Under the sun in Lanzarote

Some weeks ago, we decided to have a relaxed Easter break and instead of having "procesiones" to enjoy some days in the beaches of Lanzarote (in Playa Blanca, for more details). In overall terms, these have been one of my best holidays ever.I must start here from the very beginning: the airport in Lanzarote. It is light-years away from other airports I have seen in Europe, with a special mention to the one in Nice. The airport in Fuerteventura, where our plane back made a short stop, is even better and more comfortable. The fact to have a friendly and easy airport is really something to acknowledge when arriving to a foreign country and certainly a very important asset for a country (by the way, this is not an argument in favour of airports in stupid places like Salamanca, León, Badajoz, Ciudad Real and the like).
Other infrastructures around the island (roads, bus services, supermarkets, restaurants,...) are also remarkable. We were hosted in modest three-star apartments (Bahía Blanca Rock), so we did not have any luxus there. But, on the contrary, again, the quality of the accommodation is light-years, specially when put in relation with the price, from that in other European cities, like London or Paris, just to quote two of them. Our apartments were very clean and in a very nice area, with very kind staff, something which not all the hotels in Europe can say.

Generally speaking, I think we, as Spaniards, should be proud of the tourist industry we have, which is, again light-years more advanced than in other countries, like Greece, Croatia, Tunisia,... These countries can compete with us in prices, but not in quality.

Playa Blanca is really a wonderful place to stay in Lanzarote. It has a 10 kilometres long walk along the coastline, from the beginning of Punta Papagayo to a lighthouse in the southwestern corner of the island. Punta Papagayo also hosts some wild beaches, which are really worth the effort to go there and the inconveniences of not having public facilities. Playa Dorada, situated in front of our hotel, is a man-made beach of sand of very nice quality. At a walking distance of Playa Dorada, one has the sport harbour of Marina Rubicón, built in the years before the current crisis and where nice shops and restaurants can be found.

Beyond Playa Blanca, Lanzarote has many other things to offer. The most interesting one is the National Park of Timanfaya, covering the remaining of the vulcano eruptions three hundreds years ago. The desolated landscape as well as some funny showcases are really worth the prize of the excursion there. Also related to that vulcano activity, the former crate of El Golfo and the cliffs in Los Hervideros are remarkable points of interest. Lanzarote also has some other points of interest, which were mainly developed in the seventies under the auspices of the artist César Manrique, such as Mirador del Río (an impressive viewpoint over the tiny island of La Graciosa) or Jameos del Agua (an underground lake in the middle of a former stream of lava).

In conclusion, because it is almost midnight, Lanzarote is much more than a mere holiday resort and a very interesting place where to spend some holidays.