Back on Paw Paw, the remainder of the day was spent editing and producing our “professional” videos for selling Paw Paw, the footage of which was all filmed on Thursday. Delighted with the initial results, Saturday was basically a repeat of Friday, with the exception of choosing somewhere different for our breakfast; the Rubicon Coffee Truck inside the mall. Although we had the video efforts to occupy our time, we however, had to remain onboard while we waited on instructions from the marina to move to our re-assigned berth. By 1800 the instructions hadn’t arrived, so an email, marked “urgent” was sent to the marina office explaining that we were heading out to honour our dinner reservation and that we wouldn’t be onboard at all on Sunday. It was during dinner that Roy received a phone call from the marina staff, apologising profusely and informed us we didn’t have to move afterall. Delighted with that news, we enjoyed a rather unusual, but tasty dinner at Arabella’s on the waterfront; a Buddha bowl for Elaine and a house special Italian pasta dish for Roy.
Still exhausted from our passage and feeling frazzled from the continuous stream of To Dos, Sunday was a day of rest; well, at least, a change of scenery.
After collecting our hired car, we set off to explore Isla de Lanzarote. First stop was the Timanfaya National Park, in the southwestern part of the island and had the most unusual landscape we’d ever seen, dotted with dormant volcanic mountains, craters and fascinating rock formations rolling out into the distance, created from the numerous volcanic eruptions over the centuries. Our coach tour took us through this impressive sea of lava, stopping at various volcanic craters and lava tubes along the way, making us feel like we were on the moon.
Timanfaya, meaning Fire Mountains, is a reference to the greatest recorded volcanic eruptions that devastated the island for six years from 1730. Documentary evidence of this eruption states: “On the 1st of September (1730) between nine and ten o'clock at night the earth suddenly opened up near Timanfaya, two leagues from Yaiza. On the first night a huge mountain rose from the bosom of the earth and from the apex flames escaped which continued to burn for nineteen days”.
Volcanic activity continues today as the surface temperature in the core ranges from 100 to 600 °C / 212 to 1,112 °F at the depth of 13 metres / 43 ft, something we could feel through the ground as we walked around and which is demonstrated by a guide pouring water into a volcanic vent, resulting in a geyser of steam, as well as a barbecue located over one of the lava tubes, which was roasting pieces of chicken while we were there. The heat emitted was staggering.
In 1993, UNESCO designated a Biosphere Reserve covering the whole of Isla de Lanzarote, with the national park as a core area.
Besides taking the coach tour, one can also tour a section of the park by camel, something we decided was probably not the best idea, particularly for Elaine, since Roy’s imagination was running wild once again, with visions of Elaine hanging off the side of the camel by one leg and being trailed through the sand or something ridiculously similar.
After our tour, we enjoyed a coffee and baked delight at the restaurant in the park, sporting spectacular panoramic views of the stunning landscape, giving way to the Atlantic Ocean in the distance.
From there we made our way to the first of two vineyards we visited; Bodega La Geria and Bodegas Rubicón, where we learnt about the ingenious growing process used on the island.
Given the harsh, arid climate and a landscape of black rock, it seemed impossible that anything could grow, never mind grapes, but generations of dedicated winemakers found a solution. The ingenuity of Lanzarote's 18th-century inhabitants dug deep divots by hand, called “hoyos”, into the volcanic ash, 3 metres / 10 ft in diameter and 2-2.5 metres / 6 ft deep, until the buried soil was found, where the vine was then planted. This “hole” is accompanied by a rock structure that acts as a windbreaker to protect the plant, making the landscape look more akin to an art exhibition rather than world-class vineyards. Since we’ve enjoyed a number of dinner outings, we’ve had the opportunity to sample a variety of these locally produced wines and they’re definitely unique, as well as tasty.
Our next stop was Museo Lagomar, which incorporates “Casa Omar Sharif”, the famous home of the actor, Omar Sharif, which he lost in a gambling bet during a game of Bridge and what must have been a heartbreaking experience, given the uniqueness of this home, built into the contours of the rock-face, with the natural caves creating the various rooms of the house, providing spectacular views of the volcanic landscape and Atlantic Ocean.
Our last stop was the “Cueva de los Verdes” (the Green Caves), situated on the northeastern part of the island. Unfortunately we weren’t able to see the inside due to the lengthy wait times before each tour, opting instead to drive down the coast and stop in at Punta Mujeres to enjoy a delicious late lunch / early dinner at Mamas Grazia, before continuing on to Puerto Calero to enjoy a nice cup of tea and a chat with Andy and Paul on Talulah Ruby III.
By early evening we were back in Marina Rubicon, enjoying sundowners on the waterfront, before heading back to Paw Paw for a nice chat to Keenan, who was on a stopover in Seattle.
Yesterday we were up fairly early to get ready for our departure from Marina Rubicon. While Roy dropped off our access card and the key of the hired car, Elaine prepared breakfast, after which we gave Paw Paw a cursory clean. It was soul destroying that, after all the effort and energy we’d invested in giving her a detailed cleaning inside and out, to stage her for the “professional” videos, a sand storm, which blew until this morning, had covered her in red sand off Morocco. It was literally everywhere!
By noon we’d cast off the dock and had commenced our short sail up the eastern coast of Isla de Lanzarote to Puerto Calero, where we’d secured a berth months ago and where Andy was waiting to assist us with our lines. After an initial chinwag and a cold beverage, arrangements were made to join Andy and Paul and friends, for sundowners on Talulah Ruby III, followed by dinner at a wonderful local restaurant called Restaurante El Tomate, the first restaurant to open in the marina after it was first built.
By mid afternoon, though, neither of us could keep our eyes open, forcing an afternoon nap; something we were glad of, considering the rather late night which ensued over drinks, dinner, numerous sailing stories and plenty of laughter in the company of friends.
Today we enjoyed a somewhat slower morning, although most of the day was spent completing our “professional” videos, revamping our For Sale website, uploading all the videos and advertising on a few more platforms. We ran out of time by early evening when it was time to meet Andy, Paul and their visiting friends for drinks at the Upper Deck Bar, followed by another tasty dinner at the Azure restaurant. Besides eating and drinking our way through Isla de Lanzarote, we were definitely sampling all the different restaurants in the process.
For those interested in seeing the videos or indeed, if someone is interested in purchasing Paw Paw, feel free to visit our For Sale website at leopard46.appsforboats.com. We plan on having this link on our whereispawpaw.com website soon as well.
