Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands was our destination today. A short distance from Tenerife, we arrived on time despite leaving Santa Cruz late yesterday. The population of this island in 2018 was over 61,000 people living on an island full of volcanoes, 19th century churches, museums, castles, beaches, lagoons, and many markets. Excursions sold here today began with panoramic Lanzarote for $50 for 3 hours, or hidden Lanzarote for $ 70 and 4 hours. Or you could see Jameos del Agua and Mirador del Rio for $80 for 4 hours, or for the same price, trekking volcanoes for 4 hours. Caesar Manrique and Canary culture was $90 for 4 hours, and for $100 you could see the island of volcanoes with a camel ride for 4 ½ hours. Last, but not least, see the best of Lanzarote and ride a camel too for $150 for 8 hours. Hopefully, not 8 hours on a camel.
This is a good time to mention the TV reception, which did not exist while in Tenerife yesterday. The last "story" about why we were blocked was due to local authorities forbidding it, more or less. However, low and behold, when we turned on the TV very early this morning, it was working. Must have been a miracle…..
Since we have never been here before, we decided to see what we could of the city today. We felt no need to leave this fine resort city. It was certainly a fine day to walk for miles, since the temps were in the 70's, and despite some wind, the skies were blue and the sun was shining. On the horizon and over the highest volcanoes, a thin layer of fog hung over everything. And we were not alone in port today as the Mein Schiff Herz was docked across from us. This ship was the former Celebrity Mercury, one that we had sailed on many years ago. It is over 77,000 gross tons with up to 1912 passengers and 780 crew. Belonging to Marella Cruise Line, it appeals to mostly German-speaking families with kids. Once again, it rates 3 plus stars from Berlitz, the same as the Zuiderdam.
A crew drill took place at 10:30am with "a man overboard" exercise. This was a good time for us to leave the ship after doing some research online first. The shuttle bus was waiting at the end of the gangway, but once boarded, we had to wait at least 20 minutes before it left. By then, it was full of guests and crew. The ride was said to be 25 minutes, but it turned out to be about 15 minutes to Marina Lanzarote. There were two ways to walk or stay on the marina spit where we had seen some restaurants. One of them happened to be a Burger King, and we know for sure, many of the crew members will go there. And if they know their way around town, they will find a supermarket and buy snacks.
We chose to go to the main city, and not the inner marina where the small boats were in a sheltered lagoon. If we had time, we could always check this older area out on the way back. It was a very long hike, but all on level ground as we followed a wide promenade sidewalk along the coastline. We passed by the remains of which appeared to be a castle/turned museum. The best photos would be right from the walkway from the moat and bridge. No need to walk to it, as we did not feel we had time for a museum. Down a narrow alleyway, we spotted a bell tower of a church.
Numerous shops, cafes, restaurants, and hotels lined this street, all with views of the ocean. Since little was opened this early except some coffee shops, we continued walking to a very large building that soared over everything else around it. Thinking it to be apartments, we soon realized it was the Arrecife Gran Hotel and Spa, more than likely a 5- star hotel, and the nicest one in this area. We explored the lobby and did find a menu for their restaurant, which was mostly fish. Not our choice for today.
Directly next to the hotel was a long stretch of white sand beach and a shallow protected cove in which to swim or sunbathe. No one was in the water more than just their feet so we assume it was really cold. A few young ladies happened to be topless, but stayed mostly facing the water. This is common in this part of the world we guess. During the warmer summer months, we bet this beach is loaded with people. There were outside showers for washing off the sand, and very clean restrooms. We might mention that it is always wise to pack tissues since the restrooms did not have TP.
We could see a round dome further ahead, so we went to see what it might be. That happened to be Disco Lanzarote, a nightclub. But right across the road, a much more impressive colonial-style building stood out by far. Without a map, we had no idea what it was, other than it appeared regal like a government building. The name on the front was Cabildo de Lanzarote.
It was time to turn around and search for the perfect place for pizza and beer. We are not into tapas that much, and pizza sounded so much better. There seemed to be as many Italian restaurants as there were Spanish ones in this city. Spotting two Dutch friends we know by sight, but not their names, we noticed they were dining outside at La Rustica, an Italian eatery with great food and wine they said. So we entered the upper patio seating, and sat at a table on the railing. We ordered two Estrella Galicia draft beers and one extra large pepperoni pizza. Our waiter said extra large? Are you sure? Yes, we love pizza and judging from the price, we figured it would be medium size. What he did not tell us was that the pizza was almost half the size of our table. When the pizza arrived on its own wood cutting board, it was as if the music stopped, the crowd became still, and all eyes were looking at us looking at this HUGE pizza. Holy moley…..this pie was big enough for two adults and a couple of young kids. Needless to say, it took us a while, but we did a pretty good job of coming close to finishing it. The beers were excellent as well. They were served in mugs that had been frozen in ice. One thing for sure, we will not be very hungry at dinner tonight. So two pints of draft beer and the humongous pizza plus the tip cost less than $27 USD, but in Euro. There is no place where we live that we could come close to that price. It would be double that, if not more.
Time to walk back, we took our time (don't know why?) and got back to the bus drop off point at the marina. We never did go explore the other part of the marina, but if we ever come back, we shall do that. With the buildings painted bright white and sky blue, it looked so much like we were in Greece. We suspect this may be the tourist area.
We joined the long line of guests and crew waiting for the next bus. It appeared that the Mein Schiff folks were walking back to their ship since it was on this side of the marina. We did not have a long wait, but when we got close to boarding, the coach was full. Another bus pulled up, and we got seats right in the front for the 15 minute ride back. We were in our room by 3:30pm, enjoying ice cold Cokes on the veranda. All aboard was at 4:30pm, and we expected to leave by 5pm or so.
Well that didn't happen because of the high winds, the Captain said our departure would be delayed until after 6pm. Then that time was changed to 9pm. By the time we finished dinner, the ship had left the pier, and was backing up slowly. By the way, we had one Caesar salad, a tomato mozzarella cheese appetizer, one hake fish plate and one pasta dish with marinara sauce. Desserts were sorbet and a strawberry jello. Light as we could keep it.
We continued watching the ship while it backed out of the harbor, turned around, and headed out to sea on our way to Morocco tomorrow. The Captain mentioned that we have 226 nautical miles to sail, but warned the 40 mph gale force winds will close the outside decks to all guests tomorrow and perhaps beyond that. That is a first on this cruise. Speaking of firsts, we heard that the Zuiderdam's visit today and yesterday was a maiden one, and there was a private ceremony which involved receiving a commemorative plaque from the Canary Islands. Pretty cool….
And we must not forget that the clocks went back one hour tonight, putting us on Morocco time. We can certainly use it.
Bill & Mary Ann
