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circular basalt walls, offering the plants protection from the wind. The resulting landscape is a striking sea of thousands of green eyes, all staring at anyone crossing this dark, arid land.
Heading south, after the peaceful village of Yaiza, a long straight road took us into the Parque Natural de los Volcanes. While the numerous volcanoes across Lanzarote may seem like harmless hills, the thirty montañas del fuego( mountains of fire) in this park serve as a stark reminder of the island ' s true nature; the locals call this expanse of cooled lava malpaís, which covers a quarter of the island, what remains of the six years of furious eruptions in 1730 that reshaped its landscape. Legend has it that it was the statue of the Virgen de los Dolores, carried in procession by the people of Mancha Blanca, that miraculously solidified the lava, sparing the village. In gratitude, the faithful built the pristine church of the Virgen de los Volcanes, thus inaugurating a new Marian cult.
The Timanfaya volcano, at the heart of the park, takes its name from the village that was buried in the eruption, and the name, in the Guanche language of the island’ s original inhabitants, means“ mountain of fire.”
The LZ-67 ends at the Islote de Hilario, a tourist centre from which buses take visitors on a short circuit around the volcano: an essential experience to fully appreciate the expanse of lava in all its red hues, as well as to witness the precise driving skills of the guides on this narrow and winding track. The centre’ s restaurant, designed by Manrique, uses the heat of the lava to cook food, and as a demonstration, a grill placed over a sort of pit is used to cook chicken quarters right before the amazed eyes of visitors. His Majesty Timanfaya is active and boiling beneath the earth: at regular intervals, park staff demonstrate how the temperature rises by hundreds of degrees even just a metre below the surface, creating impromptu geysers simply by pouring a bucket of water into a hole.
The LZ-704 led us straight to the beach of El Golfo, where the volcanic park meets the sea at a small blacksand beach. The tranquil village of El Golfo, with its few white houses and colourful windows, is home to numerous little seafood restaurants where you can enjoy great dishes overlooking a smooth basalt beach, basking in the warm sun that softens the crisp ocean air while time seems to stand still. Not far away, the ocean demonstrated its full power, crashing against the promontory of Los Hervideros, reminding visitors that only the sea can halt the fury of
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