Costa Teguise – Lanzarote (Lanzarote)

Member Name: macluke

Product:	Lanzarote
Date:	10/01/02 (1041 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cesar Manrique, Timanfaya, Cesar Manrique!!!

Disadvantages: Mehemet Cote!, windy on beach

There is plenty to do on Lanzarote and this may give you a few ideas. We were staying at the Lanzarote Beach Club, which is in Costa Teguise. This is an excellent place as you can read about in the review I have already written about it, but here I want to talk about the area and some of the island.

Firstly Costa Teguise itself. It is a little bit more expensive to stay in this area of the island than Puerto Del Carmen, as it is a little more up-market and a lot quieter. There are some superb hotels in the area, in fact we were staying next door to one, the hotel Salinas which is well worth a nose round. Eating around the area runs from I haven’t got any more room left in my stomach to God did I really wait around for that load of rubbish.

As you leave the club and go to your left, it is not worth going right as there isn’t much that way, you head towards the area known as Los Cucharas (the spoons). Just as you get to this there is a little Chinese restaurant that we tried several times as it is very good and more importantly we were able to get into on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. The food was excellent and we also were given a small bottle of sparkling wine (free) each, as it was that time of year. At the end of the meal we were given yet another free drink plus our son was given numerous lollies to eat. As you head up the road there are numerous other restaurants, but about half way up the hill there is a very small Indian restaurant well worth a visit, but don’t expect brilliant pappadums as like most of the Canaries they tend to serve pappads. That aside the rest of the meal was excellent, which is more than I can say for another Indian restaurant up the road in the main part of Costa Tequise. This establishment is called Mehemet Cote and I was a little slow on the uptake I must admit. We arrived there only to be told they were full (a good sign we thought) and could we come back in 45 minutes, whi
ch we duly did. Unfortunately they were still busy and had not reserved a table for us, so we had to wait again. When we eventually got served after another long wait for the meal; I can quite honestly say it was the worst Indian meal I had ever had anywhere. I realised why soon after, the chef was from Essex, female and not Indian! I then also realised the significance of the restaurant’s name, it is what we should have done to begin with, taken me hat and me coat and left!!!

There are some other good restaurants around the area, particularly the small Spanish ones (look out for one behind the main drag sat snugly in a corner that is in a traditional old house with window seats made of stone and only enough room for about six tables, but oh the food! If you really want to stuff yourself silly then I can recommend the Tex-Mex that lies behind the Chinese, although at this time of year go a little bit early and sit inside as we went later and it was a bit cold sitting outside.

As for this part of the island, the places you must see are anything to do with Cesar Manrique. He was the artist/designer/architect/landscape gardener/eco-warrior etc. it is thanks to him that the island is not full of high rise buildings (nothing is allowed above six floors and most has to be low rise) and no advertising boards are allowed up on the island unlike other Spanish islands. There are two notable exceptions to these, firstly there is a high rise in Arrecife, which was burnt down (the shell still stands) and secondly there is a hoarding on a piece of land next to where we were staying and it is not surprising that the club gets a bit of hassle over planning permission when they do this.

Musts to see – Fundacion Cesar Manrique – this is where the man himself lived and his wind sculptors can be seen all over the island, but to go through his sub-terranean dwelling is something out of this world, what talent and what a loss. It is n
ear here that he was killed in an accident on the roundabout just before his home. Another must is near the North of the island Jameos del Agua – another sub-terranean dwelling but this time with a theatre area as well as a large swimming pool (which unfortunately you cannot use). Whilst you are up in this part of the island there is the Cactus garden on the way which is worth a look, as well as the green caves near to Jameos del Agua. At the top of the island there is Mirador del Rio, which gives you a great view of La Graciosa (take binoculars) a small island that is inhabited and also if you look down the cliffside you may just see the number plate of one of the cars that has taken a nose-dive off it!

Of course there is one place that is an absolute must on this island and that is Timanfaya, the national park. This is where the magma fields are, it is worth hiring a car to see this as you get a better view of the area both going into and out of the park. Once you get to the centre of the park you leave your car behind and included in the entrance price for the park is the bus ride around it, which will take about an hour and you have to see it, as no amount of explanation can give you the real feel of the place. In the centre of the park is a restaurant which uses the heat of the magma to cook the food (you can watch it cook) and just outside the restaurant you can watch the warders show off their magic. The setting alight of brushwood and the pouring of water down a hole and no matter how good you are it still frightens the life out of you when it comes exploding out as steam. On the way to or from Timanfaya you can go on the only train on the island – the camel train. If you have never been on a camel yes it is worth the experience, but personally I think they could have done more with it than what they do, it is a bit touristy so don’t worry if you miss it.

I hope this gives you some feel for this part of the isla
nd, I shall write about the other parts as we were in Puerto del Carmen in April.

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