Tuesday 16th December 2025 - Timanfaya

Today we booked a coach trip to Timanfaya.  It meant that Kevin could have a rest from driving and enjoy the scenery.  We dropped off our hire car first before walking to the pick up point.  Being the first pick up point, we were able to get seats on the front of the bus for the best views.

The bus collected at Playa Honda and Puerto del Carmen before a rendezvous with another coach bringing passengers from southerly Playa Blanca.

The forst stop was the green lagoon which we had seen yesterday.  After that, the tor headed up to La Geria for a look at the unusual vineyards, where vines are buried deep into the earth to reach the pre-volcanic eruption fertile soil.  The vines are also protected by a semi-circular wall that gives some respite from the island's wind.

The advertised wine tasting was a thimble of rather rough local wine!

Next it was on the the PN Timinfaya.  You can drive into part of the park by car, but then have to park and take a bus round the most protected area.

The guide pointed out the volcano that started the eruptions of 1730 that devastated much of the island.  Fissures opened up and spilled out lava and toxic gases for 6 years, making many families homeless and driving them to leave the island.

There were queues of cars waiting to get in but the bus bypasses them.  We were taken to the Island of St Hilario where the main centre and restaurant is.  We were shown how hot the earth still was with "Geothermal experiments" involving hot stones, dry bushes igniting in a hole 2 meters deep and also water poured into pipes buried in the earth that would spurt out like geysers a few seconds later.

We were also shown meats being coked over the heat.

Next it was back on the bus for a tour of the most protected parts of the park.  An audio designed by Cesar Manrique described the impact the 1730s reuption had on the islanders.

The road was vey narrow with some vertiginous drops so we were grateful for a good driver.

The landscape was unworldly and terrifying.  We've seen similar landscapes before in Peru (the valley of the volcanoes) but that was remote and hard to reach.  I'm glad we came back here.

Tour over, it was back to Playa Bastian where we stopped for a drink at a local bar.  Kevin wasn't enamoured with the wine and the Champagne cocktails was garish and sweet.

Finally back to or flat.  The Canarias wine we'd bought as a treat was pretty impalatable.  It didn't get drunk. Were still recovering from colds, so were pretty tired so we were in bed and asleep not much after 7.  Party animals.