Trip Report: Lanzarote Part 3

Clareboy

South Island Tour

On the Thursday and Friday of our second week, we rented a car so that we could explore the parts of Lanzarote that were not accessible by bus. We rented a Renault Clio from a local rent a car office in Costa Teguise. The cost was €60 fully inclusive for the 2 days.
As usual, it was a fine sunny morning as we headed southwards on the LZ-2, the main road from Arrecife to the south of the island. Driving in Lanzarote is pleasure because outside of Arrecife, traffic is light and the roads are well surfaced and signposted. Travelling through Lanzarote, one has a great sense of the wide open spaces with volcanic peaks rising up on the horizon and almost always the distant sparkle of the blue ocean.
Our first stop was in the mountain village of Femés, which is accessed by a spectacular winding road. The windswept village is situated on a pass between two peaks and offers truly fabulous views of the southern part of Lanzarote and the nearby islands of Fuerteventura and Lobos. In the centre of the village is a simple snow white chapel, which is typical of the island. All the bars and restaurants in Femés were closed as it is a rather bleak spot in winter and attracts few visitors.
From Femés, we dropped down to the west coast of the island and stopped to view Las Salinas de Janubio - the saltworks, where sea salt is harvested. We were now travelled along a most extraordinary coast road that snakes through a wilderness of jet black splintered lava fields impenetrable to man or beast with the wild Atlantic pounding against the rocky shore and distant views of the Mountains of Fire.

Los Hervideros - ' The Boiling Waters '

Los Hervideros – The Boiling Waters is the name given to this stretch of the Lanzarote coastline where the red hot lava once flowed into the ocean and the sea water literally boiled. Today it is a stretch of bizarrely shaped black rock formations that protrude into the ocean. The sea is bubbling and churning among the lava caves, chimneys, puffing holes and arches created by erosion and it is spectacular sight to watch the mighty waves pounding and lashing and throwing spray several metres into the air with a deafening roar. We had to stop the car every few minutes in order to park and gaze in wonder at this most stunning spectacle of wild nature. There are numerous lay bys in which visitors may park to admire the views and take photos. This stretch of the LZ-703 road cuts a smooth path through the inhospitable lava flow and has been used for the filming of car commercials.
At one point, a large car park allows visitors to stop and walk through this amazing place using a network of winding footpaths that have been sliced through the lava desert. From the footpaths along the cliff tops, there are peep holes down to the crashing waves below. Balconies of the natural stone have been built into the rock faces, which make great viewing platforms and an opportunity for some memorable photos or videos of the angry sea.
Los Hervideros is a truly dramatic example of the power of erosion and the incredible forces that must have unleashed when the hot lava came in contact with the cool waters of the ocean. Certainly, the spectacle of the grotesquely eroded rocks and churning sea at this unspoilt corner of Lanzarote will remain in our memory as one of the highlights of our trip. As spectacular as Los Hervideros is, it was just a prelude to what we were to see on the rest of our South Island Tour – you ain’t seen nothing yet!

The Green Lagoon

Further on, we parked under the most unusual russet coloured eroded cliffs. The cliffs looked like some kind of a broken biscuits or wafers. I was also impressed by the total lack of any kind of signage along this road. It was left up to the traveller to stop and admire as the mood takes him or her. We followed a footpath down to the shore – and what a sight opened before us! It was one of those places and occasions where one is so thankful for one’s senses. We were looking down on a magnificent black sand beach, which is surrounded by the strangest and most bizarrely eroded and coloured cliffs that I have even seen. Behind the beach is what looks like a splash of green paint across the charcoal sand. This is the famous Green Lagoon, which is framed by cliffs of red, russet and ochre. The beach is actually a volcanic crater eroded by the sea and the green lagoon is the result of the water being stained by algae that flourish in this peculiar ecosystem. A huge rock just off shore adds to the scenic drama of this most astonishing place. We walked right down to the Green Lagoon and along volcanic beach, marvelling at our surroundings and taking numerous photos.
This amazing place was used as a location for the film Broken Embraces (2009) , staring Penelope Cruz. I can see how a film maker would be inspired by the Green Lagoon and its incredible scenery.

El Golfo

At the other side of the Green Lagoon lies the small village of El Golfo, a splash of white on the lava blackened shore – a place of rest and refreshment for the weary traveller. From the mirador (viewing place) at El Golfo, visitors have a bird's eye view of the Green Lagoon and numerous volcanic beaches. The village is a mixture of buildings old and new with blue painted doors and windows. The setting is truly magical with the snow white houses sitting in the jet black lava fields framed by the blue of the ocean and sky. There are numerous restaurants in El Golfo to cater for the passing tourist.

Timanfaya National Park

Las Montanas del Fuego - The Mountains of Fire

From El Golfo, we made our way to Yaiza, and from there into the grandiose multicoloured volcanic landscape that is the Timanfaya National Park. The eruptions that begun in Lanzarote in 1730 heralded the beginning of the greatest volcanic holocaust in human history. Thirty two volcanoes rose up like hell itself from the entrails of the earth, spewing forth huge quantities of molten rock, thereby creating that incomparable expanse of petrified lava which today constitutes the island’s most important attraction. The eruptions lasted 6 years and destroyed a quarter of the island’s surface including 11 villages. The events of the 18th century which brought ruin to the inhabitants of Lanzarote have today become one of the main reasons behind its attraction as tourist destination. There was no recorded loss of life during the catastrophic eruptions of the 1730s as the lava flowed slowly like honey. This was our second visit to the Timanfaya National Park as we had been there on a coach tour from Fuerteventura in 2003. This time, we were planning to really explore more of the area as we had our own transport and were not tied to any schedule.

Camel Station

Driving through the sea of lava from Yaiza was awesome, but it was only a prelude to the unforgettable sights to come. A few kilometres along this road, one arrives at the Camel Station and the start of the ‘ Route of 500 Camels’. I have never seen so many camels in one place before and I would imagine that one would need to go to the Sahara Desert to see a similar sight. From here, visitors may travel into the volcanic mountains on camels. Each camel has a saddle strung across his back, which contains two wooden seats. Many visitors stop just to photograph the camels, but large coach parties can book hundreds of camels at a time. It is an impressive, almost biblical sight to watch the camels trains heading off into the barren volcanic wilderness that is Timanfaya. At the Camel Station, there are visitor facilities that include a bar/restaurant, a visitor information centre and toilets. The facilities are hollowed out into the living rock and are completely unobtrusive. The symbol of the Timanfaya National Park is the cheeky ‘ El Diablo’ or The Devil, designed by César Manrique.

Islote de Hilario

Further on, we came to the main access to the Timanfaya National Park. The admission charge is €8 per person, which includes a bus tour of the park. The Islote de Hilario – the Islet of Hilario, was named after a hermit who lived here in the 19th century with only a camel for company. It is now the main visit facility in the national park. On a volcanic crater, Manrique designed a circular building containing a bar/restaurant and a souvenir shop. From this vantage point, one looks out on a volcanic landscape that is truly out of this world and has been described as ‘ Martian’. It is like being on another planet, literally an eerie world of forbidding impenetrable lava, craters, crevices, and great clumps of black sand. It is a vivid reminder of the six year long cataclysmic eruptions turned a fertile area into a lunar landscape. Immense seas of lava separate the mountains, rippled with indescribable shapes and strange bare outcrops of the blackest rocks. The mountains, some of which appear as smooth as silk are tinged with many different shades of red and ochre. The place can be likened to hell with the fires gone out.
Temperatures of 400C can be reached only a few metres below the surface and boiling magma is to be found only a half a mile below. One of the park staff holds out a shovel full of pebbles and invites visitors to pick up a handful. One has to drop the pebbles at once because they are literally red hot! He then pushes a tumbleweed bush into a crevice and it bursts into flames in an instant. A bucket of water is then poured down a hole and it shoots up again in seconds as steam with a loud whooshing noise. The Restaurante El Diablo uses volcanic heat from the very bowels of the earth to cook the food. We saw chickens being roasted on this ‘ volcanic grill’ and we could feel the feel the gush of heat emanating from the inferno far below.
The highlight of a visit to The Mountains of Fire is the 14 km long bus tour along the Route of The Volcanoes. The drivers expertly manoeuvre the buses through a series of dramatic twists and turns as the road curves and tunnels its way through an indescribable spectacle of terrifying beauty. A commentary in several languages and dramatic music add to the experience. At this point, words were totally inadequate to describe the unfolding spectacle and all I could do was whistle! Indeed, no camera can really capture the panorama that unfolds on The Route of The Volcanoes. What are words? - Just sounds! And what is a photo? - Just an electronic image. On one point on the tour, we were looking down on the camel trains as they made their way through the volcanic wilderness – a truly memorable sight.

La Geria

From Timanfaya, we continued on through the wine growing region of La Gería. This area is the most surreal pock marked manmade landscape imaginable. Each vine is planted in a hollow that is dug into the black volcanic soil and each hallow is surrounded by a low semi circular wall of stones in order to protect the vines from the wind. The only source of moisture is that which comes from the dew at night time. These most unusual vineyards are spread out across the landscape and even up the sides of mountains as far as the eye can see. One has to marvel at the back breaking work of the peasants that must have gone into the creation of these vineyards out of volcanic ash and rock. At that stage, it was almost dusk as we drove back to Costa Teguise.

Our South Island Tour was without a doubt, the best day of the best trip ever! At one stage, my digital camera ran out of battery power as I was taking so many photos and videos – the first time that this has ever happened to me. Luckily, I was able to use my mobile phone as a backup.

Hope you are enjoying our travels in Lanzarote. An exciting North Island Tour to follow...