Every year since Sunshine was born, we had a winter getaway to one of the Canary Islands. This year we went to Lanzarote on a trip that was planned barely before we embarked on it.
The Canary Islands are thronged almost exclusively by west european tourists looking to escape the grim winter conditions back home. Most of the tourists are from Germany or UK and most islands have a 'German area' and a 'Brit area'. On our previous two visits - once to Fuerteventura and once to Gran Canaria, our hotels were in areas preferred by German tourists as we had booked through our local travel agents. This year, however, we booked the hotel ourselves and it was a place frequented by British tourists. I do not know if it was just a coincidence, but this year, the beaches near the hotel, the views etc were not as good as our previous two years.
Lanzarote is of volcanic origin like all other Canary Islands. We set aside one day to visit the Timanfaya National Park where one can see the effects of past volcanic activty and a dormant volcano. The scenery is depressing and awe inspiring at the same time. The landscape was marred with several craters and there was a restaurant where they had set up a barbecue which worked on heat from the dormant volcano.
The rest of our trip was dedicated to sun and sand the beach we liked best was Playa Blanca. The island of Fuerteventura can be seen on the horizon from this beach and it is an amazing sight. The beach itself was sandy and not crowded at all. The water was clear and turqoise coloured. When it is windy, it is possible to take shelter behind a bush and you can still enjoy the sun and the ocean.
The island has plenty of good places to eat and there are pubs and bars all over. On almost all the beaches there are windsurfacing facilities and instructors. If you are tormented by winter and your eyes are yearning for sun, this is just the right place to be.
The Canary Islands are thronged almost exclusively by west european tourists looking to escape the grim winter conditions back home. Most of the tourists are from Germany or UK and most islands have a 'German area' and a 'Brit area'. On our previous two visits - once to Fuerteventura and once to Gran Canaria, our hotels were in areas preferred by German tourists as we had booked through our local travel agents. This year, however, we booked the hotel ourselves and it was a place frequented by British tourists. I do not know if it was just a coincidence, but this year, the beaches near the hotel, the views etc were not as good as our previous two years.
Lanzarote is of volcanic origin like all other Canary Islands. We set aside one day to visit the Timanfaya National Park where one can see the effects of past volcanic activty and a dormant volcano. The scenery is depressing and awe inspiring at the same time. The landscape was marred with several craters and there was a restaurant where they had set up a barbecue which worked on heat from the dormant volcano.
The rest of our trip was dedicated to sun and sand the beach we liked best was Playa Blanca. The island of Fuerteventura can be seen on the horizon from this beach and it is an amazing sight. The beach itself was sandy and not crowded at all. The water was clear and turqoise coloured. When it is windy, it is possible to take shelter behind a bush and you can still enjoy the sun and the ocean.
The island has plenty of good places to eat and there are pubs and bars all over. On almost all the beaches there are windsurfacing facilities and instructors. If you are tormented by winter and your eyes are yearning for sun, this is just the right place to be.
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