What an amazing place. We were here briefly, years ago on Regent’s Navigator. We saw very little of the island on that occasion but this time we had a really great day. Cunard had organised an adapted vehicle. An identical model to that used the day before in Gran Canaria. Three wheelchairs again and 4 companions.
The only problem we had was the driver. He didn’t secure Jane’s wheelchair properly so that while we were still in the dockyard, on the first bend, which he took too fast, her chair spun. We shouted out and he stopped the coach. It was clear that he had taken the easy, lazy way out and had only used one fixing device. We have 6 in our adapted vehicle at home! He then found a second, but, still within the docks, the chair tipped backwards. Another shout and another fixing device and that did the trick.
We were off to the Fire Mountains within the Timanfaya National Park. From 1790 for the next 6 years there were volcanic eruptions resulting in devastation and a massive area totally covered in lava. There are more than 300 volcanic craters and here are some of them.
In some areas the ground temperature is 140 degrees C and 2 feet down it can be 450 degrees C. To demonstrate this at the visitor centre a man poured a bucket of water down a pipe set into the ground and a few seconds later boiling water shot up as if it was a geyser. He also threw some tree branches into a hole in the ground and within seconds it had caught fire.
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