Lanzarote

All of the Canary Islands are volcanic in origin. And this is most evident with our first stop, Lanzarote... or maybe we could call it the Fire Island. It is so unique that it has been declared a UNESCO biosphere, and it nearly looks like another planet altogether. There are roughly 300 volcanic cones scattered around the island, bare mountains of pebbly lava, sometimes looking just like a giant pyramid in the distance. Others have a crater visible in their center. And dispersed between them are fields of chunky, black lava. 

Road to Timanfaya Park, LanzaroteThe entire southwest quadrant of this island is called Timanfaya National Park. It was besieged by six solid years of eruptions, quakes, geysers, and black ash between the years 1730 and 1736. It doesn't appear to have changed much since. As soon as we disembarked from the ship we rented a car and headed straight for this amazing site. A few residual pockets of hot magma are still close to the surface near the visitor center so that you can experience some of their effects, as will be seen in the movie to come.

Following this we drove north through the middle of the island, and I must say it was just beautiful. All of the buildings on this island are painted white, and the villages look perfectly pristine. There was one small town in a valley where we stopped for lunch which has palm trees, but other than that the areas I visited were virtually bare.  Where the black lava meets the blue sea there is such a lovely contrast. As you move beyond the Timanfaya area there is the resurgence of plant growth, but it only looks like the fuzz on a peach. 

Lanzarote

With only seven hours to explore we couldn't see it all. But without question this was a very unique, quiet, and otherworldly place to visit. Personally, I loved it! I hope you enjoy the photos I've added to the gallery.