We have returned from the Canary Islands, we stayed on the island of Lanzarote ......... so here we go ...
Lanzarote is a volcanic island and was a complete surprise, nothing like I expected, miles and miles and miles of black volcanic rock, black ash and the obvious volcanoe's .... stunning .......this pic was taken in the Timanfaya National Park. During the volcanic eruptions of 1730 and 1824, the most fertile parts iof the island where buried by the mass of lava ...... The "Fire Mountains" are now a huge tourist pull....
The best way to get to the top of the craters is by camel ride ..... here are the camels waiting to take you on a ride to the top (it takes roughly 25 mins)
here we where at El Golfo, from here you can see El Charco de los Clicos, the green lagoon, the bay itself has a stunning cliff egde (scary!) El Golfo is a crater which has been partly worn away by the sea. An emerald green lake is sperated from the sea by a beach, which on the other side, leans against a volcanic cliff. The whole area is a symphony of colours which my little camera does not do justice to!
Dh at the top of the cliff edge.....
and another .....
Now we come to my favourite place - Playa Blanca - lovely ...
In the "old" days it was a fishing village but is now the main tourist centre in the South of the island, with luxury hotels and designer shops....from here you can also get the ferry over to Fuerteventura... the promanade in Playa Blanca is one of the most stunning I have come across in my travels, pics can't really do it justice, it is truly awesome!
Next we went to the Valley of a Thousand Palms... this village set amongst the mountains was breathtaking t say the least, the dirve through the moountains to reach it was also breathtaking literally, the hairpin bends had you praying that you would not meet another car coming the opposite way!
This first pic is of a valley which I had to take a photo of, I am not a lover of heights, the wind was blowing like billyho!, no guardsrails!
Thousand Palms Village ..
Off we go again to the Cactus Gardens ... the work of Ceasar Manrique the most famous of Lanzarotes "sons" he was an artist and architect famous in the 70's, most of the cacti here origniated from Mexico! ... stunning, I could not believe the size of them...
Are you bored yet? .... ok here we go off to the wine growing regions ...La Geria, this is the biggest wine growing area in the Canaries. A hole has been dug for each one of the vines so that they trap moisture from the sea winds which is conserved to a fine layer of sand and ash which the growers deposit at the bottom. The Malvasia (malmsey) wine or Muscatel from the island is sold on the European market as an exotic product...I did not get to taste any!!!! grrrrrrr
The vines are grown through the mountains and the base of the mountains, walls have been built from lava rock that is a sight in itself when you think of the man power and hours to build them all by hand, rather like the dry stone walling of the UK ... nothing is held together with mortar.... an incredible skill......
Last but not least a quick view of the inside of the villa and some odds and ends of other pics for you.
Lava rock at sea levels....
Miles of lava lava lava...
just an odd photo with a mountain and DH ....
There you go, I hope you have enjoyed your sojourn with me.....a week was just not long enough to see everything this lovely Island has to offer and I can't wait to go back for another visit........
Lanzarote is a volcanic island and was a complete surprise, nothing like I expected, miles and miles and miles of black volcanic rock, black ash and the obvious volcanoe's .... stunning .......this pic was taken in the Timanfaya National Park. During the volcanic eruptions of 1730 and 1824, the most fertile parts iof the island where buried by the mass of lava ...... The "Fire Mountains" are now a huge tourist pull....
The best way to get to the top of the craters is by camel ride ..... here are the camels waiting to take you on a ride to the top (it takes roughly 25 mins)
here we where at El Golfo, from here you can see El Charco de los Clicos, the green lagoon, the bay itself has a stunning cliff egde (scary!) El Golfo is a crater which has been partly worn away by the sea. An emerald green lake is sperated from the sea by a beach, which on the other side, leans against a volcanic cliff. The whole area is a symphony of colours which my little camera does not do justice to!
Dh at the top of the cliff edge.....
and another .....
Now we come to my favourite place - Playa Blanca - lovely ...
In the "old" days it was a fishing village but is now the main tourist centre in the South of the island, with luxury hotels and designer shops....from here you can also get the ferry over to Fuerteventura... the promanade in Playa Blanca is one of the most stunning I have come across in my travels, pics can't really do it justice, it is truly awesome!
Next we went to the Valley of a Thousand Palms... this village set amongst the mountains was breathtaking t say the least, the dirve through the moountains to reach it was also breathtaking literally, the hairpin bends had you praying that you would not meet another car coming the opposite way!
This first pic is of a valley which I had to take a photo of, I am not a lover of heights, the wind was blowing like billyho!, no guardsrails!
Thousand Palms Village ..
Off we go again to the Cactus Gardens ... the work of Ceasar Manrique the most famous of Lanzarotes "sons" he was an artist and architect famous in the 70's, most of the cacti here origniated from Mexico! ... stunning, I could not believe the size of them...
Are you bored yet? .... ok here we go off to the wine growing regions ...La Geria, this is the biggest wine growing area in the Canaries. A hole has been dug for each one of the vines so that they trap moisture from the sea winds which is conserved to a fine layer of sand and ash which the growers deposit at the bottom. The Malvasia (malmsey) wine or Muscatel from the island is sold on the European market as an exotic product...I did not get to taste any!!!! grrrrrrr
The vines are grown through the mountains and the base of the mountains, walls have been built from lava rock that is a sight in itself when you think of the man power and hours to build them all by hand, rather like the dry stone walling of the UK ... nothing is held together with mortar.... an incredible skill......
Last but not least a quick view of the inside of the villa and some odds and ends of other pics for you.
Lava rock at sea levels....
Miles of lava lava lava...
just an odd photo with a mountain and DH ....
There you go, I hope you have enjoyed your sojourn with me.....a week was just not long enough to see everything this lovely Island has to offer and I can't wait to go back for another visit........
