The lodgers in the neighbouring room yakked into the night again, but I got even in the morning. I put on my earplugs before going to bed, set the alarm for half an hour before I really wanted to arise and then ignored its beeps. Not very charitable but satisfying.
It was Sunday so I didn't have to get up early. I reached the markets in Teguise at about 1100. It was full of clothes, craft and toy vendors. It seemed like half of Lanzarote was there. But it was also a tourist attraction. There were quite a few British and German food stalls.
I tasted a few morsels of the local cheese and decided that I liked the mature variety so that was what I would look for the next day in the supermarket.
Then I drove down LZ30, the spine of the island, to Yaiza in the municipality of the same name, and thence to Playa Blanca which I had only glanced at on my way to Corralejo. This was also a touristy place swarming with British and German tourists with more development in the wings.
I spotted these African Grey parrots at one of the harbourside shops. They are very intelligent birds. I've heard a track of one improvising with whistles and clicks to a playback of Egberto Gismonti's composition Loro, which coincidentally, or perhaps not, is Spanish for parrot. I hoped these specimens were well-entertained. They will pluck out their own feathers if bored.
I had a filling set lunch at a Chinese restaurant there, but it was not as good as the one I had on Thursday. I drove up to the high ground at Femés and down again. It was a hot cloudless day and I could see the hot air distorting the distant views. Only the breeze kept me comfortable.
I took a side trip to Puerto Calero. which is more of a marina than a resort, via the coastal road. The development here was of a higher quality than that at Puerto del Carmen, next up the coast. It was probably fortunate that there was not enough space for developers to do horrid things.
Incidentally this picture reminds me that there is cochineal farming in the Canary Islands to produce the dye.
In the evening, I walked through Arrecife looking for a place to satisfy my craving for a hot chocolate but was disappointed not to find one. I repacked my belongings. It really was time to leave the Canary Islands. I had devoted a day or two too many to Lanzarote in my fear of not making the ferry connection.
After Tahiche, I drove down to Deiland shopping centre again to buy some food and gifts at the supermarket. It was also partly to get a €200 note broken up. I hated this large note, which was difficult to spend.
There was a long queue at the checkout, probably due to shoppers stocking up for the weekend. I got very upset when the cashier closed the lane while I was still in the queue. The polite protocol is to stop accepting additions to the queue, then close it when the last customer has been served. Scatterbrain! But at least I had no problem getting change for the large note.
I had been seeing Volveremos a Europa (We will return to Europe) posters all over. This referred to public anger over support for the US in Iraq contrary to the wishes of the majority of the population and the defeat of the Spanish PP at the elections following the Madrid bombings.
At the town of San Bartolomé I found a decent pizza for lunch, although the "crab" was really seafood extender.
You must be tired of reading about César Manrique by now. He was born in Arrecife in 1919, trained in Tenerife and Madrid and became an internationally successful artist.
After he returned to Lanzarote in 1968, he undertook to build structures that harmonised with the unique landscape of his home island. As a painter, sculptor, artist, architect, and landscape planner he's left his mark everywhere on Lanzarote.
Sadly he died in a car accident in 1992, but the Fundación César Manrique that was set up in his former home and studio in Tahiche to this day lobbies for sympathetic development. One of the results is relatively few high-rise developments on Lanzarote.
Taro de Tahiche is set in the lava fields from the volcanic eruptions. The rooms are actually huge air bubbles left behind by the solidification of the lava.
It is a beautiful and peaceful house.
I had a lovely time walking through the rooms.
Even though it was mid-afternoon, I sat and enjoyed cool breezes in the shade outside the house.
There is a small garden too.
His huge wind sculptures are instantly recognisable Lanzarote landmarks.
Note from the future: This wind sculpture, Fobos, was an important story element in the 2009 Pedro Almodóvar film Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces).
I started the morning with a drive down to El Golfo on the western side of the island which has a wild beach and wind-sculpted rocks, quite a contrast to the bathing beaches of the east.
Surprisingly some vegetation manages to grow in this inhospitable terrain.
The salt pans of Las Salinas de Janubio are also there.
Then I drove north to the Timanfaya park entrance. On the 1st of September 1730, the volcano erupted and ejected lava for 6 long, noisy years. By the time it had quietened down, some 200 square km of land had been devastated.
Today the area is a national park with strictly regulated access to protect the delicate flora and fauna. It is possible to park at the kiosk at the Islote de Hilario, which is not really an islet, but an elevated rise. You can feel the heat emanating from underground by picking up a stone.
One cannot drive on the Ruta de los Volcanes, but must take a tour in the official buses.
Unfortunately the bus doesn't make stops to let passengers explore the landscape so these photos were taken out of the windows.
Volcanic rocks must be some of the ugliest rocks on the planet. They are whatever grotesque shape the solidification and subsequent weathering left them in. They aren't even fractal, just swirling, jagged and mishappen. They are also dull colours of brown and black.
From a high point we could see a train of tourists enjoying their camel ride across the desolate landscape. You also see the access road into the park here.
Back at the kiosk, they put on a couple of entertaining demonstrations of volcanic heat. In the first, some brushwood is shoved into a hole.
A few moments later, it's a ball of flame.
Next, a demonstrator pours a bucket of water down a pipe.
And voila, a geyser.
In keeping with the theme of subterranean thermal energy, the meat served in the restaurant is cooked on this volcanic grill.
The Restaurant del Diablo has lampshades in the shape of frypans. You should not be surprised to read that César Manrique designed the decor.
The afternoon's tale will be in the next post.
My next destination was Jameos del Agua but first I needed lunch, so I drove past to the small quiet fishing village and beach of Arrieta.
The restaurant I was looking for on account of the "enticing main courses of fresh fish" promised in the guide book had closed or changed owners, so I settled for another one called El Charcon at the pier. The meal was a bit more expensive than hoped at €13 but the delicious fish soup for starters made it worthwhile.
Then I took a walk in the vicinity to help the digestion before backtracking to Jameos del Agua.
About 4000 years ago, Monte Corona erupted and spewed lava which flowed down the eastern slopes towards the sea. The lava on the surface solidified, but gas trapped underneath the lava formed caves. The Jameos extend toward the sea. Some seawater has leaked back in, creating an azure lake inside a cave.
A natural aperture in the roof of the cave admitted a beam of sunlight which materialised as a luminous azure shaft where it penetrated the water. I, and the other visitors, happened to be there at the magical time. A small new-age moment.
César Manrique attached a tasteful bar/restaurant to the jameo chico containing the pool. It harmonised with the nature of the site.
The jameo grande is surrounded by a garden of tropical plant species around a glowing turquoise pool. Here are a couple of views of it, as the complex had several vantage points.
Any hotel would yearn to have a pool as lovely as this.
Manrique also designed a concert hall seating 600. Apparently the acoustics are excellent.
I thought that those two caves were all of it, but I was pleased to find the very informative Casa de los Volcanes in the complex. This was a topographical model of the Canary Islands. I was glad to spend more time as I didn't want to get back to Arrecife early. The Jameos were a very worthwhile attraction.
Then it was a quick run down the smooth LZ1 highway to El Castillo de San José, which houses the Museum of Contemporary Art.
I wasn't enamoured of modern art but there was a pretty bar/restaurant with a view of the breakwater. There was a TV crew filming for a presentation or panel of some kind.
While napping in my car to until parking became free in the town centre I overheard some Canarians youths in their car yakking away. I recognised the same lazy Spanish pronunciation that I had heard in Cuba, the dropping of the s. This was no accident. Many Cubans were immigrants from the Canaries. Back on Gomera, the guide told us that when Castro came to power, some Cubans migrated back to the Canaries, bringing cigar rolling skills with them, so there is cigar production on the Canaries. So there were hidden connections between my destinations that I was not aware of when I planned the trip.
Despite my worries, there was no parking ticket on the car in the morning, so I was parked in a legal space. I was kept awake till late by a couple in a nearby room yakking away into the early hours.
The Matiz was bright red in colour and very economical. I estimated that it was consuming between 5 and 6 litres per 100 km. This photo was actually taken at the end of the hire, at the airport. But one drawback was that it had small tyres so I couldn't drive on roads where the depressions were too deep or I would scrape the bottom of the car.
I
headed north again, but this time up the mountains towards the area named Malpaís de la Corona (Badlands of the Crown). This is inhospitable and sparsely populated terrain as the name suggests. At Haría, the town of the eponymous municipality, nothing was open as it was too early. So I pressed on to Mirador del Rio, which is on an escarpment facing northwest. Near the destination were these windmills. Like Tenerife, Lanzarote is also trying to tap wind energy.
The elevation of about 475m provides views of the Atlantic Ocean.
The mirador used to be a fort from which passing ships could be observed. The rio is not really a river but a channel separating Lanzarote from the island of La Graciosa. The clear skies and brilliant sunshine provided these stunning views.
Second of the panoramic view.
Third of the panoramic view.
Last of the panoramic view.
The lookout was designed by César Manrique in 1974. This is the roof of the spiral staircase leading to the viewing platform.
And this is the interior of the cafe and souvenir shop.
This hazy telephoto shot plainly shows the volcanic origins of La Graciosa. Access to the island, which is part of a national park, is via a ferry from Órzola. I drove down there. There was a ferry ready to depart, but I decided against taking the crossing to explore the island. According to the schedule, the return trip was at 1620. I saw the driver of the tour bus sitting at one of the several restaurants. Nothing for him to do until late afternoon; what a life. I wasn't hungry yet, so I pushed on. Follow me to the next post in the blog.
