Lanzarote
John
& I are falling for this island.
The
landscapes, the volcanic region, the colour of its mountains, its architecture,
the great sunsets, the careful planning of desert plants and palm trees and the
understated town of Arrecife - the charms of Lanzarote.
We have
hired a car for the whole time we are here. We have now driven around most of
Lanzarote. The Spanish people are by nature a very friendly, respectful and
helpful people, which we continue to see on this island too. The food is also good quality bearing in
mind that this is an island.
There is currently a Saturday market with
farmers’ produce, which is excellent.
However, now the season is changing to
winter the farmers do not have so much to offer.
Marina Lanzarote
is in the capitol city of Lanzarote, Arrecife.
It is a delightful
‘real’ town full of charm. The main centre is only a pleasant 5 minute walk from
the marina and caters more to local people and business activity rather than
tourists.
Except for when the cruise liners come in. Then all bets are
off!
As you
walk towards the town from our marina you see a beautiful lagoon full of
brightly coloured fishing boats that become land locked when the tide goes out.
This area has lots of great ‘Tapa’ bars and restaurants.
The main street is
full of the usual designer shops but there are also bars with tables
outside. There is always a buzz of
people enjoying their lunch in the sun. The market square has a lovely church
and is a great meeting place for the locals.
The promenade walk by the
seaside of two miles length is picturesque with more boats moored in the bay and
the castle of San Gabriel with its canons is stunning. Freestanding statues by the famous
Lanzarote architect ‘Cesar Manrique’ are found all over town. At the end of the promenade are two nice
beaches though we haven’t had a chance to use them.
Please excuse our
mess while we refurbish!
We are
very happy to be staying in the marina
- even though there is a lot of a construction on the main buildings and
very basic facilities as yet. The pontoons are ‘almost’ finished and the staff
is excellent. Ha! Not a day goes by without the power going down!
There are
actually two other flashy marinas on Lanzarote ‘Porto Calero’ and ‘Rubicon’ that
are suitable for our boat. Both marinas have great facilities but they are not
part of an old city like Arrecife.
Driving
Around.
The
drive to the North of the island from Arrecife is picturesque with peek a boo
sightings of the sea. We had a lovely lunch in the small village of Arrieta.
From
here we drove to Haria with its abundant and exuberant palm trees on our way to
Mirador Del Rio. The furthest point you can drive. There is an amazing balcony
that has been built over the Famara Cliffs giving you a stunning view of the
island of La Graciosa, which we had sailed past on our way here.
As we were leaving here a French man
was looking for a lift back to Arrecife.
Although he hardly spoke any English and our French is non existent we
agreed to give him a lift. It
turned out that not only was he going to Arrecife he was just one pontoon away
from ‘Timeless’ at the marina!
The
drive to the south of the island is mainly highway.
There are beach resorts
on the way, which are geared up for English and European tourists. Marina Puerto del Calero and Marina
Rubicon with their designer shops are in this area. Rubicon is really sheltered from the
weather being on the southern tip of the island. From here you can get a ferry
to Fuerteventura. This area is too touristic for us.
Our next
drive took us to the Timanfaya National Park – The Volcano!
Visitors
enter on the southwest side of the island.
The road leading to the park area has been cut through the lava
field. The landscape even after the last eruption in 1736 is barren – like
REALLY barren.
Access
to the park is strictly regulated to protect the delicate flora and fauna. Visitors tour the volcanic area by
special guided coaches.
Volcanic
activity continues.
The temperature in the core still ranges from 100 to 600C
at a depth of only 13 meters and tourists are given demonstrations by one of the
many attendants. Our guide poured water into the small hole in the ground
resulting in a geyser of steam bursting out of the ground many meters high!
Timanfaya volcano is still active and well thank you.
The
visits are well organized. We decided to eat lunch in their circular glass
restaurant. Here they have a large volcanic pit and they literally barbecue your
food with the volcanic heat source - very tasty!
The west
side of the island has a more dramatic coastline.
There are hardly any roads on that
side. We were surprised to find a tiny, simple fishing harbour in the tiny town
of La Santa. There were just three
fishing boats pulled up on the hard and the waves were crashing in the entrance
- no chance of them moving out most days! Definitely not today! The sky was greyish with streams of
sunlight bursting through the dark clouds. A beautiful area and wild! There is Big surf here and it is a
favorite for water sports.
We ate
lunch at ‘Restaurant Verde Mar’.
Run by ‘Debbie’ an English woman. Her food
was the best we have eaten on Lanzarote (except of course for Chez Timeless
cuisine ).
We are certainly coming back here again.