It was only last week I told you that I’m always looking forward to September here on Lanzarote and it looks like this year also September won’t let us down. The first few days here on the island couldn’t have been better. Blue skies, hardly any wind and with that unforgettable sunsets. When the sun is in it’s last few hours the change in light is just spectacular. Everywhere you can see people getting their cameras out trying to capture that magic moment when the sun starts to disappear behind the horizon. On this weeks photograph you see the beautiful beach Famara at low tide. Have a look at last weeks post if you don’t know why this beach is especially pretty at low tide. With the impressive cliffs of the Famara range in the back the view on this photograph is over the huge sandy beach towards the volcano of the little village Soo on the right and the peaks of the Timanfay National Park in the center of the picture. Being at Famara beach on a day like this is pure magic so if you are here on the island right now you should not miss out on this. Go for a walk, you can leave your car in the village and walk to the other end of the beach which, depending on how fast you go of course, takes you easily an hour return. And don’t forget your camera as you will regret it if you leave it at home.

Talking about cameras: I want to share a little tip with you Read the rest of this entry »

When you ask me what season I think would be the best to come and visit Lanzarote I’ll definitely say to you autumn. And especially September is the month I am really looking forward to. With the beginning of September a different life seems to start here on our beautiful island. Suddenly there’s a cense of peace and relax in the air. The summer crowds are gone, the kids are back to school, summer is still lingering but you can feel a change lying in the air. It is the month of mild evenings without the usually constantly blowing wind, calm sea and beautiful sunsets while having barbecues at the beach. The atmosphere can’t get much better as maybe you can imagine a bit while looking at the photograph from some of my friends enjoying the sweet September conditions. During the daytime temperatures are not so sizzling anymore and the water of the ocean now has just the right temperature to enjoy swimming, snorkeling or surfing for hours. It is in September when on Lanzarote and the other Canary Islands you can observe the so called “Mareas del Pino”. It is the time of the year when the difference between high and low tide is the largest. This usually happens at the beginning of September and with a full moon. This particularly tide is called “Mareas del Pino” in honor to the holy virgin “Neustra Señora del Pino” which is one of the Marian devotions representing the Virgin Mary and the Offerings to her are celebrated at the 8th of September each year. If you have the chance to visit a beach like Famara on low tide during the “Mareas del Pino” you will find a huge sandy playground to play and walk for hours with the spectacular cliffs of the “Risco de Famara” as a backdrop.

But September is also the month for some of the nicest village festivals to take place on the island. Read the rest of this entry »

I often heard this phrase from friends who came here for their first holiday in Lanzarote. Well, actually they are right because it is true that plants, trees and grass are not exactly abundant on our little island. And although Lanzarote was, before the volcanic eruptions from 1730 to 1736, known as the granary of the Canary Islands, today it is difficult to imagine that large parts of the island once where covered with corn fields. The six years of eruptions have greatly changed the face of Lanzarote and shaped its landscape forever. For the vegetation on Lanzarote it is hard to settle, although the ground beneath the cover of volcanic ash is very fertile. The constant wind and little rainfall make it difficult for mother nature to flourish some greenery. But the forces from the earth which have tormented the island of Lanzarote once, also left a different and unique legacy. Perhaps there was missing a blob of green on the colour palette which has been used to paint the landscape on Lanzarote, but the colours and contrasts we see while contemplating the “Montañas del Fuego” (Fire mountains) – this is how the range of volcanos is called which rises from the sea of solidified lava in the Timanfaya National Park – are truly unbelievable. The slops of the mountains here appear in all shades of red, ocher, Read the rest of this entry »

"The Spanish State Meteorological Service is expecting a rise in temperatures in Lanzarote compared to previous years. The reason for this prediction is the tendency of temperatures rising each year since 1998 due to global warming."

This is how a recent article in the local newspaper “La Voz de Lanzarote” starts and almost exactly one year has passed since we have experienced an intense heat wave on the island as you can read in my post "Heat wave on Lanzarote" from last year in August. Anyone who does know me, knows that the subject of environmental protection is very important to me and I think it is in the hands of every one of us to make a change, no matter how small, to help to protect and conserve our planet for next generations to come. But today I do not want to hold any sermons, but think about where and how we can escape the heat in Lanzarote on such days as we have experienced them last week.

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When nowadays there is the talk about salt flats, or “Salinas” as they are called in Spanish, on Lanzarote than it will be the Salinas de Janubio in the south of the island, near the village of Playa Blanca, which first will come on our mind, as these are the most well known Salinas in Lanzarote. Less well known is probably the fact that the salt flats in Lanzarote until yet not so long ago employed a large proportion of the population. Up to 26 Salinas were there in the islands heydays and remains of these can still be seen above all on the East coast of Lanzarote. One of them are the so called "Salinas del Tio Alberto" near the charming village of Los Cocoteros. Salt has a long tradition in Lanzarote as it was needed in order to conserve fish. And not only in the kitchen, but also for the ships which where out at sea, often for weeks, only the salt made it possible to conserve their catch till they reached the harbour. Till the early 60′s many tons of salt were produced in Lanzarote every year. Only the Salinas de Janubio produced up to 10 million tons of salt per year in their golden age. But than the first freezers arrived in Lanzarote… Read the rest of this entry »