The trip
"On September (the 1730) between nine and ten o'clock at night, the earth suddenly opened near Timanfaya, two leagues from Yaiza. On the first night a huge mountain rose from the bosom of the earth and the apex escaped flames continued to burn for 19 days ". Who thus speaks is the priest of Yaiza, Andres Lorenzo Curbelo, witnessed the violent volcanic eruptions that changed the face of southern Lanzarote for no less than six long years.
On the insides of these sleeping giants I am about to take a walk unusual, trails that meander through the sea of ??petrified lava, a horizon that bleak man-, surprisingly, has been able to retain virtually intact. It's the last thing one expects when he takes a family vacation of sun and sand, so come prepared for anything but a trip of this type. Of course, no trace of mountain boots. I have to make do with a shoe, sport even. The socks also stayed in Madrid. With that reckless Sunday pint in tow, I juice al group led by Marcelo, the Canary Trekking, a company pioneering in Lanzarote offer visitors this different perspective of the island. I am the only Spanish, so that the explanations, inevitably, are in English.
Most tourists who visit the land in Lanzarote Timanfaya National Park, with its impressive route 14 kilometers through the heart of the eruptions. What is the difference? The visitor can not dismounting at any point along the route and has to be content with enjoying the antics geology of volcanoes through the glass of the bus. For anyone who likes walking, the walk leaves a bitter aftertaste that can only be removed by moving to the next Natural Park of the Volcanoes, where the degree of protection is lower and you can live the unforgettable experience of walking up to the crater of a volcano.
Our goal is the volcano Pico Party, a little more than 500 meters. The walk, I must say, is not demanding and is suitable for all audiences, long as care is taken to look where you step (an obvious observation that it is not so when we walk more concerned with the camera lens to the path). A sprain can spoil the morning.
In front of us excel the silhouettes of two volcanoes, Caldera Blanca (the largest island) and the Timanfaya, that names the adjoining park. In two peaks separates us a horizon of massive lava rocks, known as malpaíses. It is an ocean accident, a landscape frozen by the wrath of Mother Earth, that every so often to walk out their anger to remind our insignificance, to moderate our insolent arrogance. It seems as if thousands of rabid centaur had dug the ground in search of food. Judging by the massive destruction, not found.
To begin with, Marcelo makes us aware of a disturbing event. The capricious geological cycles of volcanoes indicate that each 40 years there has been some kind of volcanic activity in the Canaries. "When was the last time?”, someone asks innocently. "In 1971, on the island of La Palma ", responds by rote. No need to take a lot of bills. It has been 40 years.
Soon, the path of volcanic ash makes me miss my mountain boots. The guide warned us that it is totally forbidden to take any kind of stone as a souvenir, but a few minutes I've been so many pebbles in the shoes could well be arrested for criminal geological.
"A few days later a new pit was formed and a torrent of lava rushed Timanfaya, on Rodeo and part of Mancha Blanca. The lava spread over the sites north, to the top as fast as the water, but soon slowed its speed and ran rather thick as honey "
The story of the priest of Yaiza is overwhelming, apocalyptic. It is impossible to imagine that before eruptions this were fields of grain. Now, vegetation is virtually nonexistent. Just a few lichens and bushes known as "vinegar" (which were reproduced exponentially after a tropical storm 2005). The fauna, imperceptible, is also present: grasshopper, lizards, rabbits, crows, partridges and Peregrine Falcons have managed to make this home hostile territory.
I have so many pebbles in the shoes could well be arrested for criminal geological
We continue up the slag and dodging boulders of all sizes released at the time by the volcano, now scattered over the embankment as missiles abandoned in the battlefield. We walked between channels m depth eroded by the tongues of lava down the mountain to twenty miles per hour. Actually, underfoot accumulate a huge amount of stone bubbles can collapse at any moment. A good reason not to leave the path.
After an hour and twenty minutes we reached the crater of Pico Party, a big pot of peaceful aspect that is hard to imagine expelling its entrails with fury. We are surrounded by six volcanoes and the views are spectacular. Is hard to see the west coast of the island and, in the distance, the quiet town of Tinajo, where neighbors raised the church of San Roque in gratitude for having saved his life after the eruptions. A French tourist, somewhat heated, decides to put an end to the adventure. The collect around.
Half an hour later we climb to a second crater on the lower ridge of Peak Party, also known as a pass The Bowl. After skirting, return by another route between copper rocks (result of oxidation and sulfur), the characteristic "hornitos" (stone fireplaces were once secondary outputs angry lava) and wash roped, which resembles a wrinkled sheet that had been petrified.
In December 1731, the volcanoes of the island were making the rounds. "People began to despair of ever seeing not stop these horrible disasters, left the island with his cure for refuge in Gran Canaria. Volcanic action does not cease to occur in the same way for five consecutive years, not ending up eruptions 16 April 1736 ", wrote the priest of Yaiza. That day, third part of the surface of Lanzarote had been converted into a heath. Although twelve small towns were destroyed and more than 200 households were affected, there were no fatalities.
More information about this and other routes in Lanzarote: www.canarytrekking.com
The road
A Timanfaya Volcano Park is reached by the LZ-67 that connects Yaiza and Tinajo. The entrance to Timanfaya National Park costs eight euros (guiri price, as the islanders pay far less, incomprehensible given that I do not think that when they visit the rest of Spain were charged more than the Spaniards to enter a museum), while to go the natural park does not have to pay anything.
A table set
The Restaurant "The Caletón", in the coastal town of The Gulf, is a must on the island for those who want to enjoy a good meal, at a reasonable price, and the best sunsets in Lanzarote. "The Caletón" is at the end of the promenade (literally, because the road ends a few feet away). The waiter gives you a choice between a tray full of fresh pescaso. We opted for a porgy. Highly recommended to warm up with some limpets, a gueldes (pescaíto frito) and the inevitable wrinkled potatoes with mojo. To brighten up the evening, a dry white Malvasia.
Highly Recommended
-If you want to climb a volcano on your own, the most accessible Red Mountain, Playa Blanca (the south of the island). The trail comes very close to the Rubicon Palace hotel and within half an hour is top. The views from the crater worth, with Fuerteventura on one side and the west coast of Lanzarote on the other. The trail skirts around the crater, allowing further expand the panoramic.
-The LZ-30 vertebra Yaiza Teguise area The Geria, wine route in which stages wineries and vineyards entrenched behind stone walls volcanic, characteristic of the island. In Teguise, in the shadow of Santa Barbara Castle (overflown by aircraft taking off from nearby airport of Arrecife) yet there are terraces on Main Street (Catholic kings) you reconcile with the euro, where a third of local beer, Tropical, charged at EUR 1.5 ¡! As I said, as if the hands of the clock had stopped years ago.
