Lanzarote
is
another "very volcanic" island, situated just north of Fuerteventura.
The island does not have the large mountains of most of its sisters,
but instead offers mostly easier walks in an, even here, pretty
spectacular landscape. At least it has more to offer to the serious
walker than Fuerteventura. But the beaches is nowhere near...
In
Playa Blanca,
your untiring guide has of course checked out the menu of every food
outlet in town. They all seemed to serve the same... But if you want
something a little bit more special, you can have quails ("Hunter's
style") at Terraza Pedro by the sea (Update: I have not checked out the
actual existence of this restaurant for years...). That was the most
interesting course I could find, but be warned that their level of
service is pretty slight of hand. By the way, have you seen the movie
"Eraserhead" by David Lynch? Just kidding...
Arrecife
is not
THAT interesting for eating either, but good solid Spanish fare can be
had at the friendly Meson la Bodeguita in C/ Jose Antonio. Although I
did not actually eat there, the restaurant at the Castillo de San
José (a bit out of the centre of town) looked like the most
elegant, but still relaxed place you could ever want. But no T-shirts
in the afternoon here...
In
Costa Teguise,
try Texas for good Tex-Mex food in surprisingly quiet surroundings.
Note that the bus lines from Costa Teguise to Puerto del Carmen via
Arrecife (and vice versa) is all the same bus. Also note that at the
bus stop by Playa Reducto in Arrecife this bus will leave from the opposite side of
the street from what seems logical (the bus SOUTH will leave from the
lane going NORTH, the bus going NORTH will leave from the lane going
SOUTH). The airport bus does not have this anomaly, this goes SOUTH and
leaves in SOUTHERLY direction. There was NO kind of information posted
at this important bus hub during my stay.
Selected walks: For really good walks on Lanzarote
take a look in Noel Rochford's Landscapes
of Lanzarote, referred to below as /Rochford/ (PLEASE NOTE:
when I refer to walk numbers etc. from this book they are all taken
from the 2nd edition), and the now out of print Lanzarote, a "Discovery"
Walking Guide (in two parts) by D.
A. Brawn, referred to below as /Brawn/. They
also have a newer book you should check out, Walk! Lanzarote,
by David and Ros Brawn. There is also Walking in the Canaries
Volume 2 by Paddy Dillon. On the web
visit Lanzarote Travel and Holiday Guides, Photos and Walks by Foxy's Island Walks.
UPDATE: I don't think there is any changes wrt walk numbers in
the 3rd edition of /Rochford/.
UPDATE 2: There is now even a 4th edition of /Rochford/. I have not seen it, so I do not know the present relevance of my notes below.
◉ 1 MONTAÑA
CORONA (my total time 3h20, includes time for photography and lunch;
+-520m, 1 lap). This is Walk 14 in /Rochford/. A great little walk with
immense views. For finding your bus from Playa Reducto see my notes
below for getting around from Arrecife. From Costa Teguise the
"waymarks" are omnipresent, so if you actually read the book you just
cannot go very wrong, the Hotel Beatriz is positively HUGE. One warning
though: The descent from the volcano was very steep and rough and
potentially dangerous. It was much worse than described in the book!
Bring a walking stick! But there is now what at least LOOKS like a lot
easier alternative way down on the back of the mountain. You will then
need to circle the mountain to the left to get back to the big cairn
from the approach (this path comes in left on the picture on the right,
the former main route comes straight (joke) down). Will be a lot
longer, though. If you insist on following the original route, it will
be easier to do it in reverse.
◉ 2 UGA
- MONTAÑA DE GUARDILAMA - PUERTO DEL CARMEN (my total time
4h16,
includes time for photography, a short snack break and some
investigation; +529m -677m, 1 lap; NET walking time was about 3h30).
This is Walk 8 in /Rochford/. It is walk 3 in /Brawn/, but with the
added climb to the mountain summit (picture left). Mostly an easy
stroll, with a small mountain to ascend/descend for fun. This part of
the walk is easier than description in the book might lead you to
believe. The only navigational problems comes when you are about to
cross the LZ-2. There is no way you will find your way here now if you
just refer to /Rochford/. You will need the good map in /Brawn/ to
pinpoint the last leg down towards the main road, there are many new
dirt tracks around. Try to always follow the main track and not be
tempted onto lesser tracks even if they continue straight ahead.
Unfortunately both guides go wrong at the actual point of crossing,
because it is too vaguely described, and the restaurant that both
guides rely on as waymark is now nowhere to be seen. The way to do it
is this: Be sure to follow the good map tracing in /Brawn/ to enter
Camino los Olivos as the correct point (or at least follow my comment
above, using what looks like the MAIN track). Turn left here for 30
seconds (NOT "two minutes" as in /Rochford/), then turn sharp right to
the main road on the UNMARKED dirt track here. Cross the LZ-2 only
thirty meters or so down, go straight over and down the continuing
track on the other side. At that point you will have an open field to
your right and a large walled-in property on your left. Below this
property you will find the "two-way" sign for Camino la Calderina
mentioned in /Brawn/. This was the first name sign for this track in
existence at the time of writing. Here turn RIGHT. Now you can try to
pick up the directions in /Rochford again/, but the situation is still
more complex than in the book, so refer to the very detailed
instructions in /Brawn/ when in doubt. I tried to use it as little as
possible, because I did not really find the format of this guide very
handy for walking. Closer to the end of the walk the villas "13 and 25"
(/Rochford/) is of course "13 and 15".
◉ 3 HARÍA
- TEGUISE (my total time 3h02, includes time for photography and a
short snack break; +412m -380m, 1 lap). This is Walk 5 Alt 2 (which is
the same as 6 Alt.) in /Rochford/. The initial part of the walk, to the
Mirador de Haría, is Walk 5 in /Brawn/ in REVERSE. An
exhilarating walk and a real leg-stretcher if you want (hence the very
short time listed above). CAREFULLY follow the instructions in
/Rochford/ to find your starting point and directions out of
Haría ("back to the town hall" means facing the small Plaza
in front of the MAIN entrance of the town hall, NOT the one out towards
the street). BOTH guides for some reason have the number of road
crossings initially as SIX. The correct number is FOUR! The fifth
(well, actually the third measured from below) just touches the road in
a curve. If we count that one the sixth time you enter a road it is not
even the main road, but a dirt track ABOVE the mirador/restaurant.
Follow this track to the left, then pick up the SECONDARY tarmac road
for your continuing route. Follow this right, and then it's just go go
GO...
◉ 4 LA
HOYA - FARO DE PECHIGUERA - PLAYA BLANCA (my total time 4h47, includes
time for photography, a short lunch and a dip in one of the rock pools;
+230m -255m, 0 laps). This is Walk 16, part 4 in /Rochford/, but in
REVERSE, with the addition of a stroll into Playa Blanca. This really
includes ALL of Walk 13, and you should use the instructions for this
walk for the initial bit. I would suggest you do Walk 13 this way, to
avoid the ridiculously crowded bus back from Playa Blanca (the crowds
enter at the SECOND bus stop in town, find your seat before that, i.e
at the stop just above the harbour). For the same reason I would
suggest sitting very close to the door to get off at all at La Hoya in
the first place (the crowds enter at Puerto del Carmen). Hardly any
navigational problems in this walk, the initial road numbering has
changed though. The decent into the ravine close to the start of the
walk was not as difficult as described. The "wooden cross" (50mins) was
gone, but its foundation (my guess, large cairn-like structure) was
still there. Otherwise its just following the map and picking a path or
track of your liking. The promenade from Playa Blanca now almost goes
all the way to the lighthouse (picture right), and makes a pleasant
stroll at the end of the walk. Closer to Playa Blanca you can also find
somewhere to eat lunch or dinner if you want.
◉ 5 MANCHA
BLANCA - PLAYA DE LA MADERA - TINAJO (my total time 5h57, includes time
for photography, a short snack break and a dip in one of the rock pools
as well as other "sightseeing" on the coastal path beyond Playa de la
Madera; +331m -382m, 1 lap). This is Walk 7 in /Rochford/, expanded by
the first 10-15mins of the Timanfaya coastal path (picture left) (Walk
16, part 5). Another leg-stretcher, no navigational problems if you
follow the guide. At the end of the walk, entering the big crossroads
in Tinajo, I would suggest you go RIGHT, to pass a couple of friendly
restaurants, before another bus stop something like 100m further on.
◉ 6 ARRECIFE
TOWN WALK (my total time 3h59, includes time for photography, all the
necessary sightseeing and a drink in the bar at the Castillo de San
José; +77m -64m, 0 laps). This is Walk 1 in /Brawn/. Makes
an excellent Sunday stroll, when traffic is low. Take your time on this
walk, especially at the San Ginés church, the Castillo de
San José (picture right) with its gallery of contemporary
art AND its splendid bar/restaurant. The Castillo de San Gabriel was
closed at the time of writing. At the start of the walk, from the bus
stop (location and roads have changed here) by Playa Reducto, I would
suggest circling the new park here, as well as doing as much of the
promenade south from the park as you care to, as you will have nice
views of the hills surrounding Arrecife and San Bartolomé.
Pictures from other walks:
 |
| Walk 9 |
 |
| Walk 10 |
 |
| Walk 11 |
|
Walk 12
|
 |
| Walk 15 |
|
Walk 16
|
◉ Good
starting points: •
Playa Blanca, a few walks in
the area •
Puerto del
Carmen, a few walks in the area, not that I would actually RECOMMEND
anybody to stay at this kind of resort • Arrecife, for a REAL walking
holiday, if tourist activities are not of first priority, you will
easily get around the whole island by bus
◉ How to
get there: •
By air •
Some ferries from other canary
islands do exist
◉ More
info: • Bus timetables can be found here • Lanzarote
Canary Islands, a virtual travelguide • Lanz@rote.com,
"All about Lanzarote!!" • Lanzarote Travel and Holiday Guides, Photos and Walks by Foxy's Island Walks
