Lanzarote

I was surprised to find out that we haven't been to Lanzarote since Claire started the blog so we have nothing on record.  The last time we were there was when we met Steve, Jan, Dan and Charlotte in their villa.  I think that this must have been the same year that we went on holiday for 4 months to India and Thailand when we did start the blog back in 2006.  I guess that I could find some photos if I looked hard enough but they aren't on this computer.  I suppose they will be on my backup hard drive that we seem to have lost the power lead for.  I have a new hard drive, one of those little ones that fit in your shirt pocket.  Trouble is that one seems to have stopped working.  It actually stopped working before twelve months but I didn't take it back in time.  So now I am in the dangerous period without any backups.  I think that I copied all the old backup drive onto my new one so I really need to get it sorted out.

Anyway, I digress.  By the time this gets posted we will be on our way.  It was another last minute holiday but not a time share.  We are all inclusive at the Los Zocos Club Resort.  I don’t usually like all in because you always seem to get fed up with the food and eat too much anyway.  Also, for me, half the fun of a holiday is finding nice local restaurants and trying them.  I usually find the top 10 restaurants before we go and list them in my notes on my i-phone.  Los Zocos is in Costa Teguise and the best restaurant listed there is El Navarro.  Not sure if we will manage to try it but it always seems a waste of money when you have already paid for your food.  Likewise, its always nice to find little bars by the coast for a drink but when you have already paid for your drink as well it takes the edge off for me.  We wont bother hiring a car because we only have a week and we might as well relax and make the most of it.  Again, one of my favorite pastimes on holiday is finding new places that you have never been before.  Why the hell are we going on an all inclusive then?  Because its cheap, of course.

Lanzarote, the fourth largest of the Canary Islands, 125km off the coast of Africa and the most easterly island.  This relatively new island emerged from the sea about 15 million years ago.  Like Madeira, and the Cape Verde Islands, the Canaries are all volcanic produced by a hot spot.  Lanzarote was probably the first island to be occupied about 2100 years ago by the Phoenicians but it now belongs to Spain.  The last big eruptions occurred between 1730 to 1736 where 32 new volcanoes were born.  There were more eruptions in 1824 which were much less violent than those of the previous century.  This area is now designated Timanfaya National Park and is a tourist attraction for the island.  The highest peak on the island is Penas del Chache which is 670m above sea level.  The Tunnel of Atlantis is the largest submerged volcanic tunnel in the world.  Located on the north coast near Haria, at 1600m long it was formed from water like a lava tube that totals 7km in length.  Living inside there are 14 species of endemic animals.

We are staying in Cost Teguise which is a purpose built tourist town started in the 1970’s so we are expecting some beautiful architecture.  There are 5 beaches which all comprise imported golden sand and because it was planned, plenty of facilities.  It also contains the only water park and aquarium on the island.  Being purpose built, there are also plenty of shops, bars and restaurants.  The property market is pretty flat in europe, especially Spain and Costa Teguise seems to have been hit even harder.  Probably because of the amount of new builds abandoned when the property crash started in late 2007.  Some people believe that the bottom of the market has yet to happen so its a great place to rent a nice villa at the moment because of the competition.  There are more places for sale and rent than there are takers so the prices have dropped considerably with the competition.  This is the market, that I believe you will get the best cash bargains in, as there is no sign of recovery, no hope for desperate sellers.  What they need is some "light at the end of the tunnel".  The last few pictures are supposed to be of our hotel.