[Lanzarote] Flashing at Timanfaya Park

For this first day of discoveries and #8217;exhibit in Lanzarote, we played the apprentice volcanologists, MrSirban Tazieff and Lilli Kraft ! The morning, we went to Timanfaya National Park also called “Mountain of Fire” or Montaña del Fuego. We couldn #8217't do exhibitionism #8217, but flashing due to #8217 very high tourist attendance.

It is necessary to arrive before ten o'clock in the morning to avoid a procession of cars stretching #8217 for several kilometers. The place is a victim of mass tourism and if the effect is mitigated by the pandemic, it remains very busy. We arrive at 9:40 am. Departing from the seaside at 9:15 am, it's good. MrSirban has a shirt with jeans and me, a skirt with a t-shirt. In the space of twenty-kilometers, the weather changes drastically. We park the Fiat 500 on the parking lot. It displays 16°, but with the wind we must be at 12 ° in feeling. It feels like November ! There is a very strong wind, rain. Quail ! We rush to the park shop to buy a sweatshirt… except that #8217 they don’t sell any. Too bad for us, we will suffer the cold ! MrSirban is not thrilled #8217 #8217 idea of doing #8217 exhibit at Timanfaya given the weather, but I #8217 insist heavily and he finally gives in. We may never come back to this place.

The Timanfaya Park can be visited only accompanied. It is impossible to hike there #8217 to preserve the place, unless you book a tour with an official guide several months #8217 in advance. Slots and number of places are limited. It is also possible to take a camel ride. Animals are bound together by a short rope, in row of #8217 onions, to carry two tourists at the same time all day long. We respect animals too much, so we opted for the #8217;coach ! The bus is the third option to discover the Mountain of Fire. The tour lasts about three quarters of #8217 hours and is commented in several languages, except French.

We did many exhibits in the coach #8217 and I think the passenger on the left of the corridor understood our naughty ride. The weather is terrible and visibility is reduced, but the bus tour is nevertheless interesting. September 1st 1730 to the 16 April 1736, the volcanoes woke up and destroyed between 1/5th and 1/4 of the #8217 island. Timanfaya is the name of one of #8217 the villages buried under the lava. The bus goes up #8217 to the highest point : the center of #8217 the eruption (Masigo del Fuego) to 525 meters. Between the drops on the tile, below is the road taken to come to the park and a lava field that extends as far as #8217 the eye can see.

Exit of the tour by coach, we return to the #8217 islet of #8217 Hilaire. It's the HotSpot Timanfaya and it’ not just about public flashing ! The hole behind me is directly connected to the magma chamber located four kilometers deep. At six meters, it is 400°. A sulfur smell and a burning heat emanates from it’. It’'s impossible to stand on top without burning like a small sausage ! A few centimeters from the surface, the heat rises #8217 140°. Animators ignite twigs in a hole formed in the earth. #8217 Others create “Geysers” by putting water #8217 in chimneys sunk twelve meters deep, where it is more than 600°. It’is quick to see, but impressive !

We stayed about ten minutes near the furnace to warm up. The world calls the world ! Initially, we were alone near the natural brazier enjoying #8217 a life-saving sulfur heat. Then, people began to flock realizing the #8217 interest. The #8217;islet of #8217 hilariot (Islote of Hilario) refers to the legend of #8217 a hermit isolated on this hot spot with his camel. He tried to plant a fig tree, who never bore fruit. The artist Cesar Manrique paid tribute to him at the restaurant El Diablo (the camel tree and skull in the center). We did not take the cooked BBQ on the well dug above the magma chamber, for it is barely eleven o'clock in the morning, on the other hand we took a hot chocolate !

We continued our volcanic trip by visiting the Timanfaya Visitor Center. Admission is free and this museum is really very interesting. It explains very well how the different volcanoes work, their training in the Canary Islands, plate tectonics… We did not resist the call of some flashing at the museum from the point of view on the lava field and it was MrSirban who had the idea. When you love, we're doing exhibits ! You will notice this recurring problem with the lace of my hiking shoe. Oh the ! It's a bundle when you're not wearing panties !

It's thirteen o'clock, when our stomachs begin to manifest. We leave the museum and find on the road a small gargote offering dads arrugadas (wrinkled potatoes !) and fresh fish (who was not seen the night I spent). The wind remains strong, it is 19 ° but the feeling must be around 16/17 °. We continue our volcanic explorations after the meal by hiking around the volcano El Cuervo, this is the first article published on the trip to the Canary Islands (read the article).

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