ETERNALLY SURPRISING

Some years ago when I started this job, an elderly lady called me to say that she’d been watering the plants at the bottom of her garden when she saw a gorilla in the shrubbery. “It scared the life out of me,” she said.

I was doubtful – Lanzarote is not known for its great apes – but she seemed quite convinced, so I said I’d keep an eye out for further reports of any wild gorilla sightings. Later that day, the local news reported that a large male chimpanzee had been recaptured after escaping from a private house where it had been kept.

Lanzarote always has a surprise up its sleeve. I’ve seen an owl in Arrecife, sat in a bar full of lawyers dressed as vampires during carnival and met an old schoolmate on a volcano. Almost every week brings something new and unexpected.

This month we visited Costa Teguise for our special feature, and I was reminded of all the surprises I’ve had there – swimming with a turtle, seeing dolphins leaping outside the reef, or seeing the hanging gardens in the Hotel Meliá Salinas for the first time. It may not have the tradition and history of other towns, but it has a beguiling, unique charm all of its own.

This month we also focus on Halloween. It’s not a longstanding Lanzarote tradition, but chatting to Teguise’s official historian a couple of years ago, I was told the Noche de Finaos (Night of the Deceased), at the same time of year, marks the beginning of a period of remembrance that lasts until after Christmas.

The clocks will go back at around the same time, and we’ll be into the mellow, warmth of what passes for winter on Lanzarote, one of the few places in Europe that won’t be worrying about its heating bills.

Enjoy October, and watch out for those gorillas.