Lanzarote

Ok. So I know I am cheating again because this is supposed to be about my time in Ireland. I have learned, however, that people in Ireland take holidays (a thing that is difficult for some of us Americans to understand) and that they often go to places such as Lanzarote to enjoy warm weather and help cope with the rain and cold that they must endure. Therefore, I see this as merely a way as further experiencing Ireland on a more local/native level.

Anyways, Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands, has an incredible landscape created from volcanic activity most of which occurred during the 19th century. The black volcanic rock is barren and foreboding, but unlike most desert landscapes the ocean can almost always be seen.

It is mostly a tourist destination filled with resorts and all the obnoxious things that tend to come with that sort of place. I was glad that we rented a car for three days and were able to get a better sense of the whole island, rather than sit in a hotel for a week which some people seemed to do. The car we rented was a green jeep wrangler and it was stick shift and yes I drove. I have learned that the roads in Lanzarote are very poorly marked, that a sat nav really is not alway correct, and if a rental car seems like a really good deal it probably isn't. The jeep often started from third gear and fell out of gear a few times. Fortunately we had a jeep when the sat nav decided that a dirt road that I recognized to be one for off roading was the way to go. Still the car got us where we needed to go and it was a lot of fun.

There were tons of Irish pubs on the island which I am still having trouble deciding how I feel about. On the one hand it is nice to be able to go far away and find a place where there will be a piece of home and people from your country. We met a very kind, eccentric woman from Cork and I could see that everyone was enjoying themselves in their Irish way watching Ireland win an important football match. But I couldn't help but feel that it was strange and sort of cheating yourself out of experiencing traveling abroad. There are not really any places in Ireland that I can go to that would be like home. I would not even consider going to a Starbucks or a McDonalds and there really isn't the equivalent of an Irish pub in American culture.

Alright I will stop waxing philosophical and let my photos speak for me.

View of La Graciosa from Mira del Rio

Papagayo

Volcano!