Around Lanzarote

Timeless
Fri 15 Nov 2013 10:46

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.