Day 5: Lanzarote

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This was really a cool day! We hiked around the volcanic land of Lanzarote. This is a small island - 12 x 33 miles and most of it is covered in volcanic rock. Apparently, the island was very fertile farmland until the mid 1700s when the volcano errputed and covered much of the land in lava. The outer regions of the island are covered in a fine rocky soil that is really very fertile. They grow grapes for wine, among other things here.

Our guide Antonio was very knowledgeable of the region and the geography. We drove about 1/2 hour from Accerife, where we docked, to the Timanfaya National Park. We hiked for 3 hours through varied terrain - course sand, flat rock, and sharp loose shale. We climbed up and down and hiked the flats ended up at the top of a volcanivic creator. It was one of the most amazing desolate landscapes I have ever seen.

After the hike Antonio dropped us off in town so we could have a stroll and some lunch before heading back to the ship. He recommended a little restaurant on the corner for good tapas and we were not disappointed! The best calamari - and probably the freshest - we'd ever had in addition to local goat cheese that had been cubed and lightly fried in oil. Top that off with a couple of the cold local cervaezas, friendly service, and not another tourist in site and we were happy happy.

We returned to the boat and had some time before dinner, so we changed into our swim suits and found a couple of deck chairs in the sun. After a little sun-time, we dressed for dinner and arrived at our table for to find that our friends had gotten birthday flowers for and anniversary flowers for David and Margaret (their 30th). We finished up the evening listening some music in one of the lounges and feeling very, very lucky. A very happy 50th birthday indeed!!

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