Walking in Lanzarote. 30th Oct 2011. Guatiza – Los Cocoteros
A fabulous walk which started yesterday with 25 of us decending upon Guatiza. We headed to the coast from there, and through Los Cocoteros… passing the salinas. We then headed up over the hills overlooking Charco del Palo before heading back to Guatiza.
A big thank you to the staff at the Sociedad in Nazaret for feeding us excellent tapas after our hike. Tremendous value!
Siete Islas
Many people who read this blog on a regular basis will know that I walked from the north to the south of the island last year, and I’m pleased to say raised a little bit of money for a couple of worthy charities. I’m now planning on doing something similar in spring of next year.
It’s a little more ambitious. Around March or April – exact date to be confirmed – I’m going to walk up, down, or across the ‘Siete Islas’, the seven main islands that make up the Canary Islands. That’s, in order, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, la Gomera, El Hierro and finally la Palma, the obvious finish point because of the airport.
If you’d like to follow the build up and the walk when it happens we’ll be posting some brief updates on here but most of the information about the charites, and the walk will be being posted on my blog – www.alangandy.com. You’ll also be able to keep up with the news on Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you to everyone who supported me earlier this year, wish me luck – I’m probably going to need it!
…and a special thank you to David White of Axia FX who is very kindly funding my travel and expenses for the expedition, and also to personal trainer Mitch Mitchell for his guidance and advice.
Alan’s Charity Walk – Photos from Day Two
A huge thank you to everyone who has donated to Niños del Tercer Mundo and The Rose Road Association during Alan’s Charity Walk. He has now completed it… but there is still plenty of time to get your donation in: http://www.justgiving.com/Alan-Gandy It’s up to £689.50 now!
Enjoy Day two’s photos!
Walking in Lanzarote – Montaña Roja. Nov 2010
This Lanzarote walk is one that people of most abilities can do. There are a couple of ways to get to the ridge… but I’m going to direct you up from sea level… which makes this a two hour round trip stroll.
Park up at La Mulata, which is the row of restarants nestled between the Natura Palace and Rubicon Palace hotels. From there, walk up the waste ground to the dual carriageway and turn right. Cross over the dual carriageway at the pedestrian crossing ahead of you, and continue up the road a short distance. Very soon afterwards, you will see a small handmade wooden footbridge, where you can hop over onto some waste ground. Head diagonally right, and continue up through the houses until you reach a well worn path which will take you to the top of Montaña Roja. Aim for the mast that you can see ahead of you, and you can’t go too far wrong… as this is where the path starts. (map below)
Once up there you can walk all the way around the ridge, with fantastic views across to Papagayo, Fuerteventura, Femes, and of course the whole of Playa Blanca. Inside the crater itself… you will see that many people have written their names and messages with the loose stones scattered about. Do add yours, and perhaps send us a photo if you would like!
Just as a diversion – here is a little story about a good friend of ours that took place in July of this year. His username on our Lanzarote forum is LeFtY, and his good lady is known as RiGhTy
So I got up this morning at about 6am and put my volcano climbing shoes on, and went for a climb up the volcano near Dad’s house. I got into the crater just before the sun started to peak over the horizon and set about playing with some big rocks. I arranged them into a short question (which I reckon took bang on 2 hours as it took lots of rocks to make it legible from the top of the volcano. anyway once I’d finished I went home and met Dad on his way out to take his dog, Dylan and the darn lil kitty on their walk.
So after we got back from our walk we nipped down to Le Moka with RiGhTy and Dad’s wife and had some brekkie (which was tasty as always) and had a sit down for a couple of drinks.
Once we finished that, me and RiGhTy got dropped off at the base of the volcano and went for a walk up there to pass some time. It was stupid windy up there and RiGhTy wasn’t too impressed about the choice of day to go volcano climbing and wasn’t hiding her displeasure. anyway we carried on up the volcano and reached the summit out of breath and a little windswept. so we peered into the crater and had a look at all the messages and names that people had left in rocks on the crater floor and RiGhTy pointed out one that said ‘MARRY ME?’ and proclaimed “oh that is lame, one says marry me!” to which I laughed and said “haha yeah……..” and promptly bent onto one knee and asked her if she wanted to be Mrs LeFtY
A few tears of happiness and disbelief from RiGhTy and she begrudgingly accepted after being told if she didnt say yes I was gonna bury her in the volcano.
Our warmest congratulations to LeFtY and RiGhTy (aka Chris and Mel), and we hope their 2011 wedding is everything they dream of.
Back to the walk now. Do avoid this walk if it is windy… as it can get quite blustery up the top. Do wear sensible closed in shoes. We bumped into a chap on our way up who wished he’d worn something other than his sandals. And don’t forget to take plenty of water.
Photographs for you below of course! Happy walking!
The map at the bottom shows you how to get to La Mulata from the Petrol Station at the entrance to Playa Blanca. Then the route from La Mulata is shown too.
Walking in Lanzarote. 31st Oct 2010. Mala
Yesterday was a great walk! We all met up early in the morning at the car park of the Cactus Gardens, before heading off road to a small parking area just below the dam at Mala.
On foot, we set off up quite a steep incline to the top of the dam, and then carried on up the mountain through some stunning farming areas.
The dam itself does contain a small pond behind it. Apparently the dam leaks, so it isn’t a huge amount of use for the surrounding farmland. But with water being such a scarse resource in lanzarote anyway, the farmers are used to that.
There were a number of groups out hunting rabbits… and the podenco dogs were bouncing around with excitement. We did stop and chat to one gentleman for a while… who also used a ferret to help root the bunnies out. His Podencos were full of life and very firendly, if a little nervously excited. Having seen some seriously emaciated podencos since moving to Lanzarote – we were refreshed to see the love between this man and his dogs. For anyone that has not seen Podencos before – please be assured that they are naturally skinny, according to their breed… and that these particular dogs are certainly well loved and cared for.
A number of people continued all the way to the top, almost reaching the weather station overlooking the valley… whilst 3 of us headed back down via the road.
A quick drink in 2 bars in Arrieta and we were off home again. Apart from the first steep climb, the walk was fairly gentle and suitable for most sensible ramblers.
I’ve attached a photo slideshow as per normal… but also a couple of videos… and a map. Don’t worry about having sound on the videos, as there is nothing there of note. They are only a few seconds each.
As always, the map is only a rough guide… and we recommend you consult a formal walking guide before setting off. For this walk you will need sturdy walking shoes, plenty of water… and I found that a walking pole really helped on the steeper sections.
Enjoy your walks in Lanzarote – wherever they may take you!
Walk. Playa Honda to Arrecife. October 2010
It has been some time since I have been out wallking – for one reason or another… so I was looking forward to starting off gently with this stroll from Guacimeta at Playa Honda, to Charco del Palo at Arrecife. The weather was fantastic… with the sun beaming down the whole time. We weren’t the only ones with the idea… as there were plenty of Spanish families out with their children. Continue reading
Walk. Haria. 16th May 2010
A couple of weeks have passed since I have been out on one of my walks. But on Sunday five of us went to do a recce before a walk with the larger group. Myself, John, Trish and the two Davids headed off to Haria on a slightly chilly (in Lanzarote standards anyway) weather. Continue reading
Walk. 25th April 2010. Soo
Sorry about the delay since my last Walking in Lanzarote post – but for a couple of reasons I had a break. I really missed my walking – so I was very pleased when I went along on this walk from Soo! Continue reading
Walk. 12th March 2010. El Golfo to Tenezar
The feedback I have been receiving about my recent walks in Lanzarote has been phenomenal. Thank you! You may or may not know that my walking buddy is the lovely John B from Playa Blanca. It is he who has encouraged me to get out and about and see the island in a whole other way. Thanks for that John – it really is appreciated! Continue reading
Walk. 4th April 2010. Decorated Beach
This walk took us down the steep slopes from the Goat Farm at Femes, down towards Juan Betancourt Beach (more history about that beach to follow next week). Continue reading


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