or New Orleans, but it's no less colourful or exciting.