Lanzarote and the Museum of the Deep

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Geo: 28.8634, -13.8273

Farewell to Lanzarote for the third and final (?) time.

Our 3 months in Lanzarote has flown by and on Sunday 2nd April we return to the UK to stay with Anna for a couple of days before collecting Astrid from store.



Each time we return it is like coming home despite the change of people on the complex. The furnishings in the house are the same, just a tad more rusty than previously, the umbrellas in need of repair or replacement and the complex needs a touch of tlc but having said that it is in one of the best positions in Playa Blanca with views to the Papagayo beaches one way and an easy walk into the small town the other way. Given the increased demand for accommodation here it is also good value. Now that holiday makers are avoiding Egypt and North Africa more and more people are coming out to the Canaries for some winter warmth.


If you would like to see more photographs of Playa Blanca you could look back to Blog 44 but I am writing this short blog to include a few new pictures.



When Richard visited us in Queensland he introduced us to the pleasures of online Scrabble. Jim and I have become addicted and often play each other in the evening as well as still playing against Richard. I hasten to add it is not always a pleasure as I am sure Jim has found a way of hacking into the game to ensure I only receive vowels. There is nothing more soul destroying than managing to play 3 (of 7) vowels after hours of concentration only to have them replaced immediately by another 3!

On a more constructive note I have been working hard on Spanish and seem to have had a minor breakthrough. I am starting to hear the words spoken to me whereas previously it was one long unrecognisable blur. It is almost as if someone has tuned the radio for me. Marie Claire who lives in Las Moreras has given me a couple of lessons each week which has been fun .


I am including some photographs of Los Hervideros, the Boiling Pots, where the lava cooled as it hit the sea many years ago. It has a structure something like a half eaten Crunchie Bar (for those who can remember them), full of holes and tunnels through which the sea surges especially when there is a strong wind and high tide. Some of our visitors have viewed the 'Pots' in calm seas so I thought you might like to see the wilder side.



However the main reason for this blog was to share the experience I had diving the Museo Atlantico, the first underwater contemporary art museum in Europe and the Atlantic. It is a set of art installations by Jason de Caires Taylor positioned in the bay just offshore from Las Moreras. The sandy bottom is relatively flat at a maximum depth of 16 metres and an ideal place to locate the exhibits. The sculptures, some quite macabre, are designed to prompt thought about issues such as our shared responsibility for the migrant crisis and the role large corporations and business men play in damaging the planet. It is thought provoking but will also develop mini reefs as marine life takes advantage of new homes. Already it is possible to see how the first sculptures put in place just a year ago are covered with life and this contrasts with some of the installations that are composed of numerous dead human bodies.



It is an amazing dive, fascinating, eerie and other worldly. One installation is a large group of people walking across the sandy bottom, out into the deeper ocean through shoals of fish, disappearing into the distance like ghosts. On a lighter note there are also sculptures of fantastic trees. There are more photographs on the Museo Atlantico site.

The dive itself is easy but for some reason we had to do a long surface fin to and from the boat which was exhausting as the sea was choppy with quite strong currents. Other boats seem to avoid this by mooring at the buoys but my guide said that was not allowed and there were no other boats there at the time. There is a 'ticket office' boat on site to collect tickets and monitor divers.

My guide took the photographs but unfortunately missed the two very large stone fish sitting on top of bodies.

We only have some packing and cleaning to do before Sunday and then it is time to prepare for a new adventure in Canada and Alaska.

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