Lanzarote, January 2025

We’re sitting in the courtyard of a vineyard enjoying a glass of local wine. This is not the green and rolling hills that we came across on our summer Essex trip; it is the volcanic island of Lanzarote. Here the vines are planted in the black sand of volcanic ash and each vine is protected by an individual wall around it. It looks like no other vineyard I’ve seen.

There are seven of us and we’ve just come back from walking up to and along the crater rim of an extinct volcano. We’re having a late lunch of tapas, beer, wine and juice before some of us head back to the UK and others go in search of the lava tubes. The grey skies, damp and cold of the UK are a distant memory and thoughts turn to the previous four days sea kayaking with Sea Kayaking Lanzarote (also known as Juan) in 23C temperatures.

We’ve had four days of journeys along the East Coast of the island mixed with skills training in the warm waters of Lanzarote. The East coast is protected from the prevailing wind and generally is always between F3-F5, meaning there is almost always somewhere to paddle.

Rich had initially gone to the wrong airport so was quite lucky to be on the trip!

Day 1 – Thursday

We start our first day by rock hopping along the coast for 6km. There are caves, arches and gaps between rocks that are perfect for kayaks. Also there are lots of crabs running along the rocks as we get close, some small and bigger red ones, indicating adults. Some jump in the water or surprisingly jump gaps between rocks.

While playing at a blowhole, Liza loses her camera into the sea but as it is lunchtime and there is no time to search for it.

After lunch we paddle back to where Liza lost her camera and put Liza into the water as a swimmer to search for it. The area now has significantly more clapotis, although the waves are only 0.4m. Unfortunately in getting ready to get in, Liza’s day hatch cover also fell in the sea and sank. With Liza diving down to look for the camera, Rich rolls to look for the hatch cover, spots it then dives down about 5m to recover the hatch cover! Meanwhile Liza has spotted her camera. Rich swims over and again dives down and is able to recover the camera too. Meanwhile Claire is practicing her edging in conditions and capsizes. With two people in the water, two of us on short tows with the empty boats, and Andrew doing an assisted rescue with Claire, it is an exciting 10 minutes. All is good as we put everyone back in their boats and continue on our way back. Some dolphins pass us going the other way.

Day 2 – Friday

Today we’re at Papagayo practicing skills in the bay, including rescues, towing and surfing. At a sandy beach we practice some surfing: the waves are flat until just before the beach then quite strong. We practice landing and quickly getting out on the sea side to make sure boat does not break your legs if it gets caught by the next wave.

At the next beach the waves are bigger (0.5m) and it is a nudist beach. Juan advises us to go in backwards so we can see the waves coming and make sure we go in on the back of the wave. It doesn’t always go to plan, but after a few waves we start to get the hang of it.

During the day Geoff has lost his flip flops in the surf so after we have finished for the day goes to a local supermarket to get new ones but gets thrown out for not having shoes on! Luckily he is able to get some at the shops in Playa Blanca that evening.

Day 3 – Saturday

After all the excitement of the past two days, today’s paddle is a shorter distance to the Arrecife town centre through multiple lagoons. We have a lunch stop at a tapas restaurant on the terrace, while a busker murders all manner of popular music in the background. This is followed by ice cream and the newly discovered café con leche leche largo (condensed milk coffee).

After lunch we go further out to get some waves and practice rolling, rescues and balancing while sitting on the back deck in conditions.

Day 4 – Sunday

For our last paddling day we are paddling over to an island off the North West coast of Lanzarote, La Graciosa. Almost all of us are in composite NDK boats and make easy work of the clapotic conditions under the cliffs near Orthza, before crossing over to the island. After landing at a small harbour, Juan shows us how to eat a prickly pear by picking the red fruit, using a spine to remove the very fine needles, removing the top, then squeezing the red pulp and pips out. It is very difficult to eat as pips are most of it, plus there are very fine needles still in place. That means either you get needles in your fingers or tongue, or both.

After lunch we cross the 2nm back to the main island and spend some time watching the huge surf break at Punta Fariones on the very top of Lanzarote.

To celebrate our successful trip to Lanzarote we have a homecooked meal of haggis (especially imported from Scotland for the occasion), mash potatoes and squash, followed by papaya and lime, with marzipan slabs and liquorice sticks. A perfect ending to a perfect way to spend a few days of the British winter.