Lanzarote diaries : Volcano-climbing

This was the view opposite our hotel and each time we sat on the wall waiting for the free bus to take us to Playa Blanca, we would muse about how feasible it would be to wander up to the top of the hill, which is actually an extinct volcano.

On our last day, Sophie decided that, rather than head to the swimming pool, she wanted to go exploring, so we set off, GPS in hand because there were several geocaches supposedly up there. We had to walk through a little residential area to get to the base of the hill which, we learned as we passed this sign, is called Montaña Baja, which translates as Low Mountain.

We thought this sign was very cool !

We scrambled up the dusty, gritty path to the top, pausing to catch our breath a few times, and feeling totally inadequate when a young guy went effortlessly jogging up past us and all the way to the top then around the whole crater, barely breaking a sweat despite the heat !

From the top, you could see the whole of Playa Blanca and even across to the neighbouring island of Fuerteventura, but it was a bit misty.

This was looking down on our hotel from the top.

Moving away from the edge and looking towards the centre, we could see the dip in the ground, marking the crater. We could see loads of white lines laid out and went to investigate.

There were literally hundreds of names laid out in white stones, left by people who had climbed up to the top.

Sophie thought this was a really cool idea and wanted to add her name to the masses, so we scuttled around looking for white rocks to use.

We certainly left our mark on Lanzarote ... in a very eco-friendly way !

Time to carry on exploring. Looking closely, you can clearly see the ripples and cracks that the lava left as it cooled on its way down the hill.

Even with the mist, you could see for miles.

This is Pechiguera Lighthouse, an active lighthouse which, at 50m high, is one of the tallest lighthouses in the Canaries. If you look closely, you can see a smaller tower next to the white one. This is the original lighthouse, opened in 1866, which consists of a 12m tower at the front of a single storey house and is a registered monument. It looks tiny compared to the newer one !

This side of the volcano is where there were a couple of geocaches, but the terrain is very bumpy and skiddy and the GPS was sending us VERY close to the edge, so I decided to be sensible and give up the hunt - one of us twisting our ankle stuck up a volcano literally hours before heading for home would not have been a good end to the holiday !

I'm sure it was hidden in this lava hole, which was tantalisingly close but just on the wrong side of safe !

Even after a fortnight visiting the island, I still felt that the landscapes looked otherworldly and moonlike.

If we'd had more time, we would have followed the path all the way around the rim of the crater, but it was time to head back down to the hotel to help carry all of our luggage out of the room by lunchtime and have a final splash in the pool before heading for home.