History and Culture

After volcanic eruptions decimated the island in the 18th and 19th centuries, the people of Lanzarote came up with a way to farm and stay on the island. It rarely rains in Lanzarote, but the volcanic rock that covers the soil soaks up moisture from the air, releasing it into the plants cultivated beneath it. The stark lava fields are actually quite fertile, and grapevines grew well in this soil—wine is now a popular industry in Lanzarote.

Artist and architect Cesar Manrique had a significant influence on the island. He prevented tourism from overtaking the island and made sure the natural aesthetic was maintained as resorts and tourist attractions were built. Manrique made sure no building on the island was taller than a palm tree and he  prevented billboards from being raised on the roadsides.

The people of Lanzarote are jovial, colorful and unassuming. Festivals and music are popular any time of year, and the cuisine reflects the local culture. The people of the island take pride in the local agriculture: the small potatoes grown on the island, local wine and seafood.

Jameos del Agua

The top tourist attraction in Lanzarote is an ancient lava tube that has been transformed into a center of art, culture and tourism. Explore this tunnel that houses a restaurant, a natural saltwater pool, and an auditorium. It’s a distinctive blend of natural and manmade that’s unexpected and surprising.

Visitors enter the attraction via a large stone staircase that winds its way into a restaurant-bar. After walking down a hallway, visitors will come upon a natural saltwater pool that has collected from salt water seeping through the volcanic rock. Living in the pool are miniscule albino crabs that have become blind from their evolution in this dark cave.

After passing the saltwater pool, visitors will enter an exotic tropical garden that surrounds an aqua-colored pool. Attend a concert or a music festival in the auditorium at the end of the tunnel.

Outdoor Activities

Lanzarote is an ideal place to be active. Take a camel safari across the arid landscape, or play golf on a lush, green course. Visitors can go horseback riding across the beaches or bicycling over the rolling hills. If you would rather go exploring underground, check out the many caverns and tunnels formed during the island’s volcanic history. Ancient inhabitants of the island used to hide in these caves to stay out of sight of invading pirates, but today many caves are open to visitors and tours. If you prefer to view the land from above, you can take a sky tour on a small plane or fly like a bird on a skydiving excursion.

Of course, relaxing on the beach is one of the best things to do on Lanzarote. Walk along the white sand dunes at Fuerteventura Beach and swim in the crystal-clear water. Playa Blanca, once a quaint fishing village, is now one of the most active tourist beaches on the island. Find a secluded beach on the south side of the island. They are easily accessible, but due to their lack of amenities, beaches like Playa Mujeres and Playa de Papagayo remain relatively private.

If you’re looking for the perfect vacation, the perfect weather and the perfect beaches, check out Lanzarote. The landscape and the tourist attractions are like no other, and there is always something to do, whether it’s sampling the local cuisine or getting out into the open air.

Francesca Santelli is a travel advisor who suggests cheapholidaysabroad.org as a great package holiday search engine with lots of ideas for Mediterranean and European destinations, such as lanzarote holidays specials.

Iced Tea, Venezuela

It’s been more than 20 years but I can still remember the first time I tasted iced tea. These days, everyone’s drinking it but it was much more of a rarity in the 80s — and I’ve never found anywhere that can make iced tea in the way I first had it. This was during my trip to Venezuela when I was still a student. Around the corner, say about 10 minutes walk from where we were staying in Sabana Grande, was an Arab eatery that served the falafel with iced tea. This tea did not taste like tea at all — it had a heavenly scent of lemons and exotic spices. It didn’t taste like lemonade either — more like Pimms without the alcohol — but it was pure ambrosia.

Paella and Guitar, Barcelona

Fast forward a few years and I was in Barcelona with a couple of friends. It was our first trip and we decided that we had to sample paella. We couldn’t have picked a better location. It was a cafe with a view of the beach. It was warm and breezy. When we ordered we got a paella large enough to feed six — or so it seemed. It was beautifully presented and we tucked in with gusto. But the experience got even better when a thin man with very few teeth came to our table and started to play the Spanish guitar. While we knew it was probably a cheesy tourist gimmick the guitar added the right setting for our Spanish meal.

Garlic Pizza, the Alps

What’s exciting about garlic pizza, you may ask? This is one case where the context made the dish exciting. A friend and I had been visiting Nice when she had a problem with the car. It was a Saab and had to go to a registered dealer. The problem proved to be easy to fix but quite costly so we emptied our pockets to pay for the repairs so we could resume our trip to Germany. We left just enough for emergencies. We set off, driving through the night across the Alps, sharing a bottle of water and waiting until the last possible minute before getting something to eat as we knew that would be the last meal we would have for about eight hours.  At last we happened upon a little mountain cafe. We went in and looked at the menu — all we could afford was the garlic pizza, but we were so hungry that nothing had ever tasted that good.

These are just a few of my food travel experiences, have you got any to share?

(Photo: vanaclocha)