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
