Lanzarote Holiday - Part 2

So, the first day we rented our yellow tin can, Lynn and I headed to the northern part of Lanzarote. Our first stop was at the very northern tip ... Mirador Del Rio - one of Lanzorate's most spectacular panoramas. It is a gorgeous viewing area where you look out over to the island of La Graciosa - the view was stunning at an altitude of 475 metres. From there we headed to Cueva de los Verdes, which is part of a spectacular system of underground grottoes. It is one of the longest volcanic galleries in the world (6 km). We took an hour tour underground in this huge tunnel/cave created by volcanic eruptions between 3 and 5 thousand years ago. Our last stop was at Los Jameos del Agua, which is very similar to Cueva de los Verdes - another volcanic tunnel created by the eruption of La Corona Volcano. It was a lovely spot with beautiful palm trees surrounding a beautiful blue pool - made you want to jump in!

As we headed back to Puerto del Carmen, we decided to stop off in a tiny harbor village called Puerto Calero, which a couple of Lynn's friends had recommended we see. There was some sort of international boating regatta going on that week, so the place was hoppin' with sailors (not the military kind). Reminded me a little bit of Newport Beach. We stopped into a little cafe for a snack - our first taste of Canary Potatoes, which were superb! They are like new potatoes and are served with two types of yummy sauces - they went down well with a glass of rose wine. A wonderful end to a brilliant day!

October Holiday in Lanzarote

First off, my apologies for the delay in getting another posting up. The month of October flew by and now we are almost in the middle of November already! Part of what kept me busy in October was the fact that Lynn had 2 weeks off - so we took advantage and spent a week in Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. When we were trying to decide where to go, we asked some of Lynn's friends where we could be the most guaranteed to experience warm weather and sunshine - the resounding response was to head to Lanzarote. And they were right! We had beautiful sunshine every day (except the day we left) and temperatures in the 70s and 80s. It felt like being back in So California! Wearing shorts and sleeveless tops again were just what I needed. It was the perfect holiday destination for us after a relatively non-existent summer in Scotland.

We were staying at a hotel just outside of Puerto del Carmen, which is on the south side of the island on the coast. Our first night we were in a less than desirable room - on the ground floor next to a heavily used walkway and our balcony looked out on to another section of the hotel. Thankfully we were given the option to upgrade to one of their suites the following night, and I think we ended up with one of the best rooms in the entire hotel. Top floor, at the west end of the hotel, looking out on to the beach. We loved just hanging out on our balcony, reading books, soaking up the sun/view, sipping a wine/beer ... it was marvelous!

Many people go to Lanzarote to sit by the pool or on the beach all day to work on their tans ... but that wasn't the way Lynn and I wanted to spend our time. We wanted to experience the island and what it had to offer. One day we rented bikes and rode to the capital city of Arrecife along the coastal boardwalk. Two other days we rented a car - well, I think it was a car ... it was a Chevy and felt like we were riding in a tin can on wheels! But, hey, it got us from point A to point B without any issues on very little petrol.

In the interest of being able to post more photos, I'm going to create two more blog entries of the 2 days of exploring Lanzarote via the rental car ... stay tuned for the next entry ...