Lanzarote 2023

 

 

After a long winter it was time to heat up our bones, and we couldn't have chosen a better week...every day since we left we kept getting yellow warning alerts of ice and snow in Edinburgh, never a better timing!

This was not the usual death march that would find us ruined at the end of each day, but more of a proper holiday. We still managed to cram in a lot of stuff, and we saw most of the island, but we were not on a mission or schedule, we just improvised day by day and even managed to fit in an hour chill out time at the beach pretty much all afternoons (our corpse-white bodies didn't allow for more...)

We were staying in a nice apart in Arrecife, which I much preferred to the touristy Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca. It was central, clean, big, modern and fully equipped, like we even got a washing machine and liquid! We arrived late on Thursday evening, dropped the stuff in the flat and went for a nice dinner, we mostly I felt like a big pint of beer! 

 

We spent the first day checking out town, as per tradition everywhere we go I had my haircut, and then in the afternoon we walked down to Playa Honda where we thought the bike rental places were. There is a beautiful cycling/walking path along the coast that goes all the way down to Puerto del Carmen, but in the 2pm heat I was about to melt after 1h. When we got there we realised the shops were 5km more down the coast, so I called instead. Good stuff as it turns out we were way too optimistic. Thinking it was low season we thought we wouldn't have problems but it turned out the gravel roads were all booked...

It was plan B: the little shop 10m from where we were staying (Barbanera, unless you really really have no other choice don't go there!!). We went there and hired 2 Trek MTB, of the low end kind of the spectrum...the guy even tried to give us 2 hybrids, one chain of which was bright brown and with basically no tires left. He didn't even have pump nor multi tool, but 1kg chain and a pouch with a spare tube and levers. I thought he should also have given us a couple of candles to light up and ingratiate a few saints...We then had to walk ½ h up to Decathlon to get the pump and puncture kit but at least we had some kind of bikes to go and explore the island for 3 days.

Sat 11 March – Mirador del Rio cycle - 84 km 1033m up

We called the bikes Yak and Merlin, and even our more optimistic side didn't dare plan grand tours with them. I cycled in Lanzarote 12 years before and remember it was a very pleasant place, with quite roads and well behaved drivers, still, we really had no clue how it would be like and which roads were the best to go on. We took the map and read a few blogs and the Mirador del Rio was mentioned a few times, so we made it our destination.

We started by following the very well-made cycling path towards Costa Teguise (can we swap who designed it with who designed the one in Leith please??). It was earlish and pretty empty, and with the sunshine a pleasure to ride, despite the strong headwind that seems to be a constant in the island.

From there we took the LZ14, which started climbing like crazy. There were huge “Ruta Ciclista de Lanzarote” signs on it which felt reassuring, and a lot of cyclists too! There should really make a map of these routes as it would make people's life easier.

We then reached the road parallel to the big one and headed North East for a while, passing by the Jardín de Cactuses, and then in the small town of Guatiza, where we treated ourselves to a cold drink and a delicious slice of home made apple cake, while more cyclists would pass by, this is heaven!

 

It was then a downhill back to the sea to Arrieta, and from there a merciless 10km climb along the LZ201. Despite the steep gradient it was a pleasure to be there, I didn't expect so many flowers and vegetation, and with little traffic we could hear the birds singing along all the time. The higher we climbed and the better the views. Passed the village of Ye it was a 2km climb to the Mirador, which was a bit of an anticlimax as it was covered in clouds, busy with cars, and the wind was so strong that we couldn't stop much. Plus, they charge to actually get inside!! Not that we were tempted with the cold wind (and we also left the 1kg lock home), but it felt a bit “is that it?”. 

 

We put on a jacket and headed down back to Ye, where we took it off again. It was almost noon and the bellies started t grumble. We went to Máguez but decided to go down to the coast for lunch instead as we didn't feel too inspired. We got on the wrong road which was great as it was flat for once, out among the fields and with great views, and then the crazy downhill started down to Arrieta. It was by far one of the best descents ever. The views were magnificent, the road smooth and the traffic low, I wished it lasted forever!

We had a nice lunch in a restaurant by the sea, and could hear the waves crashing against the rocks while eating our tortilla/chips and salad. Life was really good, for once we enjoyed just taking it easy and not be in a rush.

Back on the saddle we retraced our steps back home, but this time with tail wind, reaching 30km/h without even pedaling. We got back to Arrecife at 2pm in time for our first ice cream, which never tested better.

 

Since it was so early we had a chill out after noon with some beach time, trying hard not to burn ourselves alive.

Sun 12 March – Puerto del Carmen cycle (coffee and back) - 28km 100m up

We were planning a long day on the road, but in between the heat and the climbing in headwind in the previous day, I felt like taking it easy and having a chill out day. We got on the bikes and cruised along the coast on the perfect cycling path down to Puerto del Carmen, were all the tourists were. We had a coffee and croissant there, which was surprising hard to find given the amount of bars all selling Northern breakfasts and then back the same way. No regrets at all, that's exactly what I needed today.

Mon 13 March – Mancha Blanca cycle - 55km 630m up

This was a short but very varied day. We wanted to check out the South part of the island and the Parque Nacional de Timanfaya with all the volcanoes and lava fields. Again we had no idea which roads were the best to cycle on, but we figured that as long as we avoided those in red and blue in the map we would be fine...

We started along the cycling path down to Playa Honda, and then headed North on the LZ 301, all climbing up with headwind. We were planning to keep on that road, but somehow we much have missed the junction and got on the LZ303, which then turned into the blue and red road to San Bartolomé: crazy gradient, filled with heavy traffic at peak hour, and headwind. On Yak and Merlin. I still don't know how we made it there, and I'm so thankful we were surrounded by Spanish drivers and not British ones. Nobody ever blew the horn, insulted us in any way, and just politely waited until it was safe to pass, thank you.

We stopped a while in San Bartolomé to recompose ourselves and see where we were going. Thankfully once out of town in turned into desert without a soul around. We got on a dirty road among lava fields and then to a minor LZ road which could as well have been a MTB track...we rejoined a quiet road to La Vagueta, and from there it was flat and tail wind to Mancha Blanca. The only café we could find open, Café los Dolores, was huge but only had coffee and was really a bit weird.

 

 

Tempting

 

From there we headed back South on the LZ 56, marked as another Ruta Ciclista, and it was indeed since I counted more cyclists than cars! That stretch was the best ever, we could see lava fields and volcanoes from every direction and it felt beautiful and surreal, at some stage I thought I was on the turbo following one of the FulGaz routes...

 

The moment of glory of Yak and Merlin came when on a short climb we overtook 2 road cyclists, one of which was on a triathlon bike that Paul reckons must have costed €10,000 (I have never seen a more expensive bike!). The moment of glory was short lived as as soon as the descent started they went down like bullets. 

 

At that stage we could see the sea again and it was a long and sweet descent to Puerto del Carmen. 

We reached it at its Western end, where there is no cycling path, so we pushed the bikes along the coastal path, and occasional stretch of beach, until we rejoined it and got back home from there.

 

We arrived in Arrecife at 12.30, returned the bikes and went for a great vegan meal in the vegan café round the corner (honest the flat had anything and more just out of the door). Paul got a huge hamburger packed with goodies and me a delicious wrap, I would eat there every day!

Tue 14 March – Haría to Teguise walk - 15km 390m up

Bikes free we became hikers. We got the 8am bus to Haría, in the North part of the island close to where we cycled the first day. This was a really pretty village with nobody around given the time of the day, but a lot of birds singing in the central square. 

 We got on the path heading South (=tail wind!) and started climbing up this barranco on a stony and narrow path, with plenty of spiders, lizards and birds. We only met a group of French tourists and that was it. 

 

Reaching the Mirador del Risco de Famaro at 584m was a wow moment, like honest the views were spectacular from every direction. The wind was fierce but with the sun it was still pleasant, and really few people around. 

 

We then joined the GR 131 on high grounds until the Ermita de las Nieves, a nice little oasis of peace which provided some shelter from the wind. From there it was a long descent to Teguise, the old capital of Lanzarote in pirot times. We got on the bus back to Arrecife for another chill out/ice cream/beach afternoon.

Wed 15 March – La Hoya to Playa Blanca walk - 23km flat

Today we decided to explore coast in the South which we haven't seen yet. We got on the bus to Playa Blanca and got off at the roundabout outside La Hoya, like abandoned in the middle of nowhere...not a soul around, not even cars! We walked to the Salinas de Danubio and from there it was a very relaxing walk along all the stretch of coast that goes to Playa Blanca. No beaches there, only rocks and cliffs, therefore not many people around either. We could hear the sea in all its force, and occasionally got splashed by the waves. Apart from a few shorts rocky bits, it was all on a good wide path of the sandy kind. There were not many landmarks, only the “Atlante del Sol”, which could has well be described as a monument to human stupidity.

We checked what that was and nobody seems to remember as it was built in the 70s. A version said a couple of people wanted to build an hotel but one run off with all the money. Another said a German entrepreneur wanted to build a golf complex but realised it was a bad idea. Given that the only inhabitant of that part of the island is the wind, like we couldn't even spot a lichen, let alone any form of water, what's wrong with people??

Anyway, from there we found ourselves the best lunch spot looking at the ocean and the sea birds flying around, with the sweet music of the waves, and enjoyed our delicious sandwich with avocado and tomato, life couldn't get any better.

 From there it was a short walk to the outskirts of Playa Blanca, which was even more touristy then Puerto del Carmen. We got ourselves a cold drink and then headed to the bus station running away from the mass of people. So far we were very content with the public system, but shortly realised that we wouldn't probably use it for work purposes...Basically we missed the first bus because the bus stop was on the other side of the road (there was a tiny sign saying that, which we initially missed, and the bus driver didn't have the courtesy to tell us when he drop off people grrr....). The next one came after 1h, and was already almost full. We managed to get on but 4 people after he left leaving all the others behind because it was full (I think they want all the people to sit down but not sure why). All the people in the next stops were also abandoned to their destiny, and most of them had finished work and were heading home...I'm so glad I cycle to work!

I think I got sun stroked as back to the flat my head was exploding. Thankfully it passed as soon as I started drinking beer at dinner. After 2 sips I was pissed drunk and could barely walk home, it was an early night for me!

 

Thu 16 March – Caldera Blanca walk - 9km

The last walk was the cherry on the cake. We left the National Park and volcanoes to the last day as we had to rent a car (the flight was late and I didn't know where to leave the rucksack, this turned out to be the best idea), and were very pleased with the walk we chose. We got the car at the airport and pretty much followed the route we cycled on the third day. There was a car park at the start of the walk and from there it was a few km flat among the lava field which was really impressive. And then we started going up on a stony path until we reached the crater of the Caldera Blanca and the views were just stunning. The path took us along the crater and it got better and better. Surprisingly there were goats up there, and a couple of falcons chasing each other. Flowers, lichen and a few other plants also managed to recolonise the place. We also saw lizards and a few other birds (the one eating the lizards...). What a beautiful place to say goodbye to the island!

Back to the car at noon we went back to Arrecife where we spoiled ourselves with another lunch at the vegan place, and the farewell ice cream. While walking along the promenaded we spotted a couple of sparrows, with the lady visibly and acoustically angry at the male, while he was been chased off and probably thinking “what have I done this time? Or haven't I done?”. Some things are common among species.

I think Lanzarote is my favourite of the Canary Islands. Hiking is definitely better in Tenerife, but then I don't think I'd have the guts to cycle in that traffic. Lanzarote feels like the right size, varied in landscapes and with very good cycling. I have the feeling we won't give away its map yet.