Arrecife.....part I

Arrecife is part of the canary islands....and thus it is a volcanic island...i was night shift and thus i took the opportunity to do one of the tours the ship offered....shorex informed me that the most popular and nicest is the volcanic scenery and camel ride....so thus i decided to to that one....arrival in lanzarote is only at 12:00, thus when i was off at 8:00, i went to take a short nap.....i was so excited when the tour started...the guide told us a little bit about the island...arrecife is in the east and it would take us 20min to drive to the national park of timanfaya where we would see a volcanic demonstration, then go for a 40min drive through the national park and then the camel ride inside the national park, on the way back we would also stop at a vineyard.....

As mentioned, lanzarote is part of the canary islands....and thus it is a volcanic island...Lanzarote is the easternmost island of the Canary Islands and has a volcanic origin. It was born through fiery eruptions and has solidified lava streams as well as extravagant rock formations. The island, along with others, emerged after the breakup of the African and the American continental plates. The greatest recorded eruptions occurred between 1730 and 1736 in the area now designated Timanfaya National Park. First stop, the volcanic demonstrations.....first they showed us how hot the rocks still are very hot, with a shovel they dug holes and put some pebbles into our hand, i almost dropped them (well some people did because it was very hot).

Demonstration of how hot the stones are

The next demonstration was how quickly something can set alight...you put some straw there and almost immediately the straw catches fire....

Fire demonstration

And last but not least they have placed some pipes into the ground and then they pour cool water into it and within a couple of seconds the water shoots out, well the steam..the pressure is enormous....when it came exploding out it was so unexpected and so loud, i got such a freight....

Steam demonstration

It was amazing...then we had some free time and i also saw the symbol of lanzarote which is the devil...and yes...i had to have a pic....

Me and El Diablo

After that it was time to take a drive through the national park....whilst riding they played a video which explained the landscape....also this part of the tour you are actually only allowed to do with organised bus tours, no taxis or private cars are allowed inside.....the lanscape beautiful...all black...breath-taking...pics were a little difficult cause i had to take them through the bus window...but anyway...ill show you some pics...just to give a hint...

National Park, standing at demonstration
National Park, standing at demonstration
National Park while driving
Timanfaya National Park
Tiimanfaya National Park
Solidified lava
As mentioned, the greatest recorded eruptions occurred between 1730 and 1736. The volcanic activity continues as the surface temperature in the core ranges from 100 to 600 °C at the depth of 13 metres, which is demonstrated by pouring water into the ground, resulting in a geyser of steam which is an attraction for tourists (which was the last of the three demonstrations that we saw). There is only one active volcano, Timanfaya volcano which the park is named after.
After that...time for the camel ride...we had to pair up and they said that the lighter person needs to on the left hand when facing the camel. So i met this australian lady and we paired up, what a nice woman, very chatty, intersting..in actual fact we even exchanged email addresses at the end and kim and i also took her to lunch at Cagneys one time....so yes, nice woman....back to the camel ride...these camels all sit in rows....a rope between them...everyone takes their seats and then the camels start getting up one at the time..starting with the first one in the row....wow...funny feeling when these camels get up....and even wierder when thy sit down again....and man...what a bumpy ride...let me share some pics...
Camels waiting
Me and the camels
Breath-taking landscape

It took about 15min and it was beautiful landscape riding throug the national park...very nice...and the landscape was just so interesting...i mean all black...all lava....just so different.....

After that it wAs one more stop before the vineyard....it is one of the viewing points....and yes...it was definitely worth it....the viewpoint is calley Los Hervideros

Los Hervideros
Sea and lava
Encore sea and solidified lava
The sea...beautiful colour

Time to exit the Timanfaya National Park and head to the vineyard...yes..they produce some wines in the lava...very interesting actually.....they dig round patches, then plant the grapes....the patches are quite deep, to protect the graoes from the wind....The farm creates holes in the form of a funnel (pits), into the layer of volcanic ash to reach the topsoil. At the bottom of these holes, at times up to two meters in depth, 1 to 3 vines are planted per hole. To protect these holes with vines from the constant wind, farmers build semicircular stone walls of 60 – 70 cm high, each of them protecting the plants and ensuring they are covered evenly by volcanic ash. In areas where the layer of “lapilli” is less (Tinajo, Masdache, Ye-Lajares), these circular walls are built for the protection of the vine against the wind.

Vineyard

We tried some red and white wine...in all honesty not my best wine...but thrn again..might not have been the best wine tasting farm.....after that time to go back to the ship...i had such an amazing day....and saw such beautiful things...really amazing.....below is one more pic from the island lanzarote...these are the typical houses all over lanzarote....they are all short and white...they are trying to preserve the architecture..there is one really tall hotel at the sea and then after that they stopped allowing that because it says it does not preserve the inheritance and i must admit...i actually agree with it...much more beautiful all the white, short buildings.....

So today was Christmas eve....and kim and i decided to have a nice dinner at Cagneys before i would start my night shift work and 23:30....had some ribs (which are off the bone) served with a red roasted pepper and hummous sauce...divine...followed of course...by the fillet and dessert we took the maccademia cookie/ sandwich...big round biscuit and in the middle is maccademia ice cream....divine....so yes....i had a ver good day...and of course the ending....opening presents....beautiful day......off i go now.....ill write again soon.....you have to admit...i have gotten a bit better again lately....catching up little by little...why....because i have actually realised how much i miss this.....

 

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