5th Jun 2023 @ 3:13 pm

Tour guide David Penney leads us along some of the islands prettiest and wildest coastlines, shaped by the eruption of Volcán de la Corona 3,000 years ago.

We parked on Calle la Cuesta, which is at the northern end of the Punta Mujeres, the seaside village just north of Arrieta with beautiful natural pools.

But we’ll look at those later. Now we’re heading north on foot keeping the ocean on our right all the time.

As soon as we leave the village, we can see the malpais (badlands) of northern Lanzarote. They’re given this name because farming is virtually impossible in this rocky region, but that doesn’t mean that nothing grows – we immediately see the green covering of the tabaiba plant spread over the lava.

We continue along a sandy track enjoying this unique landscape with its variety of amazing different colours – the dark brown lava rocks, the golden sand track, the fresh green vegetation, the contrasting blues of the sky and ocean and the white banks of clouds high overhead.

This is an easy path to follow, as we just keep heading north.

After a short while out of the village, we came across about a dozen inflated innertubes, various items of clothing and some medication which appeared to be written in Arabic.

We were all the opinion that these items were left behind earlier that morning or through the middle of the night by some of the migrants who arrive on our remote coastlines. Rather than coming into the rocky shore with their boat, this group appear to have used the innertubes to save them from drowning.

Within the hour we come to the signposts which indicate the pretty paved path leading up to Jameos del Agua. The signs also remind you that the area is a protected zone and a conservation area.

A jameo is a volcanic tunnel, and the one that includes the Cueva de los Verde and Jameos del Agua is one of the longest in the world, extending out into the ocean beneath our feet.

We decided to carry on past the turn-off to Jameos del Agua and continue exploring north for a wee while longer.

However, within a short space of time the terrain changes dramatically and the sandy track becomes a very rocky trail. You have to concentrate on each step as some of the lava rocks are razor sharp and you need to pay attention to where you are walking.

We decide that this has taken a lot of the enjoyment from the walk and choose to about turn and head back to the better conditions.

Once back on the sandy track, we stop for a juice break and a short rest before we make our way back along the path, we trekked on the way up but this time keeping the ocean to our left side.

Before returning to our cars, we wandered around Punta Mujeres in search of a cold drink as our reward for the day.

WALK INFORMATION

This is a 6km linear walk which should take you approximately 2 hours to complete. The terrain is easy and non-challenging.

You can take the number 9 bus to Punta Mujeres from Arrecife if you don’t want to use your car.

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