The Canary Islands: Lanzarote and Fuenventura
Dave and I are now in Sydney enjoying some time with our 2 grandsons Archie and Charlie (6 weeks old). At last I have had a spare moment to update our blog.
Makoko is berthed at Puerto Calero marina which is rather ritzy and expensive but the bonus for us is the very good technical support including an Amel agent who is brilliant and has sorted out a few problems for us. The marina fee for a 3 month berth is 3,000 euros but I guess it is worthwhile as we know Makoko is being well looked after.
We had an enjoyable 3 day sail from Madeira to Lanzarote in 15-20 knot NE winds. We arrived off Graciosa Island early in the morning but decided not to make landfall as we had not organized a permit, so we sailed on down the east coast of Lanzarote arriving at the marina mid morning.
Lanzarote is a very interesting volcanic island; the last major eruption in the 1700's spewed lava all over the southern half of the island. There are few trees; just a few palms and the landscape is black, beautiful in a strange sort of way. We hired a car for 2 days and enjoyed exploring the island; below are some of the highlights.
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| Taking a break in a historic village |
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| Colourful fungi in an otherwise barren landscape |
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| Some camels resting after trekking the tourists around |
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| An amazing green lake at the back of a beach on the west coast |
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| John and Dave playing tootsies |
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| Cactus landscape |
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| View of the island of Graciosa |
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| A lovely shady placa |
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| The only greenery was cacti and palm trees |
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| A bit of kitch in someone's backyard |
We visited some friends who live on Fuenventura, the island below Lanzarote. Although a volcanic island it has had no eruptions for millions of years and the landscape is therfore not as arid; in contrast to a black landscape and white and green buildings, Fuenventura is more colourful; a rolling terracotta, brown and cream landscape with some green fertile valleys with brightly coloured houses reminiscent of Mexico.
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| The front entrance to our friends Steve and Melinda's traditional style home; it was wonderful to be off the boat for a few days and relax by the pool |
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| Enjoying a barbecue with our friends |
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| Surf beach on the west coast |
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| Dave showing off his Aussie budgie smugglers |
