Lanzarote

Flag of Lanzarote

The home of the rich and the island perfect for quick getaways, there's no doubt this small island is on everyone's lips.

Fire Mountains of Lanzarote

Home to the Fire Mountains and the Timanfaya National Park, Lanzarote holds more green belt between cities than any other country. The island is picturesque for families and adventures alike, especially for those interested in the history of these iconic Mountains, which are breathtakingly rugged and natural. These two inter-connected locations are just one of the min attractions Lanzarote has in its arsenal. Other attraction include the likes of the city Matagorda, Arrecife, the beach at Puetro del Carmen and the Old Harbour and Papagayo Beach.

Map of Lanzarote

Nicknamed the Land of Eternal Spring, the island has a sub-tropical climate with temperatures hovering between 18 degrees in the Winter and 27 degrees in the summer. Said to be the first island to hold settlements, Lanzarote is located in the Canary Islands alongside its fellow Spanish communities of Tenerife and Gran Canaria in the Atlantic Ocean and bordering the Western point of Africa. At its place as the northernmost and easternmost island in the area, Lanzarote prides itself on its tourism and agriculture industries with its research into volcanic geology coming up as a close second. The Fire Mountains are one such example. These red sandstone mountains and dormant volcanoes keep the history of the island within its grasp, only allowing specialist geological researchers to answer the questions scientists have in regards to this fearsome landscape. This also links in with the Timanfaya National Park, which is one of the only National Parks to be created almost entirely of volcanic rock.

However, whilst Arrecife is the capital city of the island, my favourite has to be the city of Matagorda, located seven miles away in the south-west. Matagorda is a vibrant and lively city filled with colour and the contpunctuary popular restaurants selling cuisines from around the world, bars and small tourist shops and accompanied by the ambience of a stereotypical tropical seaside resort town with the ocean to one direction and local music from the other. Matagorda has a population of under 20,000, which whilst under Arrecife's figure of 59.7 thousand, is impressive and every resident has a warm and inviting charisma.

Fire Pit of the Fire Mountains

When I journey to the island in the summer of last year, I wasn't sure if this holiday would be as exciting as the previous times I have visited an island in the Canary Islands, but I was glad to be proven wrong. Lanzarote is a haven for natural wonders, such as the Fire Mountains and the Tamanfaya National Park, with its little devil signage. With the island coming under Spanish Rule, I was yet again reminded of the kindness and easy acceptance the Spanish have for those who are disadvantaged in some form - my hemiplegia - or another - someone with Dyslexia. When you visit the Continent, there are a lot of things that majorly set them apart from the British Isles and that is their acceptance of disabilities, which became more accepted through the worlds Military Forces coming home with their own forms of disability, and disadvantages. Spain and her overseas territories really can open someones eyes to what a simple acknowlegement and acceptance of that piece which makes that person stand out from the crowd.

Puetro del Carmen 

As a whole, Lanzarote should have a pride of place on the bucket list of people wishing to visit a tropical paradise without the hassle and stigma its neighbour Ibiza receives.