Lanzarote

• The Guanches: Former residents of the Canary Islands. It seems likely that the origin of the Guanches is Berber-North Africa-and that could have had a Scandinavian descent since before Spain conquered the Canaries had a strong relation with Europe. Guanches were white, tall, well developed and many had blue eyes. They were peaceful, brave and great defenders of their homeland.

• Origin of the name "Canary": Many believe that the Canary Islands took their name from the canary birds. Yet it is precisely the opposite because it was the canora avecilla which took its name from the islands. The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder in the first century of our era wrote that the king of Mauritania sent a dispatch to the fabulous Fortunate Islands which were in the Dark Ocean beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar). In one of them they found a fierce breed of dog (can, canis in Latin) and therefore called it "Insula Canaria" or the island of dogs. The legendary dogs from the Canary Islands are the emblematic figures that hold the shield of the Canary Islands.

• The gofio, natural Guanche food source which is achieved through a process of roasting different cereals (wheat, barley, rye, corn ...) and its subsequent passage through a mill. It was the food base of the ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands, the Guanches. It is a product with no added preservatives, and its highly nutritious properties make it increasingly precious inside and outside the archipelago. The formula is a natural gofio powder, usually used to mix with milk or canary porridge, or for kneading in a "Pella".

• The cochineal is an insect or Grana parasite nopal (Tuner or Chumbera) which is used for the manufacture of natural dyes, as their blood is a very intense red. Cochineal was a veritable river of gold in the mid-nineteenth century but its breeding sank at the end of this century with the discovery of synthetic dyes. Currently, there are small productions on the islands of Lanzarote and La Palma. It is used widely in food, such as in yogurt (the dye E-120), sausages, candy, clothing, textiles, cosmetics or pharmaceuticals (syrups, tablets ...). Industrial or synthetic dyes are much cheaper but much less safe. Cochineal was of great value in pre-Hispanic times since it dyed clothes for high society.

• Salt, was one of one of the biggest sources of revenue in Lanzarote in the early twentieth century, as the salt marshes of the island produced salt for exports throughout the world. The fishery depended entirely on the salt industry for the preservation of the catch, until freezing techniques were invented and demand declined so rapidly that nearly all the salt marshes had to close down. Today, the Salinas Janubio (southwest Lanzarote) are among the few that remain in place and have become a tourist attraction that continues to produce 15,000 tons of salt annually. In addition, salt still plays an important role in the island for the feast of Corpus Cristi, because locals decorate the streets with a beautiful carpet of salt.

• Films in Lanzarote, many films of international success have been totally or partially shot:

- Moby Dick. 1956
- One million years BC.1966
- When dinosaurs ruled the earth.1972
- Journey to the center of the earth 1976
- Doctor Who 1984
- Enemy of mine. 1986
- In Search of Treasure Island (TV series) 1997
- Mararia. 1998

 

• The Timple: The most representative instrument of the Canarian music of European origin that belongs to the family of down stringed instruments. It is often described as a small guitar that is played strumming with your right hand. It is considered a variant within the broad range of Iberian guitarrillos, but it differs from the other guitarrillos by its narrow sounding board, elongated and curved below. All references suggest that the early builders of Timple appear in Lanzarote - the first island to be conquered - and more specifically in the town of Teguise.

• Our Lady of the Volcanoes, patron saint of the island. In the vicinity of the national park Timanfaya, it is almost compulsory to visit the shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows, which the Islanders are still calling "of the Volcanoes". The tradition tells that in one of the terrible eruptions in which the lava threatened to bury the entire population, the inhabitants of the area used this image and planted it in front of the great river of lava that stopped immediately. Grateful they built this hermitage.

• Lanzarote is the least mountainous island of the Canary archipelago. Though it comprises a sharp relief by the north and south it is the least mountainous. The highest peak on the island of Peñas Chacha has 670m.

• The Jameitos, inside Jameos of water, between darkness and a ray of light, is a small natural waters lagoon. There lives an endemic species of the island, Los Jameitos, tiny crabs, albino and blind, whose origin is unknown.

• Along with Fuerteventura it was the first island colonized.

• Almost one third of the island is Malpaís,  dry and dark volcanic soils.

• The main irrigation system is to cover the fields with small volcanic rocks. This black material retains the dew drops of water and keeps the soil moist.

• In the restaurant's P.N. Timanfaya you can eat roast chicken with the fire of the volcano.

• King Hussein of Jordan possessed a summer residence that he later gave to King Don Juan Carlos.

• King Hussein of Jordan used to visit Cesar Manrique. On one occasion, the Jordanian king lit a cigarette and Cesar Manrique asked him not to smoke, for in his house, the king was him.

• In the movie One Million Years BC (1965) appears Raquel Welch dressed in a fur bikini in the arid landscape of Timanfaya.

• Lanzarote was the holiday destination of Miguel de Unamuno.

• The Cactus Garden, has more than 10,000 species of cactus from around the world.