The boat to Lobos left from the port at 9.30, so we got up relatively early, made some sandwiches to take with us, had a quick breakfast, packed our stuff, and cycled down to the port.
We got there fairly early, and bought our tickets. Christian got a coffee and we sat down to wait for the boat.
When the time came, we ambled over to the boat, showed our tickets, and the crew hefted our bikes over the bow and stowed them not very securely against the rail. We took seats next to them. The boat filled up until it was almost full to bursting, and, after a couple came running after we'd cast off and were let on, we set off to Lobos.
The journey was short and comfortable, if a little chilly. We went towards the little port, and pulled up beside a huge concrete jetty. The way to get off was by stepping onto some steps carved into the concrete. The boat was tossing quite a lot, and a few people struggled to make it. We got people and bikes off, and I made a toilet stop, before starting our adventure.
We decided to head to the left (north-west), and set off riding. Following signs to the salt pans, we dismounted and had a wander. It's a large series of drying pans that doesn't look like it's been used for years. We headed on north-wards to the caldera, via a minor path. This was a mistake, as it was very rocky, and I couldn't handle the terrain. We backtracked, getting back onto the main track. This was equally problematic as it got very muddy, and I skidded and ended up knee/hand first in the sludgy orange mud. Nice.
We left our bikes where they were and walked the rest of the distance to the caldera. The walk up was fairly hard work, though the terrain was fine. The view was excellent, and there weren't many other people there. We took some photos, had a snack and headed back down.
Picking up our bikes again, we kept going north through the middle of the island, and the path got more and more sandy, which was just as difficult to negotiate. After a long downhill coast, we were at the lighthouse at the northern tip of the island (Punta Martino), and left our bikes at the bottom to go and explore. There wasn't a great deal there apart from lots of concrete, a lighthouse, nice beaches, and a great view of Lanzarote.
We turned back and headed back down the length of the island to the lagoon (Playa de la Concha) to do some snorkelling. The wind was pretty strong, and I wasn't totally keen, but it was sunny, and the beach was very nice. We found a spot in a rocky shelter and had a little rest and some lunch, and got our wetsuits on. Christian led the charge into the water (unsurprisingly), and I followed at a leisurely pace. The water was cold, but I persevered, and stayed in for about half an hour. There were plenty of fish, some very big and interesting. Another guy was snorkelling near us, but without a wetsuit. He'd seen us go in, and had taken courage from that. He must have been frozen.
After getting stuck in a slightly scary current, and deciding to head in, we took some silly Go-Pro photos and went to dry off. We ate some more lunch, basked a little in the sun, and got ready to move on.
We went on to the south-east corner in search of a little town and a cafe. Just before the little town, there was another muddy patch, so we walked our bikes through it. To my dismay, our nearly clean-again bikes were muddier than before.
The town wasn't much, but we left our bikes half in the sea, and got some drinks. There was a little harbour here, and it would have made for much more interesting snorkelling, but the boat activity may have made it difficult. We walked on the jetty and took some photos before moving on.
It was a short journey back to the port, and I found that the toilets I'd used were closed up. Handy. There were quite a few people waiting for the 4pm ferry, and we took our place, tried to clean as much mud off the bikes as we could, and took some photos.
The boat arrived, and the conditions were worse than before. The crew had to basically manhandle people onto the ferry, and goodness knows how the bikes got on there. We pushed off, and then some people came running for the boat. As it was the last boat of the day we had to go back for them, and there was cheering as they got on the wildly bobbing boat.
The journey back was pretty rough, but we were fine. After docking in the shelter of Corralejo harbour, we got off, waited for our bikes to be handed off the boat, and cycled back via the busiest parts of town to Grandes Playas (via a drop off at the apartment) to return the bikes. We had a short wait until they opened, but the man there logged the bikes back in, and thankfully didn't have a problem with all the mud.
We walked back to the apartment, and relaxed for a while before having a shower and getting dressed to go out. We went back to La Casita because it had been so good. We took the same table we'd had the night before, and ordered some champagne sangria, which was ridiculously good. It was raining a little, and so we moved the table further under the shelter, closer to another couple (who didn't mind). I don't think we had starters on this occasion, and for mains we ordered a mixed meat grill for two. It came out sizzling like crazy - it had pork, chicken, steak, lamb and ribs. It was all delicious, apart from the lamb, which was a bit gristly.
We hadn't got very far into it when the rain came down properly. We scooted indoors, and one waiter helped us in with everything in a haphazard kind of way. The inside was nice enough, but it was noisy, and very dark in comparison. I didn't like it nearly as much.
For dessert, Christian had the chocolate cake I'd had the night before, and I had creme brulee. The creme brulee turned out to be suspiciously like crema catalana. It was delicious, though. Huge, but delicious.
Once again, we waddled back to the apartment and went to bed.
We got there fairly early, and bought our tickets. Christian got a coffee and we sat down to wait for the boat.
When the time came, we ambled over to the boat, showed our tickets, and the crew hefted our bikes over the bow and stowed them not very securely against the rail. We took seats next to them. The boat filled up until it was almost full to bursting, and, after a couple came running after we'd cast off and were let on, we set off to Lobos.
The journey was short and comfortable, if a little chilly. We went towards the little port, and pulled up beside a huge concrete jetty. The way to get off was by stepping onto some steps carved into the concrete. The boat was tossing quite a lot, and a few people struggled to make it. We got people and bikes off, and I made a toilet stop, before starting our adventure.
We decided to head to the left (north-west), and set off riding. Following signs to the salt pans, we dismounted and had a wander. It's a large series of drying pans that doesn't look like it's been used for years. We headed on north-wards to the caldera, via a minor path. This was a mistake, as it was very rocky, and I couldn't handle the terrain. We backtracked, getting back onto the main track. This was equally problematic as it got very muddy, and I skidded and ended up knee/hand first in the sludgy orange mud. Nice.
We left our bikes where they were and walked the rest of the distance to the caldera. The walk up was fairly hard work, though the terrain was fine. The view was excellent, and there weren't many other people there. We took some photos, had a snack and headed back down.
Picking up our bikes again, we kept going north through the middle of the island, and the path got more and more sandy, which was just as difficult to negotiate. After a long downhill coast, we were at the lighthouse at the northern tip of the island (Punta Martino), and left our bikes at the bottom to go and explore. There wasn't a great deal there apart from lots of concrete, a lighthouse, nice beaches, and a great view of Lanzarote.
We turned back and headed back down the length of the island to the lagoon (Playa de la Concha) to do some snorkelling. The wind was pretty strong, and I wasn't totally keen, but it was sunny, and the beach was very nice. We found a spot in a rocky shelter and had a little rest and some lunch, and got our wetsuits on. Christian led the charge into the water (unsurprisingly), and I followed at a leisurely pace. The water was cold, but I persevered, and stayed in for about half an hour. There were plenty of fish, some very big and interesting. Another guy was snorkelling near us, but without a wetsuit. He'd seen us go in, and had taken courage from that. He must have been frozen.
After getting stuck in a slightly scary current, and deciding to head in, we took some silly Go-Pro photos and went to dry off. We ate some more lunch, basked a little in the sun, and got ready to move on.
We went on to the south-east corner in search of a little town and a cafe. Just before the little town, there was another muddy patch, so we walked our bikes through it. To my dismay, our nearly clean-again bikes were muddier than before.
The town wasn't much, but we left our bikes half in the sea, and got some drinks. There was a little harbour here, and it would have made for much more interesting snorkelling, but the boat activity may have made it difficult. We walked on the jetty and took some photos before moving on.
It was a short journey back to the port, and I found that the toilets I'd used were closed up. Handy. There were quite a few people waiting for the 4pm ferry, and we took our place, tried to clean as much mud off the bikes as we could, and took some photos.
The boat arrived, and the conditions were worse than before. The crew had to basically manhandle people onto the ferry, and goodness knows how the bikes got on there. We pushed off, and then some people came running for the boat. As it was the last boat of the day we had to go back for them, and there was cheering as they got on the wildly bobbing boat.
The journey back was pretty rough, but we were fine. After docking in the shelter of Corralejo harbour, we got off, waited for our bikes to be handed off the boat, and cycled back via the busiest parts of town to Grandes Playas (via a drop off at the apartment) to return the bikes. We had a short wait until they opened, but the man there logged the bikes back in, and thankfully didn't have a problem with all the mud.
We walked back to the apartment, and relaxed for a while before having a shower and getting dressed to go out. We went back to La Casita because it had been so good. We took the same table we'd had the night before, and ordered some champagne sangria, which was ridiculously good. It was raining a little, and so we moved the table further under the shelter, closer to another couple (who didn't mind). I don't think we had starters on this occasion, and for mains we ordered a mixed meat grill for two. It came out sizzling like crazy - it had pork, chicken, steak, lamb and ribs. It was all delicious, apart from the lamb, which was a bit gristly.
We hadn't got very far into it when the rain came down properly. We scooted indoors, and one waiter helped us in with everything in a haphazard kind of way. The inside was nice enough, but it was noisy, and very dark in comparison. I didn't like it nearly as much.
For dessert, Christian had the chocolate cake I'd had the night before, and I had creme brulee. The creme brulee turned out to be suspiciously like crema catalana. It was delicious, though. Huge, but delicious.
Once again, we waddled back to the apartment and went to bed.
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