So, Lanzarote...

On one hand there is the beer, fish and chips, beer, German sausage and chips, concrete package holiday jungle Lanzarote.

On the other hand there are the volcanoes, the deserts, the sunshine (tempered by the almost constant wind), the sea... Its a very neat and tidy, almost manicured island, so lacks the character I love of mainland Spain (and most of the Mediterranean) with its crumbling buildings, peeling paint and rusting balconies. Lanzarote also lacks the deep historical roots of the mainland, with only a few archaeological sites that date back less than a millenium. But it's a geologist's dream, and I was glad I'd done O-Level Geology many years ago. The volcanic landscapes are stunning and fascinating, and you get to experience a whole volcanology text book in one go! We managed some satisfying hikes, and there are plenty more we left to others. We tended to avoid the tourist hotspots where we could, but those we did share with other holidaymakers weren't too bad. We never found any real crafts shops, most of the outlets, even in places like the various Manrique centres, selling great heaps of tatty, poor-quality rubbish. Not being a beach-bum, I think if I was rich and came again, I'd island-hop. But it was a good, restful, refuelling vacation.