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Just one more post to do from our final day. We decided to head up north again and I was anxious for another walk. Finding a short walk that TJF would be happy with (never easy) was proving a challenge until I spotted a walk in my guide-book that started with a long walk up a road and a footnote that said it had been recently improved. If we could drive up the road we could have a short walk up another couple of old volcanic craters without breaking sweat. Plan

We found the road at the back of the village of Maguez and indeed it was now metalled and easy enough to drive. We parked up at 520m to leave us a monumental 71m to climb to the top.

We were heading up the twin volcanoes of La Quemada and Los Helechos. This is the crater of La Quemada

And this is Los Helechos with Montana Corona in the background

They are perched high above the cliffs of Famara with superb views over the coast and the island of La Graciosa

It was a splendid easy stroll to the top (not easy enough for TJF to be honest)

A view over the crater of Los Helechos and Montana Corona behind

Looking south along the spine of the island. In the middle ground you can see the road we drove up zigzagging across the hillside

Family shot on the top

Montana Corona – one of the 600m peaks and one for the next trip

More superb views across the high valley of Guinate to la Graciosa

A short drive away and we were able to walk to edge of the cliffs. It’s a sensational spot. the cliffs plummeting 400m down to the sea

The photos just don’t do justice to how exposed it was. It made me feel giddy looking down

Lots of interesting looking walks along the cliffs and farmland up here. Looking forward to a return visit

We went back to one of our favourite restaurants of the trip in Orzola for lunch. We had hoped to spend the afternoon on the beach for a final swim but it turned a bit overcast and cool for that. Instead we took a look around one the other big resorts of the island. Costa Teguise. Its a huge place and as one of the older resorts it does look a bit tired and dated. It much more “Brits abroad” than Playa Blanca and needs some money spent to bring it back up to scratch although we didn’t see it in the sunny weather. It has a nice beach though and we took a wander about before heading home

Me and TBF found time for one last wander up Montana Roja in Playa Blanca (featured in an earlier post)

Not a bad finish to a superb couple of weeks away from the Xmas madness

A chance to see the sunrise on the last morning before we headed off to the airport and back home to winter

Lanzarote is a superb place and if you make a small amount of effort there are untold, unspoilt corners to discover. In reality its nothing like the holiday brochures and for the outdoor types like us a wonderful, almost perfect place for a winter break. From one extreme to the other in the next post

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Preparation:

Tell the family there will be no Xmas presents, keep the tree in and decorations in the loft. Avoid all expressions of Xmas while on holiday

Leave cold, storms, rain and snow behind and head somewhere warm and sunny

Xmas Morning:

Take a stroll before breakfast in the sunshine while there is no-one else about

After breakfast on the patio take a long lazy stroll along the seafront to the beach (Playa Dorada)

Pose on the beach for smug Xmas day photo

Take a paddle in the sea

Look at (but don’t buy) any souvenir tat from the shops

Have lunch on the patio

Xmas Afternoon:

Return to the beach (Playa del Papagayo), pose for another smug photo

Enjoy the expansive blue sky, golden sand and calm clear water

Take a scramble around the rocks to the beach next door, Playa de la Cera

Take a swim in said calm clear water

Return to the apartment for a late afternoon beer in the sun on the patio

Take another stroll on the sea front to watch the setting sun

Finish the day with an improvised Xmas dinner (no dates in blankets!) and a bottle of cheap Cava.

Now that’s what I call a good Xmas Day 🙂

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Time to explore the mountains. Again, Lanzarote’s diminutive size was handy. Just a 10 minute drive to the pretty village of Femes in the mountains behind the resort and a start at over thousand feet. There were lots of walkers paths and it looked good for our first look at the islands mountains and old volcanos. We left the Funsters to go shopping and headed for the mountains

We headed up from the village and a short steep climb to a goat farm and cheese making facility

The path traversed across eastern flanks of Pico Aceituna. It looks a bit exposed but it was easy and safe

A view down the Barranco de la Higuera to the sea

And back towards the goat farm and the peaks above the Femes valley

It was a short walk out and back to the summit of Pico Aceituna so we thought we’d bag our first summit. Grand views across the Rubicon Plain to Playa Blanca and Fuerteventura in the distance

The Femes valley and the rest of the island

Atalaya de Femes, second highest point on the island and one of what I liked to call the “Three Peaks” of Lanzarote. There are four summits over 600m although you can’t access the highest point as its covered in military paraphernalia. They like to do this in Spain. The highest peak in Mallorca is similarly inaccessible. We only managed one of the three peaks so good reasons to go back

Panorama looking NE along the spine of the island

And the expanse of the Rubicon Plain, Montana Roja in the centre of the shot

The path then cut across the flanks of Pico Redondo, this time on the western flank, seen in the photo below. Again it looks exposed but again it was perfectly safe and easy

The route we were following was doing a complete circuit of Pico Redondo but I wanted to climb it. It looked ok, if a bit rough going. TJS wanted no part in such a risky plan (he likes to stay on paths) so we agreed to meet around the far side. It was an easy climb in the end and the summit had a nice, narrow, rocky summit with extensive views. The mountains on Lanzarote are not especially high but their prozimity to the coast gives them a real sense of height and the views are excellent and of course unusual

This is Hacha Grande, the highest point on this side of the ridge. One to save for another day

The descent was on pathless terrain and pretty tedious. The photo tries to give some scale to the uniformity of the slope. All loose volcanic dirt and rubble

I just took my time and despite losing my footing numerous times managed to avoid falling on my backside. We arrived at the broad col below within a few seconds of each other, barely breaking stride as we headed up to the top of the small peak below, Lomo del Pozo for some lunch

The stunning views of our route and the rest of the island more than made up for possibly the worst pre-packed sandwiches it’s ever been my misfortune to eat. Luckily we had Paprika crisps, cookies and chocolate donuts to soften the blow

Time to head back and a very pleasant stroll along the Barranco de la Higuera

And a steep climb through the volcanic rocks to the Goat Farm where we started

One of the many volcanic dikes on the island. Nature’s dry stone wall

A view back down the Barranco de la Higuera to Lomo del Pozo

Last views of Femes before we reached the car and headed back down to Playa Blanca

A short route and short drive gives time to pack in some more activity. Nothing better than finishing off a day in the mountains with a stroll along the coast.

And an hour on the beach to catch some rays and take a cooling swim at Playa Dorada

Obligatory lazing on the beach/feet shot

Nice time to be on the beach while the sun starts to go down

Excellent way to finish the day

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Playa Blanca sits at the bottom of the island at end of vast expanse of volcanic desert called the Rubicon Plain, that’s pretty flat and featureless. What it also has is its own volcano or least a relic of one, Montana Roja, that overlooks the resort. A tempting target for a walk so first afternoon we headed out to take a look.

We stopped off at the tip of the island near the lighthouse for a coastal stroll first. Not one of the best walks, it’s all a bit untidy with loads of half-finished villas and roads

It gave a different view of Montana Roja. It looks deceptively big from here even though its only 194m above sea level

Add to the fact you can drive a good way up the slopes and it makes a very easy and very splendid short hike. On the way up the views across the old volcanic peaks above the village of Femes opens out, the outskirts of Playa Blanca in the foreground

A panorama looking north towards the rest of the island

TJF wasn’t greatly enthused by the walk and chose to sit on the rim of the crater with her phone pressed to her face. The rest of us chose to walk around the crater to the high point.

The sun was close to setting so the light was stunning, turning the rocks and peaks a deep golden reddish-brown

The walk around the crater is superb, albeit quite short. Nothing better than elevated views above the coast.

A nice contrast between the stark landscape and the gleaming white buildings of the resort

Had TJF not been sitting waiting for us (and we had food shopping to do) we’d have stayed to watch the sunset

As it was, we enjoyed the short stroll and the changing colours. Lanzarote does reds and browns (and black) pretty well

A last lingering shot of Fuerteventura across the water

I meant to walk up here a few times as its such a wonderful viewpoint but we never seemed to get the chance. We did head up on last evening to watch the sunset but there was more cloud about and the views not so great. We did get a few interesting cloud effects though

A small sunny patch on the village of El Golfo

And the Timanfaya National Park (more on both places in later posts)

A sunset hole in the clouds

Fading light on the Femes Hills (my name – they don’t seem to have a name of their own)

There seemed to be thin strip of oddly coloured yellow cloud hanging above Fuerteventura. You can just about make it out in the photos below.

No idea what it was. My guess is sand in the atmosphere from the sand dunes on the north of the island

Our first Lanzarote volcano. More to come

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……Lanzarote!

Over the past few years we’ve abandoned all things Xmas in favour of some winter sun. It seems a fair trade to me and the whole family feel the same. Last two years we’ve been to Tenerife and this year fancied a change so we plumped for Lanzarote. Like Tenerife, I visited for a day on a schools cruise when I was a teenager before the days of mass tourism. It would be fair to say its changed a bit!

We stayed on the southern tip at Playa Blanca. I’d heard a few disparaging remarks about the island “Lanzagrotty” being common but hopefully if you read the posts it has a beauty and charm all of its own and we loved it.

First post dedicated to our immediate surroundings before some further posts on our explorations and hikes

We had a very nice apartment in a tasteful and quiet complex set a few yards back from the cliffs

TJS and TBF sunning themselves by the pool (which was very cold!)

And TBF enjoying the late afternoon sun on the patio

The seafront was just a minutes walk away and was really well done. Traffic free with a very nice paved walkway along the cliffs

I went out there most mornings and evenings to take in the views

You can walk past the new marina complex all the way along the coast into the main town which was always a very pleasant stroll. Flat and with no cars unlike our base in Tenerife the previous year. Also unlike Tenerife, Lanzarote has outstanding beaches. This is the main beach of Playa Dorada and its a beauty

We took a stroll on our first morning and the beach was quiet, protected from wind and waves, with clear calm blue water

There are endless places to sit or to climb down to the rocks and various fishing platforms

This is the Rubicon Marina complex, upmarket with loads of bars and restaurants

Three of my favourite views from the locale

Across the Marina to Montana Roja

The bigger island of Fuerteventura across the water

The mountains behind the resort from the rear of the apartment

Walking the other direction takes you to more great views although the buildings here are older and in need of some TLC

Eventually you pass into the open desert-like landscape and towards the wonderful beach at Papagayo. More on that stunner in a later post

The sunsets were always great and the headland near the apartment was always a great place to sit down and watch the show

The small tower is the Castillo del Águila o de las Coloradas which made a great setting for many a photo

Sunrise on the morning we flew home was pretty good as well

Now I’ve shown you around our Xmas home from home its time to explore the rest of the island