Vulkan Island Lanzarote - this time not alone

When my boss showed me the duty roster for November and I saw that I would have 8 days off in a row, it was clear: I must take this opportunity to travel. So I started looking for the cheapest flights to Anywhere. Greece was definitely out of the question again. In my eagerness, I asked a friend if she would like to accompany me spontaneously in November to Anywhere. It was already mid-October. And she said yes. So we looked for travel destinations in Europe where it would still be pleasantly warm in November. At first, we thought about southern Spain, but the supposedly only 19 degrees deterred us a bit. Then we came to the Canary Islands. We decided on Fuerteventura or Lanzarote and searched for flights there, she from Munich and I from Leipzig or Berlin. After some longer planning and annoying flight searches, I found a decent flight from Berlin to Lanzarote. Jana had to fly from Munich already 2 days earlier and return 3 days later; it couldn't be otherwise. Then we also searched for accommodations in parallel - for the shared nights and for her overnight stays without me. It is often not so easy to be so spontaneous, but we found options and were quite satisfied.

On November 14th, I was set to go. Jana was already on-site and was able to pass on the bus connections and some tips for how to get there. I was lucky: the trams ran without delays, my ICE to Berlin didn't get canceled and was even on time; there were no strikes at the train station or at the airport, and the check-in and security control went smoothly, so I actually got to sit at the airport for 3 hours without anything to do. And there is really nothing to do in Terminal 2. But hey, better than stress. In Lanzarote, I then found the bus stop - with a little detour because I got lost - and, again, I was lucky because my bus arrived shortly thereafter. I lent a guy 80 cents, got it back via PayPal, took a ride of nearly an hour, had to change buses, missed one, waited for the next bus, a 10-minute ride, and then fell into Jana's arms at our accommodation, a bit exhausted. We chatted a bit and then went to bed soon after. By the way, I know Jana from my Costa Rica trip, where we attended the same Spanish course in Puerto Viejo and spent a week together there.

The next day, we wanted to head towards Playa Papagayo, which is a pleasant hike away from our accommodation. We started hiking around noon through a surreal landscape that sparked a vision in me of a future on an inhabited moon. Jana immediately knew what I meant. In Lanzarote, all the houses are white and they often stand in precise rows with entirely the same architectural style next to each other, in settlements that seem to stem from a drawing board. And all of this is in a landscape that remarkably resembles the moon's surface. At times, since we saw no people around in this surreal landscape, it reinforced the feeling of hiking on the moon. Near the sea, where the actual hiking trails seemed to be, there were already more people out and about. We hiked from one beach to the next and then stopped at a restaurant at Playa Papagayo. Unfortunately, there are not many vegetarian or even vegan options here, so I had boiled potatoes with the traditional mojo sauce. It was okay. On the way back, we made a stop at one of the beaches, which had become quite empty by now. Because in the meantime, it had indeed gotten really cold and windy, and without the warming sun, you could really feel it. But the sun god was with us, and we could still soak up a bit of warmth.

Upon arriving home, we went straight to the supermarket to buy bread, cheese, and tapas. We then tried again to find a suitable tour in Timanfaya National Park for the next day, but all tours were either on other days or involved other attractions that did not interest us. So we postponed that for now.

The next morning I tried again to find a tour for other days, this time starting from our second accommodation in the north, where we would be moving to the next day. However, there were no tours to the national park in the south from there, so we had to somehow plan the bus ride to one of the tour starting points. Very complicated, but after some searching, correspondence, and phone calls, we eventually found an option. We definitely wanted to get to this national park because the pictures of the park looked spectacular.

We picked up some snacks for lunch at the supermarket, and after eating, Jana rode her bike to the beach while I stayed at the accommodation to write a blog and try to relax and rejuvenate, as the last two nights had been very restless and not restorative at all. Later, we went to a nearby restaurant that also offered vegetarian and vegan options. That was really delicious, and I found the decor very nice.

The next day we moved on to our second accommodation because we wanted to explore the north of Lanzarote as well without having to drive far every day. So we took the bus north. Although we had to change buses twice, everything worked out great, and we arrived at our accommodation, the Finca de Arrieta, in the early afternoon. I had discovered the accommodation online beforehand and was immediately very excited. An eco-finca with various small to large holiday homes, from Eco yurt to Eco Lodge to Eco Villa. There was even a small tower where one could stay. We had booked the Eco Garden Cottage but received an upgrade to the Eco Luxury Villa a few days before departure, which we accepted. So we went from one bedroom and a sofa bed to two separate bedrooms. In hindsight, it was actually way too much space for two people, and the villa also had a creepy aspect to it. But more on that later. The finca itself had a communal area with a pool, kitchen, and cozy seating areas, an area with chickens and donkeys, playgrounds, a volleyball court, a honesty shop - a small 'store of trust' - and much more. For me, it was immediately a place to feel good.

After arriving, we rested for a bit and then later - after a brief, heavy rain shower had passed - went into town to eat. The Finca de Arrieta is somewhat outside the village of Arrieta, but only about a 20-minute walk from the center. However, the rain had created a small, rushing stream, so we could not use the shortcut behind the finca.

The handful of restaurants in the village specialize mainly in fish, so there were again several side dishes for me. After eating, we found our way back to our accommodation in the dark and realized that our villa at night appeared somewhat creepy. The large, rather dimly lit rooms, built from rock, and the dark, heavy furniture made the villa somewhat reminiscent of a castle from the Middle Ages. It was a little scary, especially when you are only sleeping two in such a large house. We made sure to leave one of the hallway lamps on overnight.

The next morning, we first hiked into town to buy some things at the supermarket, as it was closed on Sunday afternoon. After breakfast outdoors at our accommodation, we wanted to plan the day and realized that it was actually a bit more complicated with the buses in the north than we thought. So we had to hurry a bit to manage the walk to the caves and afterwards catch the last bus back. However, you had to book the ticket for the caves online in advance and choose a specific time. This caused us a bit of stress on the way there and we couldn't really enjoy the beautiful landscape we didn’t expect at all. But we just made it in time and arrived at the caves completely sweaty and exhausted. The 'Cuevas de los Verdes' were formed by the eruption of the mountain 'Corona' thousands of years ago and are the walkable part of a 7-kilometer long cave system. The approximately one-hour walk through the cave was a bit stressful for me, as I get scared in tight spaces, but overall it was not as bad as expected and was quite entertaining with our guide. On the way back, we could take the last bus of the day to Arrieta and treated ourselves to delicious pasta with vegetables at home.

Since we had booked a tour to Timanfaya National Park for the next day, we had to get up against 5 a.m. because the tours unfortunately do not start in the north of the island, and we had to take the bus in the morning to Arrecife. Since the first bus of the day left around 7:15 a.m., we were under some time pressure because we were supposed to be at the meeting point in Arrecife by 8:30 a.m., and our travel time was over an hour according to the plan. With one change of buses, it was quite tight. But we were lucky and, despite delays, arrived at the meeting point on time. If we had not been on time, the tour would have started without us. Eventually, with some delays and after stopping numerous times to pick up other guests, we were on our way to the national park. Since the park can only be crossed by bus on a fixed route and the parking lot has limited capacity, each bus is given a specific time window that must be adhered to. First, we saw some geothermal experiments and a huge grill powered by heat from the ground. After a short coffee and cigarette break, we took the bus through the volcanic landscape. Due to several volcanic eruptions between 1730 and 1824, Lanzarote is now covered with lava in three-quarters, and in 1974, the area around the once-village of Timanfaya in the west of the island was declared a national park. The remnants of the eruptions reminded us of a lunar landscape and were incredibly impressive and fascinating. We felt like we were on another planet. After about 40 minutes, the whole magic was already over, and we drove to a place where one could go camel riding. Not for me, as I find such things somewhat questionable, even though the animals seemed to be doing fine. Later, we were dropped off in Arrecife and returned to the north with some waiting time. In the evening, we had baguette and tapas, and I enjoyed the warm air on our outdoor bed while gazing at the starry sky.

Actually, we wanted to go to Órzola again the next day, a bit further north, as I had discovered a nice hiking trail there. But since the buses only go to Órzola very rarely, and I wanted to treat myself to a massage, we decided on a relaxing day. So, I enjoyed a soothing massage in the morning, and afterwards, I went for a walk with the donkeys of the finca. Jaime, one of the staff members, took the donkeys out, and we accompanied him. As it had rained 2 days before, a bit of grass had grown between all the rocks, and the donkeys nibbled at everything they could find. By the way, the donkeys were rescued from a farm and are now allowed to spend their old age at the finca. The rest of the day, we relaxed a bit, I wrote a blog, and started preparing for my departure. Additionally, Jana and I evaluated our time together because we are both not used to traveling in pairs. That was a very honest, open, and reflective conversation, and I am very grateful that we had it, and we both learned something from it. Thank you again for that ❤️

In the evening, we went into town again to eat and shop. I was set to leave the next morning, while Jana would stay a few more days on the island. Overall, traveling in pairs was an exciting experience for me, after having traveled alone for the past few years. The best part was probably being able to share experiences and always remember them together later.

Thank you for reading, and see you soon.