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Published: December 18th 2015
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Wednesday 16th December, 2015. Lanzarote, Canary Islands
We had a posh breakfast and then purchased our shuttle bus tickets. We had to wait until shuttle bus 5 (about an hour) before we could even leave the ship. This was very frustrating as we had lots to do and needed to find a car hire place. We were treated to the crew practising and "Abandon Ship" drill while we were waiting- they even closed all the fire doors. Once the bus arrived in Arrecife D leapt like a gazelle from the shuttle in order to be first in the queue in the pop-up tourist office. We were given a map and directions to the nearest car hire office - which was a good walk away. Arrecife has been the capital of Lanzarote since 1852 and has a population of 50,785 (2003 stats). The main industries here are agriculture and tourism.
We avoided the market by walking around the outside and crossed the bridge at Charco de San Gines which was very picturesque. The ajunctimiento (council) were in the process of ripping up the whole of the waterfront. We picked our way along until (after asking two more locals) we found
the car hire place. We managed to secure a car for 35 euros for the day. We were a bit worried about getting it back with all the works that were going on. When M explained we were on a ship the guy said we could take it back to the port for 5 euros more. Even more irritating was we could have saved the shuttle bus fees and the 5 euros - but more importantly the wait - it was only 10 minutes to the office which was in the next dock along.
We found our way out of Arrecife without a hitch and headed towards Yaiza where we picked up signs for the Timanfaya National Park. This was our priority for today. D had been to Lanzarote before and wanted to show M. When we entered the park we pulled over to the left where there was an information office and hundreds of camels giving rides to tourists up the "Mountain of Fire". The lady in the tourist office explained that we could not walk in the park here without a guide but had to go to the next junction to the entrance to Fire Mountain where
we could take a tour. We arrived at the park entrance and paid our 9 euros and then had to queue to park. Once parked we were herded onto a bus which took us on a circuit called the Volcano Route. It was an interesting, and at times hair-raising, ride on a narrow road amongst the volcanic lava and craters. We had a commentary in Spanish, English and German (no Catlan!). The commentary explained that the sole inhabitants of the volcanic surface are Lichens - which only survive thanks to the trade winds. The most emblematic volcanic cones in the Park are Montana de Timanfaya, Montana Rajada, Caldera del Corazoncillo, Volcan Nuevo del fuego or El Chinero and Calderas Quemadas. After the tour we went to the restaurant where the ground temperatures around can still reach 100-120 degrees C. The restuarant uses this natural heat to cook the food. We saw some chickens being roasted over one of these heat sources. After this we went outside where they were demonstrating the ground surface temperature by throwing bushes into a pit. These bushes instantly burst into flames. The next demonstration of how volcanically active the area still is is when a
guy poured a bucket of water into a tube which went into the ground. Seconds later it spouted out as a geyser of steam! M managed to push the button on the camera at exactly the right time and got some pretty impressive shots. After purchasing the mandatory FM from the tienda we set off to our next destination which was a viewpoint on the north of the island.
This was a lovely drive along the spine of the island through the agricultural area. There were terraces of vines and a very clever method of keeping them watered with semi-circular shaped walls made from volcanic rock. We drove through Teguise and Haria until we reached the Mirador del Rio which looks out from the north coast over the island of La Graciosa. It was unbelievably windy. We took some photos and, fighting against the wind, returned to the car.
Next on our itinerary was the Cueva de los Verdes (Green Caves). M asked how long the tour was and we were told 1 hour. We aborted this as we felt that we did not have time to do it and the next item and get back to the
ship before it left. This made the wasted hour and a half this morning even more irksome. M took a couple of pictures of the cave entrance and we continued to our next stop - Jameos del Agua. This is a grotto, open at both ends, with a small source of natural light from above. Shimmering effects transform the still water of this transparent pool in which thrives a species of small white spider-crab said to be found nowhere else in the world. We could see the crabs in the pool. There were large warning signs everywhere warning the tourist NOT to throw coins into the water. Probably wouldn't do the crabs much good! There was a lovely swimming pool which you weren't allowed to swim in and an auditorium in one of the caves with a small stage.
We returned to the car and drove down through Costa Teguise. We filled the car up with sin plomo and stopped at a wine and cheese bar run by a German lady for a small beer before returing the car to the port. The car hire company even dropped us off at the Braemar which was docked about a ten
minute walk away.
We dined alone as there was an Indonesian Buffet on in the Palms Cafe and our companions had gone there. We went for a post dinner drink at the Coral Club. We stayed on there for the show which was Happy Days with the Braemar Show company. It was a good show with lots of Rock 'n' Roll songs to sing along to.
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