We had two goals today. Sleeping until we’re done and driving around the island to observe its natural beauty. Spoiler alert: both goals were achieved.
Our first stop however wasn’t a natural beauty. 📍Teguise is the quintessential Spanish colonial town. Founded in 1414, Teguise served as the capital of the Kingdom of the Canary Islands from 1425 to 1448 and as capital of Lanzarote until 1852. Its large plazas surrounded by low buildings make it perfect for holding a market, which it does every Sunday. We’re not going to be on the island on Sunday so we had to content ourselves with the colonial architecture.
With a little bit of culture behind us we went for the 📍Mirador del Río, designed by our good friend Cesar Manrique. It stands 500 meters above the sea and, quite honestly, offers a spectacular view. I did wonder why they named the viewpoint after a Brazilian city. Turns out, that “El Río“ is a river or, in this case, a narrow strip of sea. As it turns out the viewpoint is directly in front of the straight separating Lanzarote from La Graciosa (since 2018, it’s the eighth Canary Island).
With a couple of good pictures and a deeper appreciation for the beauty of the island, we did a quick stop at 📍Órzola, a fishing village not far from the Mirador. Well… when I say not far, I mean as the bird flies. We had to drive quite a bit to get down there. Something we didn’t mind too much as it afforded us more chances to appreciate the landscape and the multiple volcanic mounds around.
Órzola isn’t anything special. Rocky shores, small coves to protect the boats, and a catamaran full of tourists disembarking. The show had its charm and allowed us to take a welcome break and snack a little before driving back up to the 📍Mirador del Río and following the LZ-202 along the cliffs to a series of Miradors with gorgeous views.
With enough gasoline burned, plenty of beautiful sights both inland and on the coast, we headed home to relax some for and take it lazy.