Photo: Jardin de Cactus, Lanzarote
We left Agadir Marina at 07:30 on Sunday 11th September. We had checked out of Morocco the previous afternoon and had to wait for the local police to return our passports on Sunday morning. It was again foggy as we left, apparently the locals told us the fog has been a regular occurrence this year since about June, not the normal weather pattern for Agadir. The sun finally came out when we were 40nm off the coast, great to see it and gave the boat a chance to dry out from the moisture and dampness of the fog. The rest of the 216nm trip was uneventful, we did have to call one ship who altered course, with several pods of dolphins. One pod was particularly playful, with one of them going for the high jump record as he continued to jump out of the water, higher each time. We finally dropped the anchor in Playa de Francesca, Isla Graciosa, Canary Islands at 15:15 Monday afternoon. A pleasant bay in the shadow of a volcano.
Thursday 15th, we left the anchorage and sailed down to Marina Lanzarote, Arrecife. Not sure how, but we managed to pick the windiest day so far, 20 – 30 knots from the north with quite high seas, oh well it tested the boat and us, luckily it was down wind sailing. As we approached the channel to the entrance of the marina, we were puzzled by what we saw in front of us. The breakwater with a green, starboard marker at the end of it appeared to have an additional boom attached and extending further out. As we got a little closer we could see that it was in fact an extension of the breakwater itself, solid concrete, awash at high tide with a red flag flying in the middle of it. There was another green starboard marker at the far end, some 2 – 300 metres away. On our way out of the marina some days late at low tide, we could clearly see the concrete extension to the breakwater.
Lanzarote Marina was full with Jimmy Cornell’s Barbados 50 rally boats, all flying bunting, very colourful. They had a series of seminars during the week and also a helicopter rescue demonstration in the harbour, the rally will cross the Atlantic in November. We enquired at the marina office for an auto electrician to have a look at our alternator which had failed in Gibraltar. Within 24 hours we had a new alternator installed and working perfectly. Once the alternator was installed we went for a walk into Arrecife town, a quiet, non-tourist town with not much happening the days we were there.
The Canary Islands are volcanic, Lanzarote is the lowest lying of the Canary Islands with many volcanos and the landscape is fascinating. There was a major eruption in 1730 that lasted 6 years and destroyed most of the island, leaving behind rich, fertile, volcanic soil. As there is not much rainfall, the island gets its water from large desalination plants.
With Lynn, Dick and Bill we hired a car for two days and toured the island. We started at the Jardin de Cactus. The cactus garden was wonderful, very well laid out with a large variety of cacti. We were all impressed. From there we drove to the Aqua Caves, a natural water filled cave that was formed by volcanic eruptions. Inside the cave is a lagoon were a species of white crabs live, they are blind and not found anywhere else.
Next was the Lava Caves, a walk through part of the 8 kilometre lava caves and tunnels. Unlike the limestone caves we have seen in Spain and Gibraltar, there are no stalagmites or stalactites in these caves, no moisture, although there was a small pool in one of the chambers which when the water was still gave a wonderful reflection of the surrounding walls, it looked like a giant chasm.
We then drove through the wine area of the island, San Bartolome. The vines are planted in black volcanic soil on the ground, in small pits that have north facing, semi-circular walls around them. They are not grown on trellises. Unfortunately at this time of year we assumed the grapes had been harvested as most of the pits were empty.
Casear Manrique was a local artist, sculptor, who lived on the island and was passionate about it. Everywhere you go there are examples of his artwork, sculptures, paintings, all the roundabouts are landscaped and many have his sculptures at the centre. He was an activist who campaigned against high rise buildings, for only white houses, no billboards and much more. After lunch in Orzola, we visited his house, which is now a museum and has been left the way it was when he died in 1992. Then it was back to the marina after a full day, for dinner and to see the helicopter rescue demonstration.
Sunday we set off for the National Park, stopping first to look at the Campesino sculpture, by Caesar Manrique in honour of the poor. The National Park is on the west coast of the island, you take your car in, having paid the €9 per person entry fee, park by the information centre and then board a bus for a 30 – 40 minute drive around the park, complete with commentary on the history and landscape. It is easy to see the lava trails that lead to the ocean, the area is desolate, but stunning at the same time. Nothing grows, there are volcanos, volcano vents, lava rock and ash that stretches to the coast. It was well worth the visit.
Time for lunch, we headed for Marina Rubicon and Playa de Blanca, the tourist area on the south coast. This area was a total contrast to where we had just visited, it does have semi high rise, lots of resorts, hotels and shopping malls. There are also many beaches in this area and a ferry that goes across to Fuerteventura. It was then back to the marina for drinks and dinner, we also said goodbye to Bill as he heads back to USA till the end of November.
Monday morning we left Lanzarote marina and motored down to Rubicon marina, where we will leave the boat for a couple of weeks while we visit Gail’s parents and family in Liverpool, UK.
We are starting to do the checks and get work done for our Atlantic crossing. The sails are all off the boat, gone for main baton pocket checks/repair, UV strips on the Yankee and Staysail, minor tear in the gennaker, all will be done whilst we are away. One thing we have found difficult in the Canary Islands, and is still unresolved, is where to get our LPG bottles filled. It appears no one on Lanzarote can do them, we hope we can get them filled in either Gran Canaria or Tenerife.