Sandra’s Spanish Holiday tips

lanzarote april 2008 haria restaurant copyright sandra m dean

Playa Blanca

 

Playa Blanca itself has a lovely long promenade, scattered with restaurants, chilled out bars and shops and a range of hotels providing nightly entertainment should you wish to see some flamenco or live music! The restaurants here are varied – everything from A La Carte, Seafood and Italian to Indian, Chinese and Japanese! The very special ‘Almacen de la Sal’ (translated as ‘Salt Cellar’), which has live piano music and a beautifully designed menu with meats and fish, wines and a fabulous Paella is a great place to go as a treat.

Playa Blanca is a relatively new resort, and has been designed to suit all tastes. Much quieter than the main resorts of Puerto del Carmen and Costa Teguise, it has everything you need to enjoy a fabulous holiday, including some great restaurants. Just half hour drive from the airport, it lies in the most Southerly tip of Lanzarote. (more…)

Popular foods of the Canaries are:

• Churros – fried donut style dessert dipped in hot chocolate
• Paella – a rich rice dish with the addition of either chorizo, chicken or a range of seafood
• Canarian potatoes – Small new waxy potatoes cooked in a huge amount of salt, in their skins, so they are coated in salt.
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We finished our holiday this time with a last day in Arrecife, before heading back to the airport. This City is big and bustling, with lots of shops, a good promenade and seafront, and lots of restaurants. We had a good look round, and then had lunch at one of the restaurants there. We had a salad with green olives and a prawn spaghetti which was pretty good. It is a smart restaurant with good service but nothing to write home about.

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Next door to Puerto del Carmen, Puerto Calero is very different, with an upmarket feel and yachts galore. There are designer shops and a row of restaurants/bars to choose from. We did eat at the Italian there, and it was pretty good. This is a really relaxed place with plenty of villas/apartments to rent for holiday lets.

If you like a busier resort, then Puerto del Carmen could be for you. We had a look at the huge beaches there, and stayed for a drink in one of the noisy bars, but only had a short trip the first time round.

We had an evening meal at ‘Lani’s Mexican Cantina’, located right on the front strip. It is a lively place and absolutely huge, with brightly coloured décor and tables. We had a steak meal served with Canarian potatoes and vegetables and mixed chicken and beef fajitas served with tortillas, rice, refried beans, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. Very nice too! Service very friendly and they serve Mexican beer (corona) too.

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Charco del PaloAs recommended by one of my agents for Lanzarote, we headed over to Charco del Palo for a look. It is a small place, with a man made sea water bathing pool, cut out of the rocks. This is a naturist village, but it is not in your face, and what it does offer is some fabulous villas to rent, peace and quiet and relaxation. It is right next to the Cactus gardens, so if you are going there, it might be worth a look in at Charco del Palo.

We stopped off at Tias for some lunch, and had tapas at a café/bar called ‘Cafeteria Guayedra’. The meatballs were huge and really tasty. Garlic prawns, Canarian potatoes, tortilla and bread – all very good.It is a nice Town with good amenities and it is a very popular area for hiring holiday villas in Tias, as well as Macher next door.

Day trip to Fuertevetura – CorrelejoWe took a day trip to Correlejo in Fuerteventura, with Armas ferries, direct from Playa Blanca. It cost around £60, but we felt it was well worth it for the day out. We had lunch in a fantastic restaurant on the front called ‘Restaurante Sotavento’ and managed to get the best table they had. The front of the restaurant opened up so you got the views, whilst being sat inside and out of the blazing sun. Michael had spaghetti with fresh tomato, fish and prawn. I had a King Prawn and mango salad which was delightful. Alioli and bread were freshly made and a great accompaniment. The food, service, outlook and price were just wonderful.

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If you like seafood and a quieter place to eat, then El Golfo is for you. You will need to drive here and the roads offer some spectacular views over the sea on the way. There is only one way in or out of this village, and the roads are not lit at night, so be careful of the bends! There is an attraction to see at El Golfo too, so if you go in the day, do go to have a look at the ‘green lagoon’ Caught in the right light, this lagoon is quite spectacular, against the backdrop of craggy red rock cliffs and the black sand of the beach there.

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FamaraWhile up in the North, we stopped at Famara for a couple of hours. It is a traditional fishing village, and is away from the main tourist track. We sat with a local family, fishing off the side of the path, and they caught quite a few fish for their dinner! It is a really nice place to stop to see just how relaxed living on Lanzarote really is, and to see some of the real local life. The buildings are low and white, with green doors (the traditional desire of Manrique on how a house should be painted), and the coast there is rugged, with beaches too. We also saw a few people surfing there, as, being in the North East of the Island, the wind and waves are good.