Our stop on October 19th was in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. This island is a moonscape with 320 volcanic cones. It’s white adobe type homes resemble Santorini. The influence came from Cesar Manrique a German artist and architect. They say blue front doors are painted on homes by the sea, green doors are paired by homes around the city and brown doors are painted by homes in the country. Grapes that are grown here are grown in a circle where they are wrapped around and the water puddles. A large unique cactus garden is here with over 4500 species from over four countries. Another product garbed here is aloe for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. The island of Lanzarote is 35 miles long. The climate seems almost perfect. Power is produced by wind turbines, solar and then diesel generators. Desalination plants provide water but people are extremely conservative. Many still collect what little rain water that falls. From this port we are 150 miles to Morocco.
The word Lanzarote means “reef”. The town most definitely has a Mediterranean feel to it; surrounded by a lagoon or Charco as they call it. A lovely waterfront allows one to stroll and take in the serenity and beauty. The pedestrian walkway is the Calle Leon y Castillo or Main Street. Often you will hear tourists refer to this destination as the Venice of the Atlantic. A Unesco geological area is situated here with the longest volcanic tunnel in the world! It is slightly longer than 4 miles long. (Cuerva de Los Verdes). Another attraction to visitors is the Timanfaya National Park which is part of the biosphere park being 20 sq miles. The Fire Mountains can bubble with temperatures up to 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. Another major resort area is Playa Grande along the southern coastline whic boasts of more amenities. As might be expected the
main employment here is tourism.
Plans for this port stop were Snorkling with the Lanzarote Dive Center. Our tour leader was Ruth Macy but she tested positive for COVID and therefore had miss the tour and choose another leader. The information we received said we would snorkel from a boat and have a beach available to us plus a buffet lunch. Note to self: really investigate what is promised. Our good traveling companions Chuck and Betsy bowed out on this trip as they weren’t feeling well. So we had about 12 people. The pickup point was outside the direct port area. It was a bit confusing. Eight people went in taxis and then four of us in a smaller van with the instructor. She was a very nice German lady who trained as an interpreter and taught previously at the college level. She told us she raised her two children here on the island as a single mother coming 30 years ago. She had owned a scuba company but recently sold it and now just helps out. As we drove with her the moonscape of the area was stark. Very few trees or plants were to be found. The area was very clean and well taken care of. Our instructor told us the people are very progressive and broad minded and that fit a single woman it was the perfect place to live and a paradise for raising children.
We were able to pull right in to the dive center but the taxis left the others about half a mile away. We soon realized we would all have to wear wet suits because the water is not warm. This is not the place to dive in our estimation. Imagine 12 older folks struggling into wetsuits! Not a pretty picture at all. Further more there was no boat to take us out on. And no beach! We walked a half mile to a rocky rough area with no and, just boulders and gravel. Many folks were challenged to get into the water. Dan helped me and with our full face masks we did fine. We stayed together and saw a few fish but the waters were murky. We were never to far from the shore and stayed within the suggested barrier.
After about 45 minutes of Snorkling we headed back to the center to strip off our suits with lots of help from others and then have a snack …. Not really a buffet :). The highlight I think of the day was tasting the Honey Rum!!!! It is local and made in the Canaries. It’s very smooth like tequila with no burn. And a deal at 6 Euros a bottle!!! I’ll be looking for that back in the states an you should too 😎.
Starting the wetsuit challenge!
Hard to see but we are half way up with suits!
All the white homes which mostly are rentals for tourists.
I think I’m going to make it!!
Our instructor with Dan who is loaded with our “stuff”.
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