Catlanza Cruise and the Long Slog Home - Day 7 - 9/11/2008

Our last day in Lanzarote was also our warmest. Go figure. :)

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8pm, so we had all day to play before sitting in the airport. Brian booked us onto the adults only Catlanza cruise. The boat left the Puerto Calero harbour at 11am with about half a dozen crew to keep us fed, watered, entertained and safe. A loud Englishman was our host for the trip and a petite Lanzarotian woman was our captain. In total there were about 20 passengers.

We left the harbour and traveled roughly southwest along the coast. We could sunbathe near the front of the catamaran or hide in the wind-blocked covered deck. The bar was open pretty much as soon as we sailed. I alternated between the sunbathing net/deck and the sheltered area, making sure my SPF50+ was doing its job. White wine made Brian into drunk boyfriend amusingly early. Lack of food will do that.

The destination of the day was Papagayo where we moored and the ladders came down for swimming. The jetski was lowered from the back and anyone who wanted could go for a ride with one of the crew members. Choices for entering the water included ladders in the front and back of the boat or the far more efficient slide.

The loud English host offered a free bottle of champagne to the first person in the water. Brian was unmotivated by the champagne but another guy ran to the slide and heaved himself in. Brian wasn't far behind him on the slide, but I took more convincing. I got my mask and snorkel out and put on a thermal top. It wasn't going to be warm, but may as well have a source of slight warmth when I got out again. Which method did I use to get into the water? The slide of course.

Hundreds of fish swarmed in the shadows under our boat. They were much bigger than the fish we saw along the coast. The seabreams and barracuda were pretty easy to spot. I didn't see anything exotic like a hungry shark. Most hung out near the bottom, about 3m below the surface.

I made two laps around the boat before the temperature got to me. Brian came out of the water with me and we decided to take a jetski ride. I got on first and Brian behind me. He got to hold on to me and I held on to the buoyancy aid of the driver who was smartly wearing a wetsuit. He took the usual lap with us along the coast and then bouncing over the waves and his own wakes. Each bounce sent me flying. I have to wonder if Brian flew up with me or after me. Wet swimsuit bottom and wet legs offer no useful traction. I wondered if I would fall off if I could drive, but alas I was not allowed.

Lunch was served soon after we returned from the jetski ride. Pasta with tuna or veggie sauce, salad, papas arrugadas (Canarian wrinkled potatoes) with salsa mojo (garlic and coriander/cilantro sauce) and bread. Not much in the way of choices for me but my love of papas arrugadas and salsa mojo didn't mind.

Brian went for one last swim after lunch but I was unconvinced. I chose sunshine and warmth instead. Soon enough, the loud Englishman rang the bell that told us we would be heading home.

The journey back to Puerto Calero was into the wind, which meant sunbathing wasn't as warm an option as before. Eventually, I retreated to the covered deck.

Our captain has sharp eyes. On the way back, she spotted a man floating haplessly in the water. They asked if he was ok and he didn't respond very clearly. The crew thought that meant he didn't want picked up. The captain circled the boat around anyway and they took him on board. Apparently, he had been following a trail that he had been on before, but it was underwater this time. Instead of turning back, he chose to swim it with his backpack still on. The strength of the current made it impossible for him to swim with enough effort and literally, he was washed out several hundred metres from the shore. He was very very lucky. Based on his conversations with the crew and just observations, I think he was mentally challenged. It's difficult to describe. He didn't seem completely with us. He hadn't been in the water all that long, which is says a lot about the strength of the current.

We reached Puerto Calero without further incident. We had just a few minutes to see the fish in the harbour one last time before the bus took us back to Matagorda. Once in Matagorda, we had enough time for one last lounge near the pool before the bus picked us up for the airport.

The flight schedule had us racing a flight to Glasgow home. Foreshadowing. The flight back was relatively uneventful, not so many bumps as getting there. Brian slept under his jacket for a lot of it. Sadly, Edinburgh weather and airport planning meant we couldn't land there. We were diverted to Glasgow, arriving about half an hour after the competing flight, and bussed back to Edinburgh airport in the wee hours of the morning. I finally crawled into bed at about 3am, grateful that I still had one more day before having to return to work.

Camel Safari - Day 6 - 8/11/2008

As promised, we returned to pet the camels on Saturday, when we could get a bus to the camel park. Brian and I walked over to meet the camels, which were tethered together wagon train style. The guides immediately started organising us onto camels, which meant Brian and I got the lead camel.

Technically, the camels on Lanzarote are dromedaries, one-humped camels.

The camels' loads were balanced roughly with sandbags, which meant the bigger the weight difference the bigger the sandbag. The guide put a makeshift seatbelt around each of us. One of the camels behind us made grumpy camel noises as everyone was being loaded. Once all of the pairs were on their camels, the guide came through and asked each camel to stand up. Back legs came up first, tipping us forward by about 45 degrees. Then we were kicked backward a bit when our camel stood up on her front legs.

Yes, all of the camels at the camel safari were female. Our tour guide on the bus tour explained that the male camels were much grumpier and more prone to rivalries. The complaining camel behind us continued her grunty complaining. Once everyone's camels were standing up and not thrilled about going anywhere, the guide led our group away from the camel loading area.

Our guide knew two phrases in English that he used frequently and effectively. "Oh my God!" and "Hold on tight!"

As our camels walked into the park, the guide tossed the reins of our camel to me with a well-placed "Oh my God!" to go with it. He walked back along the camel train. Our camel continued for a few paces and stopped. I think the guide gave her a little nudge and she continued a few more paces and stopped again. More Oh my Gods and Hold on tights followed.

Grudgingly, our camel led us up the hill of chunky lava gravel. We were surrounded by a landscape of reds and browns typical of young volcanoes. Eventually our camel guide took the reins again as we neared the top of the trail. He stopped and gave us a nice view across the landscape. Sadly, when he offered to take photos of everyone, I had to say no. My poor camera was not happy.

Our guide led us to the next overlook with a few more Oh my Gods and Hold on tights along the way. He made like he was going to lead our camel off the trail and down the steep gravelly hill. Our camel would have none of that and we laughed at the look she gave him.

We wandered a bit farther down the trail and he did the same. This time, when our camel stopped abruptly, the camel behind her didn't stop so quickly. I got a camel kiss on my right arm. In truth, I think it was a camel shove to get us to keep moving, but with no luck. Through the wire and cloth muzzles, camel kisses are about as slobbery as dog kisses. I bet that makes them even more slobbery without the muzzles. Brian was jealous that I got camel kisses and he didn't.

I am pretty sure it started after the camel kisses but our camel became a full suspension camel on the way back to the loading area. As she walked down the trail, Brian and I seesawed on our seats. We looked around and didn't see anyone else with anywhere near as much wobbling. I tried to shift my weight to the right a bit to balance but that didn't help at all. We continued in full suspension mode all the way to the bottom of the hill and back into the camel loading area. It eased a little on the flats but I wondered if the next riders would be in for the same.

Our camel ride came to an end with our camel sitting down again. Kicked back, kicked forward and then we were on the ground again. We pet our camel and told her thank you.

The bus journey gave us an extra half hour at the camel park before taking us back to Matagorda. We visited the shop for an ice cream and stood outside to watch the next camel safaris. I saw our camel leading the next group as enthusiastically as she led ours. The guide tossed the reins to the woman in what used to be my seat. Suddenly, our camel made a hard right and started walking toward us. Not running because she wasn't that enthusiastic about it but definitely heading away from the park entrance. The guide's Oh my Gods were interrupted briefly while he had to grab the reins and lead her back on track.

We bid the camels farewell and headed back to the hotel. Back earlier than we expected, we picked up our snorkeling gear and headed to Playa Chica, a spot recommended by the dive shop proprietor who sold me my mask and snorkel. It was protected from the effects of wind and current by piles of rock on either side. He was right. We saw loads of fish, small fish near the beach and larger fish getting closer to the end of the sheltered area. The water was still quite cold but at least the air temperature was getting closer to making up for it.

I should also mention that our hotel had entertainment each night. Sometimes it was rubbish, but on our last night it was pretty good. A man and a woman, both acrobats, put on an hour long show. The woman was amazingly flexible and showed off lots of bendy poses. The man was a bit of a goof -- he juggled a lot and balanced on silly things. Sometimes they did both together. We were pleased that the entertainment was good for our last night and we didn't need to find other ways to entertain ourselves. We had our last dinner at the same place as our first dinner, which ended perfectly with the delicious ron miel (honey rum) with cream and cinnamon.

The camel safari was much less congested when we returned on Saturday.

The camel seat view got more exciting in a minute when the camel stood up.

Arrecife Pirates to Playa Honda - Day 5 - 7/11/2008

Brian and I returned to Playa del Reducto in Arrecife for our second sea kayak trip, this time without a guide. We collected our boats from Lanza Canoa and pet their dog before heading out. The wind was pretty much the same as the previous day, though it felt warmer to me.

We repeated the pirate journey from the day before. Even with the wind, it took 45 minutes to get to the wind-blocking harbour. We skipped the coffee break this time and returned to Playa del Reducto in short order. Instead of landing, we continued along the shoreline roughly southwest toward Playa Honda. It was farther than I expected. It was also more exposed, which meant more swells, current and wind than we had the previous day.

The current and the wind were on our side and the swell was reasonably predictable. We paddled along the shoreline, veering out to sea a little with each visible pile of rocks to avoid the waves that formed naturally. I hit most of the swells at a 45 degree angle but occasionally they snuck up on me. I saw Brian get thrown around a bit with one set of swells and I chose to face in the same direction to avoid similar tossing. One of them surfed me a little and then I was able to ferry across the trough before the next wave came in. I was excited that a river move worked on the sea.

We saw a few cafes along the beach and had a little more than an hour before our pickup, so we decided to stop for a snack. After tapas (without the bread for me) and drinks, we had just under half an hour to get to the next beach. Then Brian realised we would have to launch into the current and swell that had been so helpful depositing us on the beach. It wasn't as hard as he expected. Sit on top kayaks are useful for not requiring much faff to get started. I waded out, waited for a wave to go out, hopped gracelessly onto my boat and paddled out. Brian didn't wade out as far, got washed in briefly but quickly managed to get going anyway.

While approaching Playa Honda, we competed for space with two kite surfers and a pile of rocks that tried to hide. I think I annoyed the kite surfer by shifting direction to avoid the rocks, but he coped well enough. He later zoomed between Brian and me when he easily could have gone elsewhere. The second kite surfer got started soon after and the two of them zoomed away together.

As we approached the beach, one of the women from Lanza Canoa waved from the car park. She helped us drag the boats up to the trailer. We cleaned up quickly, washing the sand away that we could reach. Their dog was happy to lick the salt off our hands. They gave us a ride back to our hotel at Matagorda.

Semi-convinced by the warmth of the air, I agreed to join Brian for some swimming and snorkeling. He brought his mask and snorkel. He threw himself in pretty quickly. I did the weenie wade out, whimpering about the cold as I went. Brian let me try his mask and snorkel and I threw myself the rest of the way in. I played with my underwater camera, chasing fish as the mask slowly leaked around me. We took a break and I bought my own mask and snorkel. The mask was one meant for children so it fit!

We snorkeled for about 15 or 20 more minutes during which my poor camera decided it had had enough of the salt water. I got an error message telling me to clean the card. In reality, the error message meant the card and receptacle were corroded. A new card got me a few more photos before the camera died completely. Thankfully, both cards read perfectly on a card reader at home, but I did wonder for the next few days if all of my photos would be lost.

Expecting that the journey to Playa Honda would take no time at all, we repeated the journey to Arrecife's harbour first.

Playa Honda was farther from Arrecife than I expected, but not all that far in reality.

The journey to Playa Honda was easier with the winds at our backs but the swells gave it a bit more excitement at times.

Brian's landing at Playa Honda was a model of grace and skill. I chose the frowned-upon-by-kayak-snobs paddle directly at beach method.

At the beach in Matagorda, I was chased by a sea monster but managed to escape.

Although the fish were difficult to see above the water surface, there were hundreds of them just below the surface.

Apparently, the beaches at Matagorda are infested with sea monsters.

The fish photo that killed my camera.

Against the Wind - Sea Kayaking at Arrecife - Day 4 - 6/11/2008

We rented sit on top sea kayaks and a guide from Lanza Canoa. I don't have an official weather report and I don't have enough experience with the Beaufort Scale to know what Force factor to call the wind, but it felt like a quite a bit more than a gentle breeze. The only trip the outfitter was willing to offer was the Arrecife five bridges "Pirate Safari".

We met our guide at Playa del Reducto, the westernmost of Arrecife's beaches. After the usual induction, we launched and paddled directly into the wind along the coast. The floating flock of seagulls took a while to notice us but left in a noisy wave once they did. We followed the city's coastline, paddling among moored pleasure boats and more seagulls. The first of the bridges took us between the main city and a compound on the island that reminded me of Mormon temples in Idaho. The Lanzarotians are proud of their ties to Texas, particularly San Antonio and their dead at the Alamo, but I didn't think that the Mormons were particularly international beyond the fundy cults in Canada and Mexico.

The second and third bridges of the tour were much older. Between these, we stopped to explore the Castillo de San Gabriel, which turned out to be a prison over 500 years old. Lanzarote's history with piracy of the arrrgh! kind meant that San Gabriel probably housed a few of them over the years.

We launched again and quickly found the wind again. Looking right as we paddled along the harbour wall, I saw plenty of whitecaps and water slamming into the windward side of the prison island. I was happy to not be paddling over there. Another break from the wind was in sight in the form of bridge number 4. We took a left turn to head under the bridge, the next bridge and entered one of Arrecife's private harbours. The commercial harbour where the cruise boats dock was nearby so Arrecife's outdoor market was in full swing. We paddled around the harbour and stopped for a coffee/tea/juice break at a local cafe. I did not inherit the shopping jean and neither did Brian.

The return journey was significantly faster. I hardly paddled at all. We paddled around the second (Mormon) island just for a different perspective and then headed toward Playa del Reducto. I had a nice, brief surf heading between two rock shelves and was grateful for some more time in the sea to get used to the sucky back part of the waves that were surfing me forward.

We decided for more sea kayaking the next day. I vetoed the Matagorda - Puerto del Carmen trip because we had seen it already from the bikes and if the wind was the same, it would be a long slog back to Matagorda. Instead, we chose Arrecife to Playa Honda and a lazier start time of 11am.

We met our guide from Lanza Canoa at Playa del Reducto in Arrecife.

Brian stood beside the old cannon for a squinty photo.

Cannon fodder?

El Castillo de San Gabriel is a prison built on a small island over 500 years ago.

The ancient prison pitstop gave us a brief respite from the wind.

Brian and I raced to escape the wind.

The beaches at Arrecife were littered with fun toys.

After deciding that the ocean was too cold for swimming, Brian tried the pool instead. Chattering teeth did not lend much credibility to his claims that the water was warm.

The wildlife at the hotel was interesting. Stray cats enjoyed hanging out at the restaurant picking up scraps. During the day, they wandered the pool area. This kitten had learned agility but not patience. It climbed the tree but couldn't sit still long enough for the birds to forget that she was there. They sounded the alarm until she figured out how to climb back down.

Lazy Lanzarote Day - Day 3 - 5/11/2008

In between the bus tour and the sea kayaking, we had a lazy day involving beaches, cold water and fashion statements. When I say nothing remarkable happened, I mean that in a good way. We slept late, made plans for the next few days and walked around a bit. It's nice to be a lazy slug.

Brian made a brief, and sadly blurry fashion statement with his sandals.

Brian told the ocean where to go, that it wasn't allowed to come up on the beach any farther.

The ocean told Brian.

Lanzarote the Bus Tour - Day 2 - 4/11/2008

We took the Grand Tour of Lanzarote to see what there was to see and see if there was anything worth seeing more.

Our first stop was a cafe in Yaiza so the arrivals from Playa Blanca could join us. From there, our first real stop was near El Golfo. On the way in, we saw a photo shoot for something with a woman wearing something that looked both expensive and insufficiently warm given the lack of warmth that day.

Once the bus let us off, we walked down to see the Green Lagoon that was a bit more yellow when we saw it. Some of our group looked among the rock rubble for olivine. Others bought theirs from the woman running the "gift shop" table in the car park. We explored the rocks including a semi-cave as well as the beach. Brian discovered that the water was just as cold on the windward side of the island.

All of Lanzarote is volcanic in origin so the rocks are cooled lava, stubbly and brittle like limestone. Climbing felt easy. From the walk back to the bus, we noticed that erosion seemed as much a problem as limestone -- a big chunk of the path had fallen about 5m to the rubble below.

We spent a lot of time in the Parque Nacionale de Timanfaya, first visiting the camel safari (but not riding camels) and the natural oven of the park's restaurant before doing the famed Crater Route in the park. Natural heat makes the ground warm and if you dig down just a little, you can find quite a lot of heat. There were three levels to visit. First, one of the park employees took a shovel of rubble from the ground and gave each of us a rock to hold. We didn't hold the rocks for long as they quickly became too hot to hold. At the second level, we got to look into a natural pocket as they tossed some straw into it. I wondered what the autoignition temperature of straw was as it burst into flames. At the top level, we were told to stand back while one of the employees poured some water into a pipe in the ground and made a mini geyser.

Only buses are allowed along the Crater Route and no one is permitted off the buses. The topography is a barren mix of reds, browns, black and white. Green and living things were sparse. Our bus tour took us along most of the big craters, including the Timanfaya itself, although I must confess I don't remember which one was which. Our tour let us look down on the camel park as we looped around the much taller craters that could easily be on another planet.

The end of the crater route meant lunch was soon to follow. We stopped at a large buffet-style restaurant. Veggie options were limited and my lunch was very potatoey. I discovered a fondness for papas arrugadas aka Canarian wrinkly potatoes, so called because they are cooked in seawater and are indeed wrinkly. They weren't salty enough for Brian. I also sampled the famous salsa mojo verde and creamy garlic death sauce. The tour guide warned us against the garlic sauce, but Brian ate it, too. That's always the way to do it, sharing the garlic breath.

After lunch, we stopped at a local bodega to sample local wine. Lanzarote whites are better known and appreciated than their reds. We got to sample a dry white and a moscatel. The latter is a dessert wine, similar in sweetness to sherry. I liked it a lot. We brought two bottles back with us to share.

Back on the bus, we drove through the old capital of Teguise and the guide spoke more about architecture. Most of the buildings have flat rooftops to collect the rain. The rainy season is in the winter and that water must last them the year. They have desalination plants for seawater now but that water is not good for drinking.

We stopped at another cafe overlooking the shoreline northeast of Arrecife, the current capital. I was a bit annoyed by this cafe stop. It was a nice view but not all that interesting otherwise.

Back on the bus again, the next stop was the Guinate Tropical Park that I think was set up by an English guy and is apparently a bird sanctuary. The sun was well hidden behind the clouds, the wind had kicked up and most of the birds were smart enough to be somewhere else. Apparently sometimes you can see penguins in the park but we just saw some seagulls playing in the wind. We had nice views to Islas Graciosa, Montaña Clara and Alegranza just north of Lanzarote.

The stop in the park was brief as we were already approaching 4pm. Rounding the north end of the island, we headed to our last stop of the tour, the famous Jameos del Agua. Born of ideas from César Manrique, a famous modern artist I had never heard of, a resort hotel was built into a cave in the 1960s. Lots of rich and famous people visited it. Eventually it was converted into a tourist attraction. The bar/restaurant was still running but the hotel rooms were not. In the tidal pond in the cave, we saw albino crabs crawling along the rocks. Exiting the cave, we found a pool that looked like part of a villain's lair in a James Bond film. No wonder Sean Connery is said to have visited the resort.

At 6pm, the Jameos del Agua was closing and the sun was setting. We piled onto the bus for the journey back to the hotel. It felt like a good taste of the island but unfortunately, we were not inspired about what else we needed to visit while there. The camel safari felt like a must but otherwise, we were left wondering.

The first actual touristy spot of the bus tour was near El Golfo, so we could see the famous green lagoon and perhaps find some olivine amidst the volcanic rubble of the beach.

The lava rock was similar in texture to limestone and relatively easy to climb. I didn't go far.

Our bus tour of the island was too "busy" to include the 30min camel ride, but we got to see the camels, hear them complain (camels are grumpy animals) and even see one spit at a woman. I think we could have ditched the second cafe stop in favour of camel rides, but we returned later in the week for a camel safari.

The view across the Parque Nacional de Timanfaya from the visitor centre / volcanic oven restaurant.

The lavascape of the Parque Nacional de Timanfaya looked like something from another planet. Barren, nearly devoid of life, beautiful and not somewhere I would like to be stranded.

I have no idea which one was the official Timanfaya crater but this one impressed me.

Lanzarote's local white wines are good but don't get exported for lack of volume. Our tour stopped at one vineyard where we tried a dry white and a moscatel (sweet dessert wine). Yum, especially on the latter.

On the north end of the island, our guide took us to the car park at Guinate tropical park, where we had fine views to Islas Graciosa, Montaña Clara and Alegranza. La Graciosa is rumoured to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

Based on ideas from the famous artist (that I had never heard of) César Manrique, the Jameos del Agua was a hotel for rich people before it was a historic site for the rest of us to visit.

The cave continued down a bit farther but the bar did not.

It wasn't really sunning weather beside the pool.

The pool tops off the villain's lair look for the Jameos del Agua.

Lanzarote Escape - Day 1 - 3/11/2008

Some time away from work has been a long time coming for me. Part of why I ran off to Canada in October was to stave off the burnout. We escaped Edinburgh for a week of sunshine and (planned) warmth in Lanzarote, which is the easternmost of the Canary Islands. True to form, Brian brought some freakish weather with him -- it was cold for a couple days in the tropics!!! We spent our first full day on the island exploring the resort town of Puerto del Carmen by bike, following first the promenade and then the trail along the coast. Best of all, we found a little singletrack along the way. :)

The most entertaining part about the resort town was that it catered to English and Irish tourists with a bit of German thrown in just for fun. Irish/English breakfast was easy to find (as was veggie breakfast). Pubs and restaurants advertised which football matches and soap operas you could watch there and when. As the often lone American, I thought it was hilarious. I am used to avoiding resorts and tourist traps that cater to American tourists and here I was in the middle of a English tourist trap. Scary! Funny!

We biked as far as Puerto Calero, which is the posh neighbour of Puerto del Carmen. Cheap shopping and cheap meals can be found in the latter. Expensive shopping and slightly less cheap meals can be found in Puerto Calero. Brian was very keen on doing a submarine tour, which we were able to do there. We boarded our (wait for it) Yellow Submarine for about an hour's tour of the sea nearby to a depth of about 30m. Yes, it really was yellow and yes they played the Beatles for us on the way up. We saw loads of fish including some that loved playing in the eddies along the boat itself. Nothing rare or exotic tried to eat our submarine. Sadly, no Great White sightings or anything like that. Lots of barracuda, seabream and perch swimming around as well as lots of urchins sitting on whatever rocks they could find.

We got a little lost on the cycle back to Puerto del Carmen. Not properly lost because the landscape was wide-open volcanic with very few trees to get in the way. We just exited too early to avoid some steps and had to cycle a little while on a road instead of a trail.

On the way back, we stopped at a private tourist information office and were reminded of typical English customer service, still another laugh for me. English tourist traps and all.

It was a good day exploring, especially once we escaped the resort itself. Both of us were keen for the grand tour coming up to see what else on the island outside of the resort towns was worth exploring.

Brian was annoying sometimes about checking up with work stuff while we were away...

...but at least he still had his priorities.

We all live in a yellow submarine... yellow submarine

A shipwreck at about 25m below the water surface which had essentially become a fish playground

The bike trails were great once we found them.

Switchbacks were a bit challenging on a bike on the way back to Puerto del Carmen.