Lanzarote Spring Is Here!

Lanzarote Spring Is Here!

by | Bettinas World, Lanzarote News, Lanzarote To Do, Lanzarote Trekking & Picnic Places

LANZAROTE SPRING IS HERE!

As you may know Lanzarote is a volcanic Island situated 60 km from the Morocco coastline and therefore we got a very dry climate.

Most of our landscape is black and brownish lava. Especially in the South of the Island. Some parts even look like a “Moon Landscape”. BUT not during Spring time., where the black fields of lava turn all green, yellow and pink. Plants and flowers appearing everywhere.

Everybody think that we have Summer season all year round, but that is not so. For the last couple of years we have had 2 seasons, both Summer and Winter, because January and February have been really rainy month. Lanzarote Spring

You can’t compare the rain here to the rain in the U.K or Ireland, where it usually rains pours down for hours and hours.

Here in Lanzarote we have showers of rain on and off for a few hours and that is all it takes to change the entire landscape. The tiny volcano stones, also called “picon”, suck up the water and maintain the humidity from the rain. And they maintain it even though the sun comes out after rainy periods and during the long periods of sun you can really feel the warmth of the damp, humid air and the promise of warmer days ahead. Lanzarote Spring

That’s when the magic happens and the entire country side becomes totally green and invaded by wild beautiful flowers in yellow, pink and violet.

You can smell them from afar and you can hear the buzzing of local bees and even butterflies fluttering from the cluster to cluster of Spring garden.

When you are not used to having the extreme changing of the four seasons like in the North, the notable change to Spring gives you a marvelous feeling to your body and soul.

I  truly love to spend my spare time in the country side in the weekends in the months of Spring. Take long walks through the landscape and climb up to the top of our mountains and volcanoes to enjoy the stunning view, a soft green velvety glow as far my eyes they reach, and breath in that Spring has finally arrived. Lanzarote Spring

300 Years Older In 1 Week!

300 Years Older In 1 Week!

by | Bettinas World, Lanzarote News

Hi there, welcome to my very first post on my new exciting “Bettina’s Blog”!!

I would like to share this unusual and amazing story with you. “How I became a Professional Photographer In Two Weeks” thanks to Facebook. Social media is just amazing.

The sister of a good friend of mine owned a book company in the United States. And as it happens, her company was publishing a book called “Arena y Mar” with a plot taking place in Argentina.

The book was ready, but they were still missing the perfect cover photo for the book, because they hadn’t found a girl yet, who looked like Laura, the main character of the story.

So, one day and by pure coincidence, the publisher noticed a photo on Facebook. It was a photo on my timeline that I had taken of my daughter on the Famara beach here on Lanzarote.

She told me, that from the moment she saw that picture, she knew she had found “Laura”. She just needed my permission to use my daughter.

She also asked me if I knew any professional photographer on the Island, to do a photo shoot with my daughter. Unfortunately, at that time I didn’t, so I offered to take the responsibility myself, and take over the photo shoot.

I was completely over the moon, as you can imagine, when they agreed to give me that chance.

I love the photography and I have been taking photos since I was a little girl, even to the point where it drove my family crazy.

They sent me all the instructions by email. What photos to take and where. And since volcanoes are nonexistent in Argentina they specifically stressed that NO volcanoes were allowed on any of the photos.

Which was quite a difficult task, since we live on a volcanic Island!

Another one of the instructions, and the funniest part really, was the 300 year old book they wanted “Laura” to be holding in her hands

They didn’t send me one and I didn’t know of anyone who owned a 300 year old book. Not even a 100 year old book for that matter.

So, I came up with the idea to make one myself. It`s amazing how creative one can be when it’s urgently needed!

So what I did was that I took a brand new hardcover book from my very own bookshelf and went down to the beach, which luckily is just about 50 meters from my house.

I then put loads of sand on every single page and left the book on the shore for about an hour letting the foamy shallow waves wash over it.

After sitting there watching it for about an hour I went home and left it on my terrace, in the sun, for a week, in 30º Celsius.

That treatment was just what made a brand new hardcover look 300 years old in a week! Amazing.

Now, everything was ready and the most important part of the photo shooting with my daughter could begin.

We shot some pretty nice pictures that day and the US publishers were more than thrilled with the results, everybody were extremely happy with the result.

If I may say, the front cover of “Arena y Mar” was a smashing hit.

So this is the REAL power of  social media and thanks to Facebook, I can add Creative Artist and Professional Photographer to my Curriculum.

 

CÉSAR MANRIQUE

CÉSAR MANRIQUE

by | Bettinas World, Lanzarote News, Lanzarote To Do, Voices Of Lanzarote

CÉSAR MANRIQUE 1919 – 1992

Have you ever heard about the Architect and Painter Cesar Manrique from Lanzarote?

If not, you don’t know what you been missing. For the 25 years I’ve lived here and to this very day  I still can`t believe this man hasn’t become known worldwide!

Once you have seen his architecture and Art you will never forget it! That’s one of the reasons why Cesar Manrique is a must and a privilege to cover on my blog.

 

A visit to Cesar Manrique’s house in Tahiche will make you really understand his amazing intellect and also how advanced an artist and ahead  of his time he was.

Cesar Manrique had a lot of influence on this Island. He pushed the idea through that houses were to be painted all white and no building in rural areas or by the sea must be more than 3 stories tall. He was admired by many, both kinsmen and foreigners.

Thanks to him high buildings are not permitted. The windows of Lanzarote houses shall always be painted in either blue, brown or green colour.

He was without any doubt a very interesting and very talented man. And his talent  shined through in many other areas. He was a fantastic architect, an ecologist, a construction adviser, painter, a sculptor and a landscape architect.

He died on the 25 of September 1992 at the age of 73 in a tragic car accident, just outside the newly founded  La Fundación de Cesar Manrique.

The Island has grieved his way too early passing ever since.

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