I never tire of seeing pictures from the Canary Islands - Lanzarote especially has an understated beauty once away from the resorts. Thank you - any more to post?
Paul in Essex wrote:I never tire of seeing pictures from the Canary Islands - Lanzarote especially has an understated beauty once away from the resorts. Thank you - any more to post?
Thanks Paul! Happy to post some more. We stayed in La Asomada, a bit inland from Puerto del Carmen, and saw much of the island over 2 weeks
By the way, I very much enjoyed what I've seen so far of your Mexican travelogues! They make me want to go back - I visited only once, too briefly, 10 years ago...
Malephora crocea, Playa Quemada
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Rancho Texas Theme Park
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Timanfaya National Park
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Malpais de la Corona
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Caleton Blanco
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Senecio leucanthemifolius var. falcifolius, Caleton Blanco
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Euphorbia paralias, Caleton Blanco
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Mainly cacti, with a preference for Mexican ones, but I'm flexible!
Thanks Frank. Yes, Mexico is a true paradise for succulent plant lovers and an absolutely beautiful country full of scenery and contrasts.
But the Canaries are a lot nearer! And cheaper to get to. I haven't been to them all yet (just Gran Canaria and El Hierro left) but hope to address that over the next couple of winters. I have a real soft spot for Lanzarote, especially and I've been there a couple of times now to follow the 'footsteps of Manrique' - something of a hero of mine. So easy to get around, so dramatic and beautiful. Your picture of Timanfaya sums up the island for me.
Have you been to La Palma , Paul , the island no one seems to go to ( I remember once going to a travel agent to request information , only to be told it did not exist , and when I asserted it did I was shown a brochure with a map of the Canary Islands where it had been missed out as it was not a tourist destination ! )
La Palma - yes, I've been twice in the past and headed off there again in 3 weeks! An absolutely stunningly beautiful island - possibly my favourite of the Canaries. The collapsed crater in the centre of the island reaches over 2400m altitude so, as a result, the diversity in flora and scenery is quite remarkable - from the damp, misty laurisilva of the interior to the stands of wild dragon trees by the coast. Apparently the night sky there is one of the clearest anywhere in the world and on the top of the island there are a number of internationally run observatories. All the lighting in the towns is directed downwards and the resultant black out at night means there are stars studding the night sky from horizon to horizon.
Thomson go there once a week, either flight only or some packages. But the stats are interesting - only 120,000 visitors a year, 20,000 of those from UK. So, as you would imagine, not really spoilt by tourism or high rise. Yet. There is a new airport terminal building, new marina, and some road widening going on so there must be some plans to increase tourism. I just hope they don't spoil it.
La Palma is the greenest of of Canary Islands. Lots of water, lots of rain (in the north) and a paradise for those who love trekking around. Keep in mind that we too have winter now! Even if you might be bathing at the few little beaches, there will be snow on Roque de los Muchachos; so if you leave the hotel and the coast and walk or drive up into the mountains, be sure to take good clothing with you. February and march would be the month with most flowers of local endemics.
Have a nice trip!
Last edited by John Dos on Sat Dec 21, 2013 12:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.
