Lanzarote, Los días uno y dos

Jueves (Thursday), 15 de Abril

Puerto del Carmen to Costa Teguise

11.1 miles/17.76 km

Our trip to the Canary Islands started off with a BANG! Incidentally, we didn't know about the bang until we had arrived on the small volcanic island of Lanzarote and realized that a volcano on another volcanic island was erupting and disrupting air traffic all over Europe. It seems we had narrowly escaped the gigantic Icelandic ash cloud--we were certainly one of the last flights out of London that morning, April 15th. UK airports didn't see planes landing or taking off for the next 5 days. We considered ourselves to be quite lucky.

Moving on. We arrived at the airport near the city of Puerto del Carmen, determined to walk to Planet Bikes, where we had two rugged, yet lovely trekking bikes awaiting us. After wandering around for several minutes, we found this to be impossible and instead took a bus. A friendly German fellow named Roland was surprised by our arrival that morning from London, and was even more surprised to find we were taking his bikes for an entire week, and that we were using them to transport ourselves across the island. He set us up with flat kits, tools, helmets, and our bikes, and sent us on our way toward our first hotel in Costa Teguise. One thing he did not provide us with, however, was an Allen wrench, which was the only bicycle tool we actually needed during our entire trip: only two miles into the journey that day, Laura's seat post wiggled itself loose and proceeded to shrink to its lowest height, which was surprisingly uncomfortable. Luckily we were able to use our incredible orienteering skills ("Looklooklook! Another bike shop!") and our fantastic Spanish (a series of gestures, grunts, and pointing) to solve this problem. The seat was adjusted, tightened, and didn't give us any more trouble. That done, we proceeded along the coast for another 6 miles or so before arriving at our hotel.

The map above shows our route for the first day, in red. You should be able to click and drag, zoom in and out, etc. on any of the maps we've placed here (which, really, are all the same map. We've just centered them on different sections so you can see a play-by-day.)

Derek in Puerto del Carmen on the first day, getting acquainted with his bike. He refused to name it.

Laura and Blanche (A.K.A. Blanca) the Bergamont Bicycle, at Jameos Playa (Beach) in the city of Puerto del Carmen.

This was our gear for the whole trip. We later decided that our packs, as small as they were, were actually still too big. We could have reduced the clothes we brought by quite a bit. But no matter. As for the bikes, they were really cool and perfect for what we were doing (half road biking half mountain biking). They were 700cc wheels, but with thicker tires than a road bike and with some good tread as well as a front shock. They handled some pretty rugged trails quite well. Also, instead of gears and derailleurs, they were equipped with 8-speed internal rear hubs. I've ridden bikes with internal hubs before, but not ones which had 8 speeds. They shifted really smoothly and in any situation (whether you're pedaling or not) instantly. It was almost as good as a retro-direct, but not quite.

The western coast of Lanzarote on our first day as we approached the city of Arrecife on our way to Costa Teguise (also, pretty much the lowest position of Laura's seat during the ride!).

Viernes (Friday), 16 de Abril:

Costa Teguise to Guatiza circuit

19.3 miles/30.88 km

View lanzo in a larger map

The next day, we rode out of Costa Teguise along the coast to the northeast, signified by the orange route on the map. We were excited to be out of the cities and onto a bike route we had heard of which supposedly encircled the entire island. What we found was something that looked like this:

At times, the trail was more rugged still, and we found ourselves walking:

The rare flat & sandier parts became a playground:

The going was a bit slow sometimes, but it was such a beautiful ride with such astonishing terrain, we didn't mind taking our time. We stopped for a snack of galletas (cookies) and cashews where the trail met the ocean, after a few miles of inland riding. This was our view from there:

The goal in mind was to make it to the famous Cactus Garden in a little town called Guatiza. We made it! The first thing we did was order a huge bottle of water and a large meal. The best part about the meal was the fresh goat cheese, which we encountered several more times during the trip and thoroughly enjoyed. Here's a broad view of the entire garden:

Essentially, the place is an old quarry which a local artist (Cesar Manrique) transformed. It holds over 1400 different species of cacti. Here are some more pics from our lovely afternoon:

We found this little guy particularly amusing:

Some of them were just very interesting!

Brains!

These were the biggest barrel cacti I have ever seen. Derek loved them.

So that was our trip to Guatiza and the Jardin de Cactus. We cycled back the hotel in Costa Teguise via a different route, along roads, because it was late and we didn't feel like navigating through the fields of volcano rock, even if they were beautiful. Our butts were pretty sore by that point, and we were glad for some smoother riding. Overall, a pretty great day. (Laura thinks it was her favorite of the whole trip, if she had to choose.)

Today we Made Scones

...and yesterday, we made Roasted Parsnips (and carrots and onions). We also worked on our "garden" (a broken concrete slab, surrounded by pebbles, through which grow enormous amounts of tenacious weeds and one measly daffodil. It is definitely the ugliest garden in the neighborhood). We're slowly adapting to the English lifestyle.

None of that has anything to do with our trip to Wales, with the exception of the Roasted Parsnips, which were introduced to us by a lovely young woman at King's Hall Carvery. We ate them for our Sunday Roast. They were delicious. We decided to make them for Easter. They were delicious again, so much so I've inadvertently capitalized the R and P in Roasted Parsnips twice--no three times, now. I stray from the point.

We went to Aberystwyth, Wales. It's pronounced just like it's spelled, with the y's being like i in parsnip. Derek presented a paper there at the University of Wales during a graduate student geography conference, and we decided to stay for two extra days to enjoy the quaint seaside town. We welcomed the change in pace and atmosphere from London. For starters, we sat across from a woman named Leslie on the train. She chatted us up and by the time we pulled into Aberystwyth, she had offered to drive us to our guest house from the station. That turned into a tour of the town and also the University, where she had taught up until her recent retirement. She noted that she couldn't wait to turn 60 so that she could get a free bus pass--she said between the students and old folks, she was about the only one who paid for the bus on her trips up "Heart Attack Hill" where she lived, near the University. After walking this hill three times that weekend, we approved of the nickname.

Laura ran into another interesting character--didn't catch his name but immediately fell in love with his blonde Golden Retriever (which was far more interested in a small terrier than in being pet)--down on the promenade (i.e. "Prom"). In a rather thick Welsh accent, he relayed the following story:

"Awhile back I was down in Brighton walking on the pier, when an elderly woman started screaming bloody murder. It appeared her dog had fallen--plunk!--right off the pier and into the water and is drowning right there. Suddenly, out of nowhere this German fellow jumps right into the water. He climbs out, dog in hand, starts breathing life back into the little creature, pumping his little chest and all that. Then the dog coughs, pops back on his feet and the woman scoops him up. 'Ohh, thank you so much! I'm just an old widow and my little dog is the only companion I've got,' she says to the German guy. 'How did you ever do that? Are you a vet?'

'Vet?!' The German says, 'I'm soaking!'"

Upon finishing his joke, the old Welshman immediately said "byebye then" and turned and walked away with his dog trotting alongside, and Laura sat on her bench laughing as he retreated.

Of course, something like that isn't likely to happen in London. We enjoyed the small-town, friendly atmosphere for a few days. Not to mention it was a beautiful place! Check out our pictures:

The town of Aberystwyth, taken from the top of Constitution Hill (i.e. "The Consti"--apparently they are very fond of abbreviations and nicknames!). There's a neat old tram that you can take to the top--or you can walk the 430m up to the top.

The Prom, taken at Sunset on our first evening there. Our guest house is one of these (the pink one). That's Consti Hill itself, in the background.

Looking over the town (and some sheep) from halfway up "Heart Attack Hill" and near the Welsh National Library (we went into this library and, among other things, learned that President Obama is part Welsh). You can just make out the tallest tower of the castle ruins just to the right of center (see more on the castle below).

A WWI Memorial, on the tip of the tiny peninsula near the center of town.

The memorial shares the peninsula with a Castle ruin. The castle was built in the 13th c. or thereabouts, and has had many owners. It has lost most of its walls and towers as it changed hands from one conqueror to the next. But there are still some fun arches and structures standing.

Historians are fairly certain that cannons were first used in Britain during a siege of this castle in the 17th c. Wonder what created this hole?!

Sunset from the top of Consti Hill, looking away from Aberystwyth to the adjacent village to the north. A lovely view. Leslie told us that on a clear day, you can see up to 100 miles of Welsh coastline from the top.

Eat your heart out Edora! We found this basket and eight others at the top of Consti Hill. We would have brought some discs if we'd have known they were up there, but actually they were so close together that you could have played the entire course standing in one spot. It was more like mini disc golf than anything else--made for a nice photo though!