Marine life is settling in and making use of this different type of reef landscape. Paul and I found the underwater museum very interesting and wish that we had had some more time to visit. Each dive has a timed slot from start to finish, being roughly 45 minutes to get down and come back to the surface.
We wanted to do a dive off the rocks at Charco del Palo, the naturist village where we stayed. We had see diving groups come and go so, doing a bit of a search on the internet, we found a company (Native Diving) who did dives in our area. Although they are based at Costa Teguise, the company was prepared to send over a dive master who met us at a parking spot in the village; bringing along with him correctly sized equipment that we had pre-arranged and a van load of air tanks, weight belts, etc. Fortunately the dive master had brought along another diver so we made up a nice small group. The diver was French so our dive master had to explain things in French and then in English but Paul made out some words and also whispered a bit a translation to me.
Walking with all our gear down the cliff steps to a flat spot on the rocks at the water's edge was a mission for me. It was heavy!! The tide was low when we did our first dive so we couldn't jump into the water - we had to go in via an iron ladder. Getting down was fine but later, getting up the ladder with full gear on was quite a challenge with me. Then trying to stand up on the flat part of the rocks. I couldn't get up so I crawled on my hands and knees until I got to a railing and hauled myself up. By the time we had had a break, changed air tanks and got back down the cliff stairs, the tide was high so we could jump in. The swell, coming back, made getting partly back up the ladder was difficult for me again - the swell pulling and pushing and sucking my strength. Once again, on the flat, I had to crawl on my hands and knees to get to some railings in order to pull myself up. The dives themselves were very interesting and included a small cave to explore. It was a totally different underwater landscape to that we have seen during previous dives but it was enjoyable.
We decided to get a bit more exercise by doing some walking but bearing in mind that that sun can get hot, we would have to start earlyish. There were two volcanoes that we wanted to see but the paths to them were usually quite busy - you could tell from the crowded car park! We also wanted to walk in the buff. So we had to time our walks carefully so as not to shock any other walkers.Our first walk was around and in Volcan El Cuervo, starting off on a well marked path from the car park, through lava fields in order to get to the volcano. It was an enjoyable walk.
Our second walk we started off fairly early and I am glad we did because by the time we got back the car park was full! From the car park the well marked path led us through lava fields to Montaña Caldereta, and then into and around the inside of the extinct volcano itself. It was interesting to see how life has taken over inside the volcano - grasses and plants... After that we headed out of the volcano and walked up its edge, following a path through the lava fields to an adjoining crater - Caldera Blanca. After steepish climb we reached the lip of Caldera Blanca. The views inside the volcano and outside were gorgeous and worth the walk. We had a quick picnic break, sitting on a ledge looking into the volcano, making out sheep below. We wished that we could have stayed longer or taken the footpath anticlockwise half way around the crater and down another path outside the crater to the foot of the volcano. We had booked an afternoon scuba diving session so time was not really on our side. Needless to say we took the shortest route back down, being almost the same way that we had come up.
During the walk we kept an ear and eye open for other walkers so that we could tie our sarongs around us, respecting that people in clothes may not be too happy to see walkers in their birthday suits!
If you do decide to do any walking to the volcanoes - make sure you have sensible walking shoes, take along water, sunscreen and a sun hat. Remember too - leave nothing behind but memories. Take your litter home with you.
Paul did a bit of research on the web with regard to Spanish law and nudity. Apparently there is NO law against being naked in public, it's not illegal. However, there are cities that have made public nudity a no-no as a local law (like Barcelona and Cadiz). Having said that, nudity may not be accepted everywhere and every police officer knows the law well enough. Maybe bring a sarong - just in case.
Our final day came upon us and we sadly packed our bags. We did one last drive across the island and visited a Pirate Museum at Castillo de Santa Bárbara in Teguise. The castle is situated on the rim of a crater. The views are spectacular. The castle itself was an interesting piece of architecture with thick walls, cool rooms. And it wasn't very big. We spent a good hour or so before continuing our journey from north to south of Lanzarote and over to Arricefe to SIXT Car Rentals.
The car rental van dropped us off at the airport and we were soon boarding the aeroplane to chilly Belgium. The flight back was a nightmare for me. I developed terrible sinus pain - my face felt as if it was about to explode. Paul found some paracetamol for me and it took the edge off the pain - but only during the last hour of the flight.
When we landed and collected our luggage at Brussels International Airport, we were a bit unsure of where we had been dropped off even though we had taken a picture of the drop-off point. Fortunately another couple were waiting for the same car park company to pick them up so we sighed with relief. Back at the parking garage we picked up our car and drove back into the Netherlands, arriving during the wee hours of this morning. A warm shower and bed was all we wanted ....
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