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Hesperia Lanzarote.
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Adventure on volcano island...
Neil Sowerby6/ 5/2008
HARRY Potter And The Coal Scuttle Island With Year-Round Sunshine. Just a thought, JK. A sequel to the smash series?
My mind's wandering while I try hard to forget I'm claustrophobic as our submarine descends towards the seabed off Lanzarote. OK, it's a very jolly yellow submarine and there's plenty of space for 48 passengers and crew, but the pressure of all that Atlantic Ocean outside makes my sea legs go all wobbly.
It obviously didn't deter Ron Weasley (hence the Harry Potter sidetrack). Rupert Grint, who plays Harry's sidekick in the film series based on the Rowling novels, is quoted in the publicity material for Submarine Safaris SL: ``The shipwreck and the stingray were amazing. The sea is so clear down here.'' Spot on about everything, Ron. Huge viewports are filled with flashing shoals of grouper, wrasse, amberjack, conger eel and, finally, a huge ray cruising the turquoise depths imperiously.
An hour and a half of underwater magic.
Submarine Safaris is based at Puerto Calero, a yacht marina development created out of nothing in the 1980s on Lanzarote's east coast. There is also a spanking new seafront museum devoted to the study of whales and dolphins. Centrepiece is the skeleton of a Bryde's Whale (museodecetaceos.org).
Further north towards capital Arecife and its airport is the football shirt and lager reserve of Puerto Carmen, but this is a quieter, more sophisticated spot. Along the low-key harbour front, the Paseo Maritimo, just walk past the British Bulldog pub with a blackboard special of battered fish and mushy peas and visit the Taberno del Puerta.
Innovative tapas
Here some of that local fish is put to good use. Among the innovative tapas, I liked the prawns with dates and Serrano ham, but baby octopus in a parsley and cilantro green sauce was its match. A jug of the local nutty white, made from malvasia (avoid the reds), washed it down perfectly.
Lanzarote's winelands around La Geria are worth a visit (and a tasting - I recommend Bodega Los Bermejos near El Isote). A volcanic interior with no natural irrigation seems a strange place for viticulture but the volcanic gravel traps a few drops of dew each night. To maximise this feed, each vine is grown inside its own separate little `dry stone wall', creating a distinctive landscape. At the hotels our party stayed in we were treated to buffet dinners, inevitably hit and miss and not really reflecting local cuisine, so the Taberno had been a welcome treat.
That's not to knock the five-star Hesperia Lanzarote, a scenic 10 minutes' walk out of Puerto Calero. Four swimming pools, and even more bars, have been artfully shaped out of the rocky coast in a very attractive complex with terrific sea views.
Like all buildings on the small island (60km by 20km), it adheres to strict planning guidelines, laid down by Cesar Manrique.
This celebrated Lanzarotean artist, who died in 1992, was determined to prevent the crass overdevelopment that has blighted other Canary Islands.
Lanzarote still adheres to his decrees that every building be low-rise and, in the case of individual properties, whitewashed, with green shutters and, if facing the sea, blue.
Unique
Unesco has also designated the whole island, with its unique volcanic landscape, a Biosphere Reserve. When I called it a coal scuttle, I wasn't far adrift. Much of the island features South Wales Valley spoil heap-like cones - only with cacti. When the sun withdraws, it is all a touch glum.
This terrain is the result of eruptions in the 1730s, when vast lava avalanches turned the fertile centre of the island into what is now the Timanfaya National Park (the Fire Mountains) - an amazing must visit for any visitor to the island.
Our focus was on the sea, so we rented a motor yacht for a half-day trip out of the Marina Rubicon in Playa Blanca, the island's sedate, family-friendly southern resort.
Our captain was Duncan Boycott, who sold up his Shropshire conservatory business to move out full-time with his wife three years ago to run a yacht/cruiser training business (seamaster-trainingcentre.com).
The Boycotts were engaging company as we tootled along the coast to one of Lanzarote's finest beaches.
The Punta del Papagayo is actually a remote series of sandy coves set in nature reserve, a dusty 45-minute walk from Playa Blanca. Some coves are naturist, the rest are perfect for picnicking.
The dominant feature of the interior from this seaboard is the Montana Roja, a 197m-high extinct volcano. Like the lighthouse, this is a pleasant walk away from Playa Blanca, in truth a place with few visitor attractions.
The volcano is mirrored bizarrely in a hotel overlooking the recently opened Marina Rubicon. The 255-room luxury Gran Melia Volcan is modelled on an island village with patios and piazzas. The gigantic entrance hall is a replica of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the island's old capital of Teguise, while the hotel roof is a mini-version of the black lava cones. We stayed at the contrasting Princess Yaiza Suite Hotel, which is a vast five-star resort with fabulous facilities for families and a variety of dining options, including a Japanese restaurant.
There's a beach in front and the Kikoland sports complex next door. We sampled the spa facilities at beach level.
I felt thoroughly cleansed after the thalassotherapy pool, a Cleopatra bath (no asses were milked in the making of this!) and all-over chocolate wrap.
This last involved stripping to a thong, being painted in edible chocolate, then encased up to the neck in a chamber to be lightly steamed and showered.
Claustrophobia kicked in again and my imagination raged{hellip} Harry Potter And The Escape From The Terrible Chocolate Chamber. There must be a movie in that.
FACTBOX: Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort - prices from £719 pp, based on two adults sharing a Twin Partial Sea View room for seven nights on bed & breakfast basis. Includes flights from London Gatwick and private in-resort transfers. Hesperia Lanzarote - prices from £549 pp, based on two adults sharing a Twin Mountain View room for seven nights on b&b basis. Includes flights from London Gatwick and private in-resort transfers. For information and bookings contact Sovereign Luxury Holidays on 0871 664 0227 or go to
sovereign.com
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The authors has fallen into the trap of confusing personal prejudice with objective fact.
8/05/2008 at 21:45