Going up and going down in Lanzarote ! #WhatsYourAdventure

Trips100 have teamed up with The Family Adventure Company to inspire people to travel a little more adventurously this year, even with kids in tow, and they've asked bloggers to create a blog post sharing their most memorable family travel adventure. I always think it's sad when people say they can't go abroad because they have young children - Pierre is only six and he's already been to Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Lanzarote, as well as various regions of France and the UK. The first time we took him on holiday, he wasn't even a year old but with a combination of breastfeeding and a baby carrier that folded up so small that it could go in our hand luggage, he really was no trouble at all !

Trying to decide on one extra-special family holiday memory was tough - coming across a herd of wild camels in the mountains in Morocco was pretty spectacular, as was wandering around the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey - but I think, in terms of unique, unforgettable adventures, we hit a high point this year in Lanzarote.

The first glimpse of Lanzarote can be quite unsettling because it looks like you've landed on the moon ! It's rocky, black and totally barren with endless lava fields as far as the eye can see. We couldn't come to Lanzarote and not get up close to the volcanoes, so a trip to Timanfaya National Park was definitely on the cards.

The highlight of the trip, especially as far as Pierre was concerned (he'd have stayed there watching it all day !), was watching a man pouring water down a hole where it was turned into steam by the underground heat and thrown up in a pretty impressive water spout. This guy definitely must have the most enjoyable job in the world, especially as it always makes everyone jump and squeal !

If you want to tick off another "unique experience" box, how about eating chicken cooked over the heat of a volcano ?! Unfortunately, it was mid-morning when we visited, to avoid the rush later in the day, so it was too early to stop for lunch. I'd like to say that we'll do it some other day, but let's be honest, it's highly unlikely !

We did manage to have another totally unique experience though - going down to the sea bed in a yellow submarine !

Pierre was slightly apprehensive but even more excited as we clambered down the ladder and took our seats.

Before long, we were pointing out passing fish and looking at a couple of sunken fishing boats.

Just before heading back up to the surface, a diver came past the porthole, releasing food to attract more fish for us to see.

We'd mentioned that it was Sophie's birthday when we booked, but it was a huge surprise for all of us when the diver swam past holding up a happy birthday sign for her !

Definitely a totally unforgettable experience - and she even got to keep the sign as a special souvenir when we resurfaced !

The question is, where will we go next? We're debating Cuba, or maybe Bulgaria or Corsica. I'd love to go somewhere really far flung where everything, from the landscapes and food to daily life, would be totally exotic and different to what we already know. 

Disclosure : This is my entry for the Trips100/Family Adventure Company blogger challenge.

Lanzarote diaries : Geocaching and exploring in Playa Blanca

I've already told you a little bit about the seaside town of Playa Blanca, which was just a (free) bus ride from our hotel.

We went there a couple of times all together, to walk along the prom and go souvenir-hunting in the gift shops, but I also popped back for a couple of hours just with Sophie, while Madhouse Daddy, Pierre and Juliette splashed in the pool, to go geocaching.

The first geocache that we went looking for had a name that made me smile - "Lanzarote's worst geocache" ! Well, it may not have been one of the most beautiful spots on the island, hidden on a bit of scrubland next to a main road, but it did have the huge benefit of being just a couple of minutes' walk from where the free bus dropped us off and picked us up.

We soon spotted a likely-looking hiding place.

And sure enough, there it was.

We giggled at the treasures that were in there as swaps because they were all complimentary toiletries from the various hotels of Playa Blanca!

But best of all, there were also not one, not two, but THREE travelbugs - yay ! I always love picking up travelbugs and helping them move along on their journeys. These three all came from England so it'll be great to release them in France so they visit another country.

After filling in the logbook, swapping over some treasures and stashing away the travelbugs, we headed down to the seafront. We were really thirsty so we decided to go to Burger King for a drink. There was very little difference in price between the sizes so we opted for the biggest size, then fell on the floor laughing when we saw how huge they were - much bigger than the large size we're used to in France ! 

Feeling suitably refreshed, we wandered along the prom, taking in the views of Fuerteventura just across the water. You could even see the colour of the sandy beach and pick out a few buildings.

We watched the ferries that go back and forth between the islands - they have glass bottoms so that you can watch the fish in the crystal clear water.

Speaking of which, we'd brought some bread from the hotel breakfast and threw it to the fish from the promenade. There were loads of black fish that looked a bit like angel fish with a bright blue spot on them.

I went googling and discovered that they are Canary Damselfish and they look really pretty - you can find out more at the Something Fishy Going On blog. The blue colour is really vibrant.

A bit further along, we saw this hiding in the rocks, which looks like it must be the remains of an exciting-looking fish - maybe a scorpionfish ? (And don't be rude - I know exactly what you're thinking !)

The fish weren't the only things eating the bread - there were also some fairly large crabs, both black ones and bright red ones, which would scuttle out of the rocks, pinch a piece of bread then scuttle away again.

I mentioned to Sophie that the only thing missing on our wildlife hunt was a lizard and suddenly, we saw one !

We wandered along to the far end of the prom and saw this house, which is typical of Lanzarote in many ways - the green window frames and shutters, the white building, the lava walls, the cacti in the garden, ...

 

Down at the end of the harbour wall, there is a statue of a man staring out to sea. The view has also inspired dozens of romantic couples to fasten love locks along the chainlink fence running along the promenade.

There is a small lighthouse on the end of the jetty and, as I took a photo, I was photobombed by something rather surprising ...

a yellow submarine !

Unlike the big commercial yellow submarine that we went in for our submarine safari, this is a small submarine for personal enjoyment. One man's midlife crisis maybe ?!

We walked across a tiny beach covered with fishing boats then headed onto the rocky beach beyond.

We grabbed another quick geocache then headed back to the bus stop ...

... while the man in the submarine headed back to his life of ease in the sky of blue and sea of green !

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.