Isla de Lanzarote Favorites

Favorite thing: There are 3 main resorts. Puerto del Carmen - 5 minutes drive from the airport.
Costa Teguise - 15 minutes drive from airport. Playa Blanca - 35 minutes from airport.

Puerto del Carmen has everything most people want for a beach related holiday (restaurants, bars, clubs, white sandy beaches, shops, tourist office, buses, cycle hire) all in one long stretch of resort. It is probably the liveliest of the resorts with a charming 'Old Town' overlooking the harbour. Not if you want a quite holiday, its popular with young families and singles.

Playa Blanca is relatively 'new' as a resort becoming more & more popular (especially with the cheap all inclusive deals)and has expanded hugely in the last 5 years with lots more bars/restaurants etc. It is broken up into several different areas quite separate from each other, but all linked by an attractive paved coastal walk. Catch the ferry to Fuertuventura from here). Popular with everyone but is much further away from the other island attractions.

Costa Teguise, on the coast, has plenty of places to eat & drink, and a couple of shops, dive & surf shops and cycle hire, buses etc. but it doesnt have the charm of Puerto del Carmen's old town, not as many night spots and its not as integrated.The Pueblo Marinero seems to be its heart with bars and restaurants. There is a lovely paved coastal walk with fabulous beaches and views. Quieter than Puerto del Carmen.

Favorite thing: If visiting Lanzarote please print these numbers off, you never know when you'll need them.

112 - Police,Fire and Ambulance.

928 84 60 01 - Lanzarote Airport

928 811 546 - Lanzarote Buses.

928 - 595000 - Arrecife General Hospital

928 597 292 - Grua (breakdown truck).

676 455 282 - Translator and Paperwork Advise.

928 804 153 - English Speaking Lawyer.

928 520 176 - Lanzarote Taxi Service.

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Favorite thing: The tropical park is located in the north of the island, near the Mirador del Rio. It is an interesting place for a visit, especially if the weather is cloudy or you cannot possibly sit for another minute in the sun.

Half of the park is devoted to caged tropical birds, and some of them are very poorly kept and displayed in old and worn cages. The area called the 'breeding station' I found disturbing - with dirty old cages with very depressed birds. They had no natural features to give them a good lifestyle, but at least they looked well fed.

On the other hand, the other part of the park was very different. An enormous area was developed in an attempt to give the birdlife as much of a natural environment as was possible. Visitors are allowed into this area with a controlled entry and exit system. Inside there were trees and water features and the birds were flying overhead and nesting. They seemed very happy.

Fondest memory: It is worth a visit. I do hope the company are slowly developing the whole site to provide a quality natural environment.

There are some animals also, monkeys and meerkats.

There is a cafe on site. And there is a parrot show twice a day, 11am and 3pm which was funny and entertaining, if you dont mind seeing beautiful and intelligent birds pulling up national flags, roller skating and riding on a cycle!

Favorite thing: You will find that Lanzarote is not an island of tea drinkers.

Fondest memory: If you go to a cafe bar or restaurant you will find decaffeinated coffee, expresso coffee, white frothy coffee (americano), and cafe con leche con leche (coffee with milk and evaporated milk...very very sweet).

Or, camomile tea is available (manzanilla), at most bars, which is served in a small cup.

Ocassionally a bar may have teabags and serve it with luke warm water, so if they have teabags available, you may want to remind them to serve it in boiling water!

Favorite thing: The island of Lanzarote can be very windy, but this is great for surfers. One of their favourite beaches is on the north of the island at Famara. You can now catch a bus from Costa Teguise (every 2 hours daily) to get to this lovely long stretch of beach.

The village of Caleta de Famara has many cafe bars and fish restaurants, overlooking the beach and high cliffs of Famara.

Fondest memory: The beach is uncommercial, there are no facilities on the beach. Caleta de Famara village is a five minute walk away.

The beach is a favourite haunt for nudists.

The red flag indicating dangerours waters flies on Famara most of the time.

Favorite thing: Lanzarote and Water

Lanzarote is a dry island, with hardly any water resources. The island suffers chronic drought. Help originally came by sea: a tanker brought fresh water in its holds, which was then transported, on the backs of horses, to wherever it was needed. There are still cistern fields, check dams, storage tanks, banked fields, cross-terraced fields, etc., to be seen, which bear testimony to the difficult days gone by.

THE SOLUTION FROM THE SEA
Although Lanzarote is completely surrounded by sea - it is salt water, and cannot be used for agriculture or human consumption. The only solution is to eliminate the salt from seawater - desalination - and turn it into fresh water.

WHAT IS A DESALINATION PLANT?
Basically, the seawater is filtered in tanks, installed near the seashore. Then the water is pumped through filters - sand and purifying materials - where the water is freed from any substances it may be carrying. Then the water is sent under high pressure to the membranes where the miracle occurs: on one hand salt-free water comes out, the fresh water, whilst on the other, the rest of the water carries off the salt brine.

CAN YOU DRINK THE WATER?
The water is completely safe to drink. But many people do not like the taste. Almost all the locals invariably drink bottled water.

You shouldn't drink water from public spouts and fountains unless there is a sign saying 'Aqua Potable'. But you will more often see signs saying 'Aqua Non Potable', 'Water Not Drinkable'. In bars, supermarkets or restaurants ask for 'agua sin gas' (still) or 'agua con gas' (sparkling).

Favorite thing: The original name of Lanzarote before the Spanish consquest is Tite-Roy-Gatra, which translates as Rose-coloured-Hill.

Lancelloto Malocello, a trader who arrived on the island in 1312, is credited with making its presence known to the European powers of the time. The name Lanzarote got written on to maps after his name (lancelloto).

The original inhabitants of the Canaries are known as the Gaunches, all the islanders spoke a similar language with slight variations on each island.

The Gaunches had a hierarchy; the royal family, noblemen and the farmers at the bottom.

Favorite thing: Lanzarote's famous architect/ artist. His influence on the development of Lanzarote has had a lasting impact. Without him, Lanzarote would probably look like all the other high rise holiday resorts. As it is, most of rural Lanzarote contains white washed, low structured houses with strict building controls.

Look for his unusual mobile constructions seen around the island, mostly built on roundabouts near the main roads. Sadly he died when he was hit by a car in 1992 and is buried in Haria.

His bizzare house which he constructed from a series of volcanic bubbles in now open to the public, it is located a short distance from the town of Tahiche, buses run there everyday from Arrecife. It also contains some of his artwork, as well as paintings by his contempories, Picasso and Matisse.

Follow signposts from Arrecife to San Bartolome and look out for a sign pointing to FUNDACION CESAR MANRIQUE at Tahiche.

see also my travelogue 'who is Cèsar Manrique?'