Art - Nature, Nature - Art

 

A name that has come up time and time again in our time on the Island is that of Cesar Manrique and architect and influencer on the development in Lanzarote, from construction to artistry to conservation. The latter was where we picked up some of his thoughts today via our guide in Canary Trekking who made conservation and sustainability their theme as we toured the martian landscape and lava fields of Lanzarote.  He absolutely feels to be sitting beneath the foundations of the island, his philosophy steering the direction of all its inhabitants.

So up and at 'em with a collection point by minibus outside our appartments. Our driver, and later guide, super scientist and like the Spanish Lara Croft, looked after us for the next few hours. Drove up into the lava fields that lie adjacent to Timanfaya national park. We didn't go there, I understand the trips up there are a little more managed, and of course you get the real thermal insight, but equally we did want a bit of a hike and freedom. Plenty of volcanoes though across the entire eyeline with pretty much the whole island having been formed by pyroclastic flows in the 18th century.  The landscape very martian, so much so, apparently they use some of national park to do tests and preparation for some of the trips to Mars that are currently being scoped out!

But away from that we were shown how the older volcanoes (more dormant) have proved fertile soil for some crops, especially wine (although early lichen and fennel also sprouting up)  The volcanic soil retains the moisture brought in by the trade winds and so reasonable decent for agriculture.  We wandered through the lava fields, palm trees, and other signs of life, and even a well to draw up the sunken water.  What I guess had elements of a geography field trip was surprisingly captivating.

The best bit was to visit one of the (hopefully) dormant volcanoes and take a walk around the crater, or what was left of the Caldera de los Cuevos.  Some of the larger 'bombs' had gone further afield but enough of the other 3 rock types (don't ask me to name them) could be seen in the layers, and apparently decent acoustics back in the day, before the crater became a conservation site and not an outdoor theatre.

Some ups and downs to finish, the wind picking up and actually that will be a feature of the final couple of days. The sun didn't particularly shine up in the lava fields which maybe added to the atmosphere. They filmed  'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' here back in the day along with a swathe of other films but not the Martian as I have subsequently found out so our tour guide not the font of all knowledge.  But here is my movie showing a bit of martian dust too!

She a good driver too though and got us back to base fairly quick smart, the clouds did clear a bit as we descended and whilst the wind a little more apparent, I think we still safely in the early 20s centigrade and so could justify a pool visit. Other than the 'hike' which I did put on strava, a swim was the only other sport of the day, and my journey to try and make all the modifications suggested early in the week continued haphazardly at the appartment.

Fitting a fair bit in today, we were showered and on the boardwalk to do a bit of a bar / restaurant hop for the evening. Managed 3 which is probably a record for the holiday. The first overlooking the Atlantic did give us a snipped of sunset, but clouds coming in did not make it of greek standaards.  A barraquito liquer layered like the lava of earlier felt quite apt and of course local.

Next stop a tapas bar for a san gria and a couple of potatos and fried cheese, doing what the locals do after the knock of work maybe?  Night had now settled in and the warmth of the day disappeared, but they did have some cosy fires to keep the outdoor workable.

Last stop was a gastro bar / restaurant with a mix of local, and as it turned out Uruguayan / Colombian dishes. Tried a 'spanish pasty' called an empanada the lanzarote version meant goats cheese and bacon for me, delish vegetables for Chrissi.  A lasagne for main was not particularly adventurous, and was a bit doughy for my palate, Chrissi having a crisp, cheesy milanese which she was very happy with. We did push the boat out and had a more expensive wine, local and vines from the volcanic sands we saw earlier, Malvasia Volcanica. Pretended that it was worth it, as thats what you do on holiday right?  A sweet alfajor as a gift from the chef to finish was very much worth it!

A great day though where we soaked up less sun but more history, less of this yesterday which I didn't share but us here although a couple of you are finding it by the comments with an identifiable and anonymous reader