Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

April 18, 2023

Only 37 miles long and 12 miles wide, the northernmost Canary Island, Lanzarote, lies in the Atlantic Ocean about 70 miles from mainland Africa and four degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer. It is not like any landscape we have ever seen. Looking at it from the ship, Lanzarote is strikingly stark.

However, when we stepped from our shuttle bus for the walk into town, which wrapped around a lagoon, we were greeted with perfect weather and lovely shops and sidewalk cafes.

The shuttle bus left us right at Charco de San Ginés, which is a beautiful marina with shops, cafes, tapas bars and restaurants (none were open yet). We walked across the bridge into town to enjoy walking the scenic streets of town.

Lanzarote was formed by volcanic eruptions during the 18th and 19th centuries. The island is made up of 300 now dormant volcanic “mountains of fire,” with naturally shaped deep layers of volcanic ask and petrified lava seas. With an arid climate little erosion, the landscape has an almost lunar appearance. (The 1970s film Planet of the Apes was filmed on Lanzarote.)

The year-round sub-tropical climate has an average temperature of about 77 degrees and is sunny year round, with an average of only 5.5 inches of rain per year.

We enjoyed a day of walking around the Calle Leon y Castillo main street shops, and sat across the lagoon for lunch, Sangria and beer. Cliff enjoyed mushrooms and shrimp in garlic butter sauce.

For the more adventurous:

• Timanfaya National Park, which covers over 12,600 acres, shows you what a landscape looks like after chunks of molten lava cover the entire area.

• James del Agua, a mile long tunnel, was formed by molten lava and was turned into a lush tropical garden, pool, bar, and auditorium.

• Jardin de Cactus — If you love cactus, a garden featuring 10,000 types (1,400 species) has been built on an old quarry of volcanic ash.

• Visit to a Bodega — Outside of town are a variety of wine shops and vineyards.

• Puerto del Carmen — A tiny fishing village with golden beaches overlooking the Atlantic, it is renowned as the most tranquil in the Canary Islands, with water perfect for swimming and other water sports.