Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

Lanzarote, Canary Islands – Apr 18

Day 7 with no voice, but it is starting to feel like it wants to come back. I turned to say something to Greg at lunch and it came out a HONK. He turns to me and says “you honked at me!” I laughed so hard it sent me into quite a honking coughing fit. (not pretty)

What a great day we had in Lanzarote. It really was like we landed on another planet. Angela with ToursByLocals https://www.toursbylocals.com/ was our guide and she was very flexible and arranged our day perfectly. Very knowledgeable and honest about life on the Island.

they had quite a few cute statues in the traffic circles

El Golfo

We started with a stop at Green Lake in the crater of a volcano that was formed during the powerful eruptions that took place between 1730 and 1736 that has been partially invaded by the sea. The large amounts of a special algae create the green color which is quite a contrast with the blue ocean. The Green Lagoon of El Golfo is also a fishing Village.

short hike to Green Lake

Green Lake (in a Volcano crater)

Next, we visited the National Park of Timanfaya, with the route of the volcanoes. Covering over 12,600 acres, this lunar landscape looks much like it did after violent volcanic eruptions spewed chunks of molten lava over the entire area.

arrival Timafaya National Park

We started with a few demonstrations. First, we held some very hot lava pieces. Then, went to see another area that was all heat and it came up under the restaurant above it. Angela said when she was young her mom would bring them there and cook their meals on the grate and picnic. It’s not allowed now; the site is much too busy with tourists. Angela got us to the front of every line which saved us a ton of time.

he took some of the hot lava for us to hold

The restaurant is built around a volcano and they cook the food over the hot lava that's about 6 ft below this is a grate outside where people used to come to camp and cookout.

video of the "blow" will be added later

El Diablo Restaurant built around a volcano

you could feel the heat - where they cooked the food

inside the restaurant

another group waiting to hold the hot lava rocks as long as they can

We then had some free time before driving the route of the volcanoes. She could slow down and even stop for a bit, but we weren’t allowed out of the vehicle. Just awesome colors and formations. Angela played music that enhanced our volcano viewing drive.

start of the driving tour

cars waiting to get into the park (it was full)

El Diablo Restaurant

longer line of cars to get into the park (it was full)

After that we took a camel safari through the park for around 30 minutes. We have ridden camels before but had never sat on seats on either side of the camel. What a blast! We were in a long caravan, and we had the first position and Tom & Cathy were behind us. Their camel seemed fixated on me. His head was right us next to mine for most of the trip. He was a noisy breather and I asked if he needed a decongestant spray. Roberta & John opted not to ride, and John got some great video of all of us. We could turn around and get photos of Tom & Cathy and the camel guy took our photos. It was the highlight of the day for some of us. Video will come later.....

me checking out our camel

me

What?

Greg & Tom

Cathy checking out their camel

Greg & Tom 

Greg (Tom in the background)

Their camel was "touchy"

they load the front last - the people a few camels back from us

Tom & Cathy's turn 

getting strapped in

Off we go! Our camel was the lead camel

Cathy & Tom behind us

our camel guy leading our camel

we passed other groups coming back

the "Iowa Farmers" 3rd from the back & front

Cathy took this photo of us and it looks like their camel is wearing Greg's hat

their camel also seemed to want his face next to mine

Seriously?

almost at the end of the ride

some last photos before we leave

We left Timanfaya National Park for the vine-growing region of La Geria. We stopped for a photo op here, but she said that due to a bad weather year last year, the wine wasn’t that good, so we skipped the tasting. It was very interesting to see how they grow crops here with deep circles to collect what little rain they get surrounded by lava walls to block the wind.

La Geria

grapevines for wine making

We stopped for a wonderful lunch which our guide suggested by the water at El Lago in Punta Mujeres. It was windy and cool outside, so we moved indoors to have lunch. Greg had the fish of the day platter, and I had garlic prawns and garlic bread. Dessert for us was chocolate mousse. YUM to all.

lunch - El Lago Restaurante in Punta Mujeres

garlic shrimp

grilled fish

dessert

inside the restaurant

view from the restaurant

The route then took us north, to visit Jameos del Agua which is a massive open-air cavern that is part of a four-mile long volcanic tunnel that was formed by molten lava after the eruption of the La Corona volcano 3,000 years ago. Due to the pressure built up by volcanic gases, the tunnel collapsed and developed openings in the solidified lava. These openings were discovered in 1968 and, based upon an idea by Manrique, were turned into a tropical garden, a pool, a bar and a 600-seat concert venue. We saw only a small portion of the tunnel that is open to the public and of course it’s a mix of natural and made-made beauty. These tiny albino crabs are in the water, and it was quite pleasant in there with atmospheric music. She gave us an hour to explore here. It really was a great day with a mix of such different things to experience.

Jameos del Agua

reflection shot in the water

albino crab

albino crab in the water

light through the ceiling of the cave

entry to concert venue

We had some time left and Angela noticed we enjoyed seeing the cactus at La Geria, so she took us to a beautiful cactus garden for about 20 minutes before we had to return to Arrecife. 

Located in Guatiza, municipality of Teguise, El Jardín de Cactus is the last great work of César Manrique in Lanzarote, a fascinating creation that houses about 4,500 specimens of cactus of about 500 species from five continents. The artist chose an old deposit used as a landfill in an agricultural area of extensive cactus plantations dedicated to the cultivation of cochineal, thus representing the rehabilitation of a place of great landscape value on the island in a state of neglect.

There are also many sculptures made of volcanic stone and basaltic monoliths turned into sculptures. Also, some very interesting bathroom signs. 

The Jardín de Cactus in Guatiza

bathrooms at the cactus garden

magnet

magnet

trinket

We were back to the ship on time, and we commented that it was a great ending to all of our private tours together on this voyage. Nice to end on a high note!

We had dinner at the buffet and went to see the comedian Keith Bender and he was quite funny.

Tomorrow, we visit our last port of La Palma.

Lanzarote, Canary Islands https://photos.app.goo.gl/tRLvBsPuFXMdsgZz6

video will follow

Birds seen:

Common Raven

Little Egret

Rock Pigeon