We liked Tenerife in the Canary Islands so much on our trip last January, we decided to visit another island in the Canaries’, Lanzarote. After the frigid weather during our trip to Norway in December and the cold temperatures in Paris in January, we were ready to thaw out somewhere warm.
Riding to our hotel, the landscape of high mountains contrasted with palm trees and low white buildings on the flat parts, reminded me of Palm Springs.
We had the privilege of being invited to stay in a brand-new hotel, Mynd Yaiza, part of a small, new chain of hotels in the Canary Islands. We stayed at their other hotel in Tenerife, Mynd Adeje, and very much liked the experience. The sprawling complex (there’s more than 200 rooms) is dotted with gleaming white, two story, cottage-like structures, with an accent color of bottle green awnings and railings. There are two gigantic oval shaped pools and another pool enclosed with glass panels, a good idea since it was windy a few of the days during our stay.
We ate most of our meals at the hotel because of the clean semi-vegetarian/vegan cuisine and the pleasant dining room. What impressed us most was the warm service and staff at the hotel, who went out of their way to please. The hotel had just opened and there were a few technical glitches in our room and the staff was super attentive and eager to fix the problems as quickly as possible.
Mynd Yaiza is in the seaside town of Playa Blanca. We went to the beach, which was a ten-minute walk, and rented lounge chairs. It was great to feel the warm sand on my toes but the water, which is the Atlantic Ocean, was way too cold, although there were some brave swimmers.
We were lucky to have mostly warm weather and sunshine during our six-day stay, with temperatures hovering between the low to mid 60s Fahrenheit.
It was a low-key holiday, mostly lounging by the pool, reading books, and listening to music with lunch and dinner breaks in between.
One of the days, I took a break from lounging and being horizontal most of the time, and went on a five-hour, small group tour of the Timanfaya National Park in a mini-van. Lanzarote, which is about 80 miles west of Africa, and the fourth largest of the Canary Islands, is mostly volcanic and there are still a few, almost active volcanoes. Weaving through the mountains, the scenery was magnificent and with the light going in and out of the clouds and the terrain constantly changing. One of the most spectacular views was of the deep blue water of the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by red clay rock formations against a clear blue sky. We later stopped by another vantage point with great views and an active geyser that shout up every few minutes. The last part of the tour was to have an opportunity to ride a camel but been there/done that in Morocco in the late 1980s.
There were two quaint seaside villages within walking distance of the hotel, Marina Rubicon and Playa Blanca, which had casual cafes, and fun shopping (it was sale time, and I nabbed a black wool sweater for 20€ and Vincent got a pair of rubber Birkenstocks for 27€).
Mynd Hotel Lanzarote
https://www.myndhotels.com/en/hotels/lanzarote/mynd-yaiza/rooms/
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