OSAmag80

WHY WE SPEND NEARLY HALF
THE YEAR IN LANZAROTE
I was persuaded that I should not continue to put Brenda
through the journey to Australia. Lanzarote is less than four
hours away from Stansted. After ten years as geriatric gypsies
trying to see how far we could roam it was time to settle down.
The first try to reduce the travelling was achieved by finding
a studio apartment for rent in Puerto del Carmen overlooking
the harbour. We went to the same place twice a year for late
autumn and late winter breaks. Unfortunately, I made some
flattering comments on the website. The result was that
somebody booked it for the October period before we set out
for the February break in 2013.
The solution was to seek our own place in the sun. Our luck
held, we were offered a shabby, depressed two bedroom
apartment at a very modest price by a local bank trying to
recover a debt. We were taken to inspect it by an agent who
told us that it was available but the price was not negotiable,
up or down! We both agreed that it was a horrible mess but
Brenda said "it needs TLC".
So I offered the agent the asking price, which was accepted.
The agent then gave us the names and phone numbers of
tradesmen who could help us to provide the TLC. Eighteen
months down the line the process is being completed while
we are back in the UK. We have a spacious, elegant and
modernised two bedroom apartment (72 square metres) with
a patio (plus small sea view) and a forecourt, in the heart of
the old town of Puerto del Carmen.
We were away from the UK rather often and our UK property
was showing signs of being neglected so we sold up and
moved to a retirement complex in Saffron Walden, much
closer to Stansted. The garden is maintained under contract
and the manager lives in the flat above ours. Last year we
spent 25 weeks in Lanzarote and we will do the same in this
and subsequent years. There are many social events in the UK
that we like to attend and we can avoid the complications
which would arise if we go past 182 days in Lanzarote,
including applying for residency which is not realistic.
We now have the time to explore Lanzarote to discover some
of its geography and history. It is said to be the first of the
Canary Islands to explode from the Atlantic Ocean millions
of years ago. In current terms it is the fourth largest island in
the group and the closest to Africa, being 125 km from
Saharan Morocco. The population is about 135,000 supporting
a million tourists a year. It has a very pleasant climate (except
mid-July to mid-September when it can be very hot). The
rainfall is 140mm per annum - yes that is less than 6 inches!
Lanzarote is a very barren land but its arid wastes are
spectacular and such agriculture as occurs is a tribute to the
initiative and cunning of the farmers. The local fishermen
make a good living. The tourist industry discovered Lanzarote
in 1960 and probably peaked in 1982. The worldwide
financial crisis of recent years produced a major downturn
here as elsewhere.
There is some reference to Arabs visiting the island in the
tenth century. By the end of the 13th century many ships
T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 0
AS FAR AS YOU ROAM
visited the Canary Islands but Lanzarote would not have been
a preferred destination as there have never been rivers. The
Spanish and Portuguese disputed ownership until the Treaty
of Alcazovar 1479 finally put the Spanish in control. Following
the discovery of the Americas there was substantial shipping
through the Canary Islands and Lanzarote was periodically
under attack from French, English and Dutch pirates. Early
in the 17th century 5000 Arabs took Lanzarote with an
invasion by 60 vessels. In 1730 the island had a small
population, with the economy based on agriculture and cattle
rearing.
On the evening of September 1st, about 11 km from the town
of Yaiza the earth opened and the volcano of Timanfaya rose
to 500 metres above sea level and lava flowed from the first
and subsequent eruptions across the island until April 1736.
This suffocated the livestock and covered the arable land in
deep lava and produced many more volcanoes. Some thirty
years later a drought for five years reduced the population by
more than 2000 through hunger and thirst. In the 19th
century various epidemics further reduced the population and
the final volcanic eruptions in 1824 preceded yet another
drought, which finally broke in 1847 leaving the island in its
most depressed state.
Modern technology has provided power from the sun and
some drinking water from the ocean. Some of the beaches
have been topped up with sand imported from the Saharan
desert. Life for the farmers remains very hard. Water is very
expensive and said to be not entirely salt free, although it
tastes OK. They manage to grow vines and figs in hand made
holes in the ground protected by walls of volcanic stones,
which catch dew and occasional rain. There are some inland
sandy areas supporting onion growing and some tomatoes and
water melons but no one would claim they have any chance of
making the place self-sufficient in the near future. We have
had a look round and done some research and now are
hooked. Four or five return tickets a year looks like the way
forward. The climate is agreeable and the multiracial
population in our area has been very friendly. For the time
being we have the best of both locations. We can return
frequently to our new neighbours in Saffron Walden to
develop a social life there as well.
Peter Engledow
Dear Geraint,
THREE PEAKS REPORT
R.A.Griffiths@kent.ac.uk
5th September 201422:43:41
Great to meet up at Whipsnade recently. Here is the promised
article about our Three Peaks walk in June, together with the
extract from The Stationer 1975.
The latter has some other interesting pictures (eg: me in the
school play, Mike Brookes, Richard Comerford and Sean
Leonard in the School 1st XI, and you John Watson and John
Young in the staff football team - I can scan these if you'd like
them). Also some Three Peaks photos. Let me know if you
would like any further info.
Best regards,
Professor Richard A Griff iths 1968-75
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