Arrecife, Lanzarote

Meaning 'reef' in Spanish, Arrecife owes its name to the rock reef which covers the beach. Home to the largest fishing fleet in the Canaries, this bustling port and Lanzarote's capital city features sun.bleached buildings and a pleasant Mediterranean-style promenade. The 16^th-century Castilla San Gabriel houses the Ethnographic Museum which tells the fascinating story of Guanche, the island's original inhabitants. Elsewhere, there is an impressive collection of paintings and sculptures in the Museum of International and Contempororary Art, located in 17^th-century Castillo San Jose.

Volcanic Ecosystem of Timanfaya

Timanfaya is the only one of Spain's 15 National Parks to be entirly geological. Covering 21 square miles, the park was created by volcanic eruptions between 1730 and 1736 when more than 100 volcanoes becane active and devastated this area of the island. The result is a lunar-like landscape strewn with unusual rock formations and tinged with red, orange and yellow variations. Most of the site is now dormant with only one volcano remaing active - Timantaya, after which the park is named. The temperature in the core ranges from 100 to 600^oC, just 13 metres below the earth's crust, and the park's restaurant, El Diablo, cooks using geothermal heat.

The details of our visit

Mary enjoyed a leasurely tour of Arrecife. (to be completed)

Mel studied the works of Manrique.

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