Not so fast on Morocco—I forgot that we stopped off at Arrecife first before heading over to Casablanca. The first destination on Arrecife was Lanzarote at the Timanfaya National Park. And was it ever crowded. Both locals and foreign tourists converged on the place.

It’s easy to see why the park gets so crowded—there is a lot to see.  And the crowd didn’t tail off as the day progressed. It got bigger.

The landscape in the park is moon like. It was formed by volcanic eruptions, some of them as recent as the late 18^th and mid 19^th centuries.  So, as a result the landscape looks a little like the surface of the moon. After looking at the landscape, we had coffee and snacks at a café in the park.

Then we headed off to El Golfo where we went up to a lookout point toward the top of a large hill. El Golfo is a small fishing village on the Western coast of Lazarote. It is best known for its dramatic volcanic landscape near Charco de los Clicos, which is an equally dramatic  green lagoon. Not surprisingly it is also a popular spot with tourists and photographers. 

After El Golfo we went to a wine tasting as well as a … salt tasting. The reason for the salt tasting? There are historic slat flats near El Golfo that used to supply a large amount of salt to the market.  And so we tasted salt. Or had the opportunity to.  In the end, we declined the offer although many of fellow tourists tried it out. 

Anyway, it was a pretty interesting tour to go on. After leaving Arrecife we headed out to Morocco where we went to Casablanca and Tangiers. 

So, when we hit Casablanca: “Here’s looking at you, kid”.

JFB

We spent a second say touring around Tenerife with a terrific guide. Not only was she an excellent English speaker, she was a great problem solver and had a wonderful sense of humor. 

We visited a pretty crowded farmer’s market where there were plenty of fruits and vegetables for sale. This was a market where the locals shopped and was mostly located indoors. 

We also got a good look at some of Tenerife’s architecture, including some engineering feats like the bridge pictured below. 

Finally we went to an outdoor market where all kinds of merchandise was on sale and on display. We bought some products made by local artisans and then headed back to the ship. 

Next stop, Morocco, on the North coast of the Mediterranean in Africa.  

JFB