Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Bucket List item--Ride a Camel--check!

Actually it was a Dromedary. Camels, with two humps, are found mostly in China & Mongolia and there are only about 2 million of them. The more common Dromedary, with one hump, is found everywhere else camels are found and there are about 17 million of them.

Having been to a couple of the other Canary Islands we were quite surprised by Lanzarote--the northern-most and eastern-most of the archipelago. Situated just 70 miles from the coast of Africa its volcanic terrain is described as Martian-like. To us it was very similar to the barren, volcanic fields and cones of central Oregon, where the lava tubes are located.

Traveling to our camel ride we passed through small towns comprised entirely of white, flat-roofed, houses of no more than two stories. Set against the black volcanic soil, they looked like a movie set.

Our camels, muzzled so they wouldn't spit, were lined up in rows like taxis. We sat side by side, in seats with rope foot rests and seat belts. They added sand bags to the side with the lighter person to even up the weight (i think he got carried away in our case). Even with the adjustments some couples with large weight disparities got a really wiggly ride, especially on the way back when the camels picked up the speed. They walk with both right legs then both left legs which gives you a side to side motion anyway! It was great fun!!!

We then traveled to Timanfaya National Park where the road, carved through the lava, was just inches wider than the bus. Luckily our Italian guide, Stephano, kept us distracted with comments like "At this moment it is considerated to be..."

On the way to our wine tasting we passed the salt pens, where they still harvest sea salt in flats inside a natural lagoon. The wine grown here looks like a tremendous amount of work. Each vine is housed in a hollow, some up to about 6 feet deep. The hollow has a volcanic rock wall built around one side to protect against the strong trade winds. There is no water for irrigation so the vines and the grapes are small. And, to pick them someone has to climb down the cone in a circular fashion, through the black volcanic sand-like-soil, so as not to damage the brittle vines--yikes!