On February 13-16 I attended a conference about mitochondria
on the Canary
Island of Lanzarote.
The Wikipedia article about Lanzarote has lots of photos and tells the story
of Lanzarote history, to which I am adding my own impressions, photos, and info.
I have only been to one Canary Island — Lanzarote — but the
location of the Islands west of Africa (west of the southern tip of Morocco)
makes them candidates
to be extensions of the Sahara Desert in the Atlantic Ocean.
There is very little rainfall — which is good for tourism
(the island gets its freshwater from desalination plants).
The other notable fact about Lanzarote is that there was
continuous volcanic activity from 1730 to 1736. For that reason,
much of the island is still covered with ash and lava rock.
But lava tubes were produced, the kind of which I have
wanted to see for much of my life.
Much of the lava rock is covered with lichen, which I am
told will eventually result in soil. Judging by what has
been accomplished since 1736, I'd say the lichen have a
long way to go. Volcanic rock is still close to the surface, in some
places. So the tourists can be entertained by showing
how sagebrush burns when thrust into a hole — and how
a geyser results when water is poured into a hole.
The lava tubes are a great model for the
labyrinths of ancient Crete.
They aren't just tubes — they branch in various directions
up, down, and sideways — a labyrinth. All the passageways
our tour group went through had plenty of electrical
illumination. Because there is no wind in the depths of
the caves, a pond is so still that it perfectly mirrors the
ceiling to give the illusion of a gorge.
Cesar Manrique
was an artist who was born on Lanzarote. Manrique fought for
Franco
during the Spanish Civil War, made a name for himself overseas, and returned
to his homeland as a highly revered native son. Given god-like esteem and god-like powers
on the island, he imposed his aesthetic values, such as his view that there should be
no tall buildings, and that all buildings must be painted white. Manrique built an
artistic estate-home for himself where he was visited by the King of Jordan. The King
was a smoker, but Manrique did not permit smoking in his home. The King's aides were
afraid to tell the King that he could not smoke, so the task fell upon Manrique.
When Manqrique told the King that he was the highest authority in his own home,
the King extinguished his cigar. The King reportedly thereafter respected
Manrique for his candor.
One of Manrique's most noteworthy creations is a restaurant/resort in one of
the lava tubes named Jameos del Agua, which contains an underground lake
filled with so-called "blind albino crabs". I say "so-called", because
they seemed very aware of hands attempting to capture them. When I caught
one of the crabs with my bare hands, our tour-guide said that he had not
seen anyone else capture a crab during his twenty-five years as a
tour-guide. The crab crawled-around in his hand and in mine until
I threw it back into the lake.
Tourists also could go on camel-rides. What impressed
me most about the camels was how completely domesticated
and compliant they were. To protect them from desert
sand, they have big eye-lashes on the lower lids of their
eyes as well as on the upper lids.
Despite being a desert island, by building expensive
resorts, Lanzarote and other Canary Islands have become
a paradise for sun-lovers. There is some beach amongst
the lava rock, but many more tourists spend their time
by a chlorinated pool.
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