The first of our Canary Islands' ports, Lanzarote felt like the most rural and "volcanic" of the islands we visited during our Explorer of the Seas cruise. Declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1993, the island sits just 80 miles from the northern coast of Africa. Visitors can see evidence of the volcanic nature of its creation when viewing any of the over 300 cones visible throughout. While many (maybe even most?) are now extinct, there are still several that are dormant and could erupt at some time in the distant future. The only currently active volcano is in
Timanfaya National Park, which had its last major eruption 1730-1736, with a more minor eruption to occur in 1824. Today there are still several "hot spots" providing proof there is still geothermal activity in areas of the park.
During our 3 hour ship sponsored excursion, our tour included a brief
stop inside the park, as it was more of a "drive through" experience. I
would have really liked it if we had at least made a stop at the
park's
visitor center. Rather, the stop we made was here . . . to look at the
camel ride activity provided in the park. At 11
€ per person for a 20 minute walk, this seemed more like a tourist trap to me than a real cultural experience, although longer rides are also available from another park concessionaire. NOTE: Our tour did not offer nor provide a camel ride. We stopped here merely to view the camels.
We made our way to the coast to view the rugged shoreline and blue waters. All of the Canary Islands are the result of volcanic activity millions of years ago. Like the Hawaiian Islands, there is visible proof where the land meets the ocean.
After a short stay here, we made our way to our final stop of the tour.
Bodega La Geria Winery is one of several local vineyards producing local varietals. The stop wasn't really much of a tour, but rather an opportunity to get out and walk around a bit, check out the winery and read about their production process, buy some wine and maybe a sandwich in the adjacent cafe.
On the bus before our arrival, our guide explained how grapes are grown in the volcanic
fields that were all around us. Deep holes are dug, where the vines are
planted and nurtured. Bricks made from volcanic rock are set around
the plants to prevent damage from wind. It was very interesting to see, especially considering how barren the land appears.
I will show my bias regarding destination tourism and how some business models are built specifically for tours and ship excursions such as this. I really wasn't very impressed with this winery experience, particularly when compared to what we did in Portugal the prior week.
There is a difference between having a more personalized visit versus being somewhere with more than 5 bus loads of tourists. The volume of people being brought through by tour and excursion companies generates the monetary reward for a business like this to not be too concerned with the quality of the guests' experience. The day's tour was 3 hours long and cost just $48. It was a nice way to see the island, however, so I have no regrets.
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