ARRECIFE, LANZAROTE -

CANARY ISLANDS

Tuesday, April 8, 2025, 6 AM, 61 Degrees, 82% Humidity, W- NW 3.4 mph

Lanzarote, like Tenerife yesterday, is part of Spain’s Canary Islands. This port city owes its name to the Spanish word “Arrecife” (reef) for the volcanic rock reef that protects the harbor. In fact, the harbor was initially formed by a volcanic eruption 710,000 years ago. A number of volcanic cones are visible on the island, some tentatively active. One of our friends on the cruise said a highlight of a tour they took last time they were in Arrecife was eating chicken that had been cooked over the volcano. John wondered later if it tasted like sulfur, but we didn’t think to ask.

Earliest mention of Arrecife was in the 15th century when it was a small fishing village. By the 16th century it provided warehousing and accommodation for the growing trade between the old and new worlds. It became a target for pirates and in 1571 a pirate named Dugan plundered and almost destroyed the town. But Arrecife, like the Phoenix, literally rose from the ashes and by 1852 was the island’s capital.

We were excited to see the Cruise Ship MSC Splendida in Santa Cruz de Tenerife yesterday, not so much when we sailed into Arrecife! We had been assigned a 7 AM slot with the pilot boat and the primo spot in the harbor closest to town. When we arrived as scheduled, the Splendida arrived first and took our port pilot time and our spot in the harbor. Our Cruise Director said, we were delayed because our “friends” on MSC had taken our pilot boat and spot – not nice (I said that, not the Cruise Director)! But it did make a beautiful picture with the Splendida highlighted in the sunrise!

No excursion for us today (John’s Day off) so we took the free Shuttle into the Marina area. There was a nice pedestrian walking area with several great looking restaurants (unfortunately too early in the day, they weren’t open) and about 20 tented vendors. One vendor featured items made from Aloe Vera which is a succulent plant which grows in this area (one of the Excursions offered a visit to an aloe vera farm). We walked toward town with its palm shaded walkway and picturesque harbor.

Along the way we passed a beautiful statue by Jorge Issac Medina, an artist currently living on Lanzarote. John instinctively called it Old Man and the Sea (one of his favorite books) and he wasn’t too far off. Its name is “Pescador con Marlin” (Fisherman with Marlin) and is, in fact, a tribute to Ernest Hemingway’s novel and all the fishermen who battle to keep their catch from escaping. The novel is based on a fisherman named Gregorio who was born in a small fishing village not far from where the statue is now located. He migrated to Cuba with his parents when he was six years old. The fisherman rescued Hemingway at sea during a tropical storm in 1928. A friendship began which culminated in the novel The Old Man and the Sea.

Our tour guide yesterday said Arrecife is her favorite city, and we can understand why! With a population of only 65,000 it’s small and unhurried with whitewashed houses climbing up the hillsides. There are beautiful beaches, turquoise waters and blue skies. It has “citified” elements too – there was an IKEA, the first we’ve seen on this trip!

We’ll return to Fort Lauderdale one month from tomorrow on May 9th (we won’t be home until May 10th, we have to wait a day for our driver Joe C, but he’s worth it)! So sad, it’s gone too quickly! It will be great to see friends, but we’ll miss our days on the Zuiderdam – it’s a pretty good life!