Vulcanic grill

Lanzarote restaurant 'El Diablo' was built next to a vulcano and is located in the heart of Timanfaya National Park. With a large grill put over a vulcanic opening, they use heat coming directly from the earth. When we were there, potatoes and chicken were being prepared.
The most recent vulcanic eruption on the island took place in 1824.

Self portrait

In 1970 César Manrique created this 'Autorretrato'. It is now on the walls inside the Fundación César Manrique in the village of Tahiche, Lanzarote.

Wind sculptures by César Manrique

Driving around on Lanzarote you can't miss the art works made by local artist and architect César Manrique (1919-1992). Several roundabouts have spectacular wind sculptures that make you want to stop and look, and study them to find out how clever they are. The one above gently moves forwards and backwards in the breeze..

..and here everything just turns around in both directions; so not just in the direction the winds blows but actually in opposite directions.

It's the season

Coming from the Netherlands we are not used to the combination of Summer temperatures and the Christmas spirit, but yes it was really that time of year :)

Lago Verde

Lago Verde ('The Green Lake') near the fishing village of El Golfo. The remarkable green colour is caused by algae that live in the water.

This photo was taken from the same spot as the first one, only a little more to the left.

Flying

Obviously the conditions for paragliding and hang gliding were very good on (or should I say 'above') the island of Lanzarote, as we spotted them frequently. This photo was taken from the viewpoint at Mirador del Rio.. 

..and here we witnessed a landing at Famara Beach.

Lanzarote cactus garden

Photo taken at the far edge of the 'Jardin de Cactus' or Cactus Garden, on the island of Lanzarote -one of the Spanish Canary Islands- where we enjoyed a sunny and warm holiday.

Tenerife beach art

 

A large metal sculpture at the promenade along the beaches of Costa Adeje and Playa de las Américas, in the south of Tenerife.

It is a nice object to photograph from different angles, but I am rather curious what J.L. Salvador -the artist who created it- had in mind!

Road or river?

It wasn´t ALL sun at Tenerife, well most of the time.. but we also had snow (high in the mountains) and a heavy rainstorm one morning that caused the streets in Puerto de la Cruz to overflow with water! I took this photo through the windshield of our rental car.

Candelaria mural

I showed you a nice mural from Tenerife last week, this is another one that we spotted. It was created by Ione Dominquez aka SODA in the village of Candelaria at the island's east coast.

Candelaria is the principal Catholic center of pilgrimage of the Canary Islands and one of the principal ones of Spain. Most tourists come here to visit the Basilica of Candelaria.

I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Detail

It's always good to keep your eye open for details. Photo taken in the Costa Adeje marina, in the south of Tenerife.

The dog at Punta de Teno

Strong winds mark the north west coast of Tenerife, however near the lighthouse at Punta de Teno we found a small and quiet bay. When we arrived here we saw this dog and his (or her) lady boss - also on the photo- were enjoying the bright February sun. A very sweet and well-mannered dog, as besides maybe a soft protesting ´hmmph´ when I made this photo, the animal didn´t move a muscle.

Have a nice weekend!

I´m linking to Saturday´s critters.

Bird of Paradise Flower

The strelizia, also known as ´crane flower´ or ´bird of paradise flower´, is the national flower of the island of Tenerife. They are quite common and we saw them in various places last week. For us this feels rather special as here in the Netherlands we only see them in luxury and more expensive flower arrangements. In Dutch they are called paradijsvogelbloem.

I'm linking to Floral Friday Fotos.

Wild

It makes a world of difference whether you are at the sunny and crowded beaches of the south, or here at the wild north coast of Tenerife. This photo was made at the Playa del Roque de Las Bodegas.

To the left please

This sign was on one of the walls near the outdoor swimming-pool of our hotel on the island of Tenerife. I thought it looked kind of sweet..

I'm linking to signs, signs.

Made from wood

Even though the (massive looking) wooden door and windows are beautifully decorated, and unusual and impressive, the house doesn´t appear very inviting. On the other hand, inviting enough to photograph :) But I wonder how much light can get inside.
The photo was taken in the village of Icod de los Vino (Tenerife) last week.

San Isidro mural

 Passing the village of Ruigómez on Tenerife we spotted this mural at the church square dedicated to ´San Isidro´, which is the name of a festival dating back from the 19th century. A bit of googling learned that the most solemn act is the creation of carpets of natural flowers throughout the streets.

Then there is a procession formed by numerous agricultural carts and carriages that provide local colour, while large groups of people sing songs from popular folklore. The patron saint San Isidro is symbolically offered fruits and soils. I think it's a lovely mural and I like it's location there.


For more murals around the world please visit Monday Mural.

Dinner in Spanish style

So we're back from the Spanish sun on the island of Tenerife. The average winter temperatures on the Canary Islands are around 20°C (68°F) in the south part, and obviously that really felt good!! Amazing how quickly we got used to it. ;)

On the photo is the paella dish that we had for dinner one evening, and look at the wonderful way in which it was served. No need to say that it had to be photographed before we began :)