Although we're hoping to fit in another quick trip at the very first of August, in early June we planned a trip to Lanzarote, one of a group of Spanish islands called The Canaries, and deemed it our Babymoon. Whether or not we get to travel again just the two of us before baby, this was definitely our last trip without a big baby belly.
Lanzarote, though owned by Spain, is just 125 km off the coast of Africa, and is a volcanic island. Luke visited this island back in 2005ish for a frisbee tournament, and after hearing all of his stories, I've always wanted to go.
We stayed at the Melia Salinas in Costa Teguise and were pretty impressed with the hotel. We opted out of the all inclusive option but enjoyed the fresh, huge breakfast buffet every morning. Our room was also large (huge by European standards) and included a nice balcony with sea views.
Our first day in Lanzarote, we took full advantage of our beautiful hotel. We played a set of post breakfast tennis games and then lounged at the pool all afternoon, breaking just long enough for lunch. It was super windy, but luckily, still warm enough to enjoy the time by the pool. (I'll spare you the pics of the pregnant girl in a bikini. :)) After a well deserved nap, we met up with Luke's old friend from Lanzarote, Diego, and his girlfriend for dinner.
We spent our second day exploring the island. First, we visited one of the island's wineries for a quick tour of their museum and vineyard. Because of the windy, dry climate in Lanzarote, the grape vines are planted in deep pits and then surrounded by stones in order to protect them from the wind and to harvest rainfall. The bright green vines planted in the black volcanic ash definitely makes for a unique looking vineyard.
After the vineyard, we visited Timanfaya National Park, which was all about the volcanoes of the island and my favorite part of our day. We took a tour bus through the park to view several different volcanoes. As we looked out the windows during the drive, it seemed like you were on a different planet! (In fact, Luke tells me that several movies that are set on different planets have been filmed in Lanzarote for this very reason.) It is such a unique landscape. After the tour, the guides perform several different "spectacles" in order to show how hot it is within the earth on this part of the island. First, they toss hay down into a hole, and it catches fire. Next, they pour a bucket full of water down another hole, and it shoots out like a geyser. Finally, they have a large, natural grill where they cook all kinds of chicken to serve in the park's restaurant. All were pretty cool!
After our time in the national park, we had lunch and checked out the green lake in El Golfo before making quick stops at Los Hervideros, Mirador del Rio and Jameos del Agua. I think Luke's favorite of the day was the Jameos del Agua. (Is that right, Luke?) Don't quote me on this, but I think the Jameos are basically lava tunnels and caves that were formed when the volcanoes erupted thousands of years ago. The ponds within the Jameos are filled with tiny blind, albino crabs. The crabs are blind and albino because before the eruption, they were never exposed to sunlight. This is the only place in the world where these crabs exist. Cesar Manrique, an architect and artist from Lanzarote who has left a prominent mark all over the island, artistically developed a restaurant, bar, swimming pool, dance floor, etc around the Jameos for the visitors' viewing pleasure. :)
Near the end of our day, Luke started not feeling well, and by the time we made it back to the hotel, his tummy was really upset. We're not sure if maybe he'd just met his max of seafood for the week or what, but he ended up getting sick that night. We took it easy in the hotel room, and let him sleep it off and rest up for the next day.
On our third day, we took a short ferry across to Fuerteventura, another of the Canary Islands, where we rented two beach chairs and soaked up some more sun on a beach called Corralejo. Luke's tummy was better, but he was still feeling a little tired and not 100%, which actually worked out pretty well for a lazy beach day. He usually gets kind of antsy, but this day, he curled up and slept under our little umbrella until he felt good enough to come out of the shade to read for a bit and enjoy the "views".
With our last few hours in Lanzarote, we enjoyed another hotel breakfast, where I once again succumbed to the temptation of the chocolate napolitanas (don't worry, I had something of nutritional value first), and then got in a final few hours at the pool before heading to the airport.
It was a fabulous baby moon! And though are days of traveling before baby are numbered, we're both so excited to meet this little baby and look forward to family vacations of the future!
