For five weeks we visit Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands, which in contrast to the Azores has a desert-like volcanic landscape. The weather is always pleasantly warm, not too hot, but with the wind always blowing, the temperature sometimes feels quite fresh. We are accommodated in Playa Blanca in a pretty villa. We enjoy the sweet idleness by the pool and deal with our future travel planning: the Panamericana is finally to start in spring.
Playa Blanca is in the very south, but you can reach all corners of the island within an hour.
On Lanzarote, you will often meet the artist and landscape architect César Manrique, who has designed some worth seeing tourist facilities and sculptures, many of them in the north.
The North
There are four very worthwhile destinations here.
Mirador del Rio: a beautifully designed (by Manrique), spectacular viewpoint on the island of Graciosa.
Cueva de los Verdes: an impressive lava flow cave, which was formed by the volcano Monte Corona. The cave can only be visited with a guided tour and a surprise awaits the spectator towards the end of the tour.
Right next door is the Jameos del Agua another cave with a lake, a beautifully designed restaurant and a dream pool.
Jardin de Cactus: this beautiful garden with an incredible number of cacti was of course created by Manrique.
In Haria we visit the last residence (great architecture) of the artist Manrique which has been converted into a small museum worth seeing.
The centre
We visit the pretty town of Teguise twice: once to explore the small town with its beautiful alleys, many shops and pubs, and a second time to visit the Sunday market where mainly local handicrafts are offered.
The Fundacion César Manrique is another residence of the artist. Here, too, you can enjoy great architecture, where sometimes a tree grows in the living room or the solidified lava flows in through the window.
LagOmar is a magnificent villa built on and in the lava rock with a huge garden. Omar Sharif fell in love with this villa while filming in Lanzarote, bought it and immediately lost it again to the real estate agent in a bridge game.
The South
The Timanfaya National Park in the Fire Mountains is a must-see. At the visitor centre, buses take you through this unique, colourful volcanic landscape.
A little outside, you can go by camel to the Fire Mountains (you won't find us in the photo).
We particularly like the wine-growing area 'La Geria'. The vines are planted in large funnels in the lava sand and protected with stone walls. This landscape looks great. The wine itself is less so. Nevertheless, it is worth having a glass at a winegrower's in the middle of this unreal area.
In El Golfo you can marvel at the absolutely green lagoon and the sculpture-like rocks. It is worth going there after midday to see the lagoon beautifully illuminated.
We do a worthwhile circular hike around the Caldera Colorada and immediately take a detour up to the crater (afterwards we learn that this is forbidden).
The Laguna de Janubio is a saltworks, which offers a beautiful photo subject from above at various vantage points.
Playa Blanca has a beautifully designed new harbour with many restaurants and shops.
We take a hike from the end of the town eastwards to the Papagayo beaches. There are secluded bays and beautiful views of the sea and the coast.
Of course, our house volcano must not be missed: easy hike from Playa Blanca to the crater with a magnificent view in all directions. Towards the end of our stay, we go up the mountain every morning before breakfast.
Finally, many roundabouts on the island are extremely beautifully designed. Here are our two favourite ones.
This one is huge, so Thomas had to use the drone.
Now it's back to Switzerland for a few days and the next contribution will come from Mauritius. We are looking forward to it.
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