BURSTING INTO LIFE

Lanzarote will turn green in more ways than one this month, as springtime arrives on an island that will be buzzing from start to finish.

Rains in February may have put the damper on a few holidays, but they also mean that the island will be dressing up in greenery for March. Every few years we also get a beautiful display of wild flowers, whose delicate colours light up all sorts of unexpected corners of the island, and the conditions are perfect for such a show right now.

It’s a wonderful time to get out to Lanzarote’s countryside and see the brief but unforgettable way the island can burst into breath-taking beauty.

Also dressing up in green will be hundreds of islanders celebrating St Patrick’s Day. This has become a special event on Ireland’s favourite holiday destination, and you can guarantee that the music will be playing, the Guinness will be flowing and the craic will be mighty.

But that’s not all. Carnival parades in Costa Teguise, Playa Blanca, Haría and Tinajo will bring more rhythm, noise, colour and joy to the island, while the Hindu festival of Holi will also return.

The March events also remind us of a more painful anniversary. Three years ago, a two-week lockdown was announced two days before St Patrick’s Day. Those 14 days would become six weeks, and an island that relies on tourism faced its biggest challenge in recent history, with travel restrictions that endured until last year.

Now, the resorts are full, the island is starting to boom again and, if all goes well, this will be the first normal March we’ll be experiencing for four years. Let’s celebrate it with heart and soul.

Enjoy the magazine!