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Wednesday 11 January 2012

Lanzarote Part 1....



You may remember we had a week away in Lanzarote (Canary Islands for those who may not know) at the beginning of December.   The holiday was All Inclusive in the four star Sandos Papagayo Arena, just outside the southern resort of Playa Blanca.

Lanzarote is situated just 79 miles off the coast of Africa and is the most easterly of the Canary Islands.  The island is 37 miles (60km) long and 12 miles (20 km) wide, making it the fourth largest island in the Canaries. As with the other Canary Islands, Lanzarote is volcanic in origin.  There is no billboard advertising and no high rise buildings in Lanzarote, with the exception the Grand Hotel in Arrecife. Some historians supposed that the legendary continent Atlantis was located in this area.

People think that the Canary Islands get their name from the birds canaries but actually the canary bird received it's name after the people the Canarii.   All breeds of canary birds descend from the canary birds that still exist on the island.  When the Romans came to the Canary Islands they encountered not only fierce natives but also their dogs.  The latin word for dog is "canis" and they actually named one of the islands "canaria" because of these dogs.

We arrived at the hotel in the early afternoon and were really pleased with the room, or should I say suite, we were given the key to.









Our travel agent had let the hotel know that it was our anniversary during our stay so they had left a nice bottle of champagne on ice ready for our arrival, which we opened as soon as we had unpacked and enjoyed sitting in the early evening sunshine on the balcony.  Well we didn't want it warming up and spoiling did we?



We had a lovely view of the sea and another of the Canary Islands, Fuerteventura, from our balcony



and a very interestingly shaped cactus growing in a planter on it too.



We watched the sun setting







before getting ready to go to dinner.



The hotel boasts four restaurants, all buffet style,  International,  Italian, Chinese and  French. There was also a Snack bar where you could get Fast food: hot and cold snacks, ice-cream, water, soft drinks, wine and beer 24 hours a day..We tried them all except the French one, it wasn't open on the night we tried to book it for our anniversary unfortunately.    The food in all the restaurants was superb and you could help yourself to wine (white, rose & red) and beer and soft drinks.    There were numerous bars offering entertainment, a Spa, 3 adult pools and 2 children's pools.  In fact there was everything one could possibly want.

After a superb dinner we decided to sit on the outside terrace of one of the bars as it was a warm evening, enjoying a few drinks before retiring.

Next time I'll show you some photos inside and outside of the hotel.

I hope you'll join me for Lanzarote Part 2.

22 comments:

Kirstin said...

Looks a beautiful hotel, love the huge balcony & the view :)

Valerie said...

What a lovely way to spend an anniversary. Memories! I can't remember the name of the hotel we stayed in.

A Lady's Life said...

Happy anniversary! I love canaries. I bet they must have been singing everywhere :)

Flowerpot said...

Amazing place Ak and what a great holiday x

Japolina said...

Looks lovely! Happy Anniversary.

Daryl said...

What a lovely place and didnt you look chic in that tunic!

Ron said...

WOW! What an awesome place to celebrate your anniversary!

Beautiful suite! The bathroom is exquisite - love the double sink area.

And might I add...YOU look exquisite in that lovely green tunic!

"People think that the Canary Islands get their name from the birds canaries but actually the canary bird received it's name after the people the Canarii."

Thank you for sharing that because I had no idea!?

And what a lovely way to end the day, sipping champagne and watching that glorious sunset!

Thanks for sharing, m'dear!

Looking forward to Part 2.

X

Melanie said...

gorgeous pics...i am insanely jealous! looks like you had a happy anniversary! =D

Akelamalu said...

They could have fit two sun loungers on the balcony as well Kirstin, which would have been fantastic because it was a real sun trap in the afternoon.

Yes an Anniversary in the sun is great Valerie :)

Thanks Lady's Life :)

It is a lovely hotel Flowerpot as you will see if you tune in to Part 2.

It was Japolina and thanks. x

Why thankyou Daryl :)

I didn't know about the name of the island either until we went there Ron. The hotel suite was super and sitting on the balcony sipping champagne was just perfect. Thanks for the compliment m'dear. x

It was Mama Zen :)

We did Melanie, thanks honey. x

Commander Zaius said...

The Romans made it to the Canary Islands? Wow! I did not know that, I thought they never made it that far south.

Great pictures!

cheshire wife said...

Your suite looks very impressive!

G-Man said...

Turn it into a 55!!!

nitebyrd said...

Beautiful! Everything looks just beautiful! Even that crazy cactus! LOL

Travis Cody said...

It sounds lovely!

Linda said...

Oh what a lovely spot to take a vacation in and probably perfect for celebrating anniversaries!

You go to such interesting places and see such wonderful things! Even slightly, er, odd-shaped cacti!

Akelamalu said...

Apparently so Beach :)

It was Cheshire Wife :)

Turn what into a 55 G-man, the whole holiday???

It was beautiful, even the cactus nitebyrd. ;)

Yes it does and it was Trav :)

We've been very luck to see some great places on our vacations Linda :)

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

oh how nice! love that! we went to tenerife once some years back. loved it but we were there on a cruise and only for a day.

smiles, bee
xoxooxoxox

Mimi Lenox said...

Oh, the cactus cracked me up. Just had to say it.

Beautiful photos!

Akelamalu said...

Tenerife is lovely Bee we spent two weeks there a few years ago with my inlaws.

It cracked me up too Mimi which is why I just had to get a photo! LOL

CrystalChick said...

Another MAGNIFICENT vacation! Lots of Happy Anniversary wishes!!
Beautiful sunset.

Anonymous said...

People think that the Canary Islands get their name from the birds canaries but actually the canary bird received it's name after the people the Canarii. All breeds of canary birds descend from the canary birds cialis that still exist on the island. When the Romans came to the Canary Islands they encountered not only fierce natives but also their dogs. The latin word for dog is "canis" and they actually named one of the islands "canaria" because of these dogs.

Anonymous said...

Lanzarote is situated just 79 miles off the coast of Africa and is the most easterly of the Canary Islands. The island is 37 miles (60km) long and 12 miles (20 km) wide, making it the fourth largest island in the Canaries. As with the other Canary Islands, Lanzarote is Acai Berry volcanic in origin. There is no billboard advertising and no high rise buildings in Lanzarote, with the exception the Grand Hotel in Arrecife. Some historians supposed that the legendary continent Atlantis was located in this area.