Planet Ruby Starrs

Caldera Blanca One of the reasons for coming to this part of the world was to explore the volcanic regions – we were a tad disappointed to find driving around and exploring the main group in the Timafaye national park has to be done as a tour – due to limited access, its just not practical to let endless tourist do their own thing.  After a bit of research we found a walk up a volcano on the edge of the national park which was acceptable.  So that’s where we headed.  We parked the car in a cinder car park and hit the trail.  It was a slag stone heap cinder path cut through the lava fields.  The lava flows went on for miles all around us mile after mile of just black lumps and chunks of stone, some very jagged looking others having really smooth flowing surfaces.  On some of the rock a grey lichen has formed but for a great part of the landscape that is the only evidence of life.   the ascent begins The day wasn’t too good weather wise – ho...

We spent an often cloudy, very windy day (even the odd rain spot) driving round the Island of Lanzarote experiencing the various influences and art of Cesar Manrique.  Manrique was a local artist who was passionate about his home land and also about nature. He very quickly realised that Lanzarote was a special place but in danger of being ruined by tourism and strove to influence all developments to keep the integrity and beauty of the Island intact. As a result much of the architecture is low rise and allows natural features to emerge or not be destroyed but more incorporated – he managed to get all the right people on board at the right time and although he did employ some extreme tactics – for example taking industrial diggers out in the middle of the night to remove advertising hoardings as he objected to seeing signs for Coca Cola and other familiar brands when nature was much nicer - he has helped to create a pretty island.  He felt very strongly that ...

Today on the gloriously sunny island of Fuerteventura ( I feel like I'm reintroducing after the adverts) we explored the northern coast, where there were loads of lagoons, people, and more wild seas... it was a small seaside town called Cotilla - very Spanish and surprisingly tasteful as tourist places go.  we haven't been to the 'big' towns yet but we are struck by how unlike mainland Spain holiday resorts the island is, all the hotels seem to be low rise - or at least are in the smaller towns - tomorrow we get the ferry to Lanzarote and that is from a huge tourist town so the buildings there may well by high rise and more like we expected. if you look closely there is a girl doing a handstand in this picture!!  (show off) The coastal rocks were mainly black and volcanic and we drove through a very varying landscape - at one point it was just a vast volcanic lava spill, a little bit like Craters of the Moon we visited last year in Idaho USA. Fields and fields of ...