Famara Magic beach`s real name in Spanish is “CALETA DE FAMARA”, which means Bay of Famara.
It’s the beach where most of the citizens from Lanzarote go to during their holidays and especially on weekends. Most of the houses in Famara Village are owned by locals throughout generations and during the summer time families are often seen gathering together at the beach or even in the garages of their houses preparing PAELLA for themselves and their neighbours.

The beaches and the restaurants are full of life most of the year with people strolling around in bikini and flip flops. The smell from the ocean, fresh fish and garlic dominates the air, in a good way. The sand streets in the village are full of children playing and their grandparents letting the time fly by while keeping an eye on their young family members. 

FAMARA is situated in the North of the island, and when driving towards it you will soon get a sensational feeling that this is a different place. The rustic raw cliffs look fearless and somehow easy to reach. The light too is different, and very often the whole scenery can change from one minute to the other because of the clouds or the light from the sun passing over the huge brown cliffs.

There have been times, especially on late afternoons before the sun goes down, when the sky has had the most amazing evening colors I have ever seen.When that happens, there are no words for it, except that it looks like MAGIC.

The beach itself is nearly 6 kilometers long, and it`s absolutely perfect during summer time if you LOVE long walks as I do. It`s wonderful walking along the sea with your feet in the water while listening to the sound of the ocean and feeling the breeze in your hair. 

On extreme sunny days in the Summer and until late October the temperature in the water reaches up to 25 degrees and most of the people on the beach, myself included, stay in the sea for hours to cool down. It can actually be too HOT to sunbathe at times, believe it or not. 

FAMARA is also a paradise for surfers from all around the world. As there is a perfect wind from the north most days during the year. The waves are amazing for surfing, and there are plenty of brave and talented surfers doing it the whole year. I myself, did try years ago, and I have to admit that it`s much more difficult than it looks like. I might give it another chance next Summer though  starting taking classes with a Surfing School this time. As everybody should, because this is the best way to learn. Also, Famara beach has a STRONG undercurrent, and it’s a very good idea to be under observation by professionals while learning surfing.

If you like TREKKING too, the cliffs of Famara could be your perfect option while visiting Lanzarote. I’m sure you won’t regret it. There are two different kinds of walks. One is easy and comfortable. The other option is medium high plus, which is a little bit more rough. The starting point is from the same spot. There is little plot where you can park your CAR if needed.

To find it is easy. When coming down to Famara on the road, with the sea right in front of you,  turn to the right and then continue up the hill where you will see loads of BUNGALOWS. When the road ends up hill you have arrived at your destination and to the beginning of your adventure.

The easy option I do walk it quite a lot with friends during the weekends as often as I can. It’s a simple walk but so relaxing in all SENSES. The walkway can be seen from where you park your car. When you take the left turn, the easy option, it automatically takes you halfway up the cliff. The whole way you will be able to feel the fresh air and the loud sound from the ocean and the blue and turquoise colors will brightly fill your eyes.

On sunny days you can clearly see the two small Islands, La Graciosa, and the virgin island Alegranza. A breathtaking SCENERY imprinted into your memory forever, all though you are only half way up the mountain walk.

FAMARA

Me and my daughter did option two, the rough walk, together. The medium high plus is situated at the same starting point, but instead of turning left you walk straight on and upwards. It was the first time for both of us, which actually was in our favor. If we would have known the roughness beforehand I am sure both of us might have reconsidered. But the whole effort was worth every single bit.

Sometimes on the way up we would turn around to see how far we had got, and every time we were amazed over the beautiful views, which got better and better, the higher we reached. We reached the TOP of the cliffs in only one and a half hour and this is taking into consideration that the terrain is uneven and stony. But believe me, when we reached the very TOP of the mountain it was such a fantastic feeling. We both looked at each other and had a laugh of relief while we inhaled the fresh  cool wind into our lungs. It was a day to remember. STUNNING VIEWS.

Now, the walk down is as hard as the walk up and also you have gravity to battle with. It is a little quicker to reach the bottom though, and when we reach the bottom, both of us starving, we jump into the car and drove straight down to Famara Village and hurried into our favourite restaurant, where we enjoyed a well deserved plate of seafood paella on their sunny terrace.

I absolutely recommend you wear good walking shoes and bring water and snacks on your trekking tour.

The Secrets Of Playa Quemada

It was such a beautiful day. The sky had the right colour of blue, and the fields where green due to a few days with hours of soft rain. Its amazing the difference the rain brings to the landscape of LANZAROTE. Most of the year our surroundings are totally black and brown. So when it finally rains, and we get some green grass on our fields and volcanos it’s HAPPY times.

Me and my friend Digna decided that we would do a long Day Walk. A walk without having to look at the watch. Just enjoying the green fields and Lanzarote`s nature during winter. And so we did!!

We parked our cars down at the harbour of Puerto Calero and continued by foot on the Avenida, towards the local village of PLAYA QUEMADA. Within less than half an hour walking reaching the green field we meet a shepherd with at least a 100 pregnant sheep. How adorable. The shepherd noticed my enthusiasm and asked me if I wanted a photo with one of the sheep. Of course. I couldnt say no. It was my first time scratching a sheep behind the ear. She must have liked it, because she didn’t want to turn around and follow the herd when I left.

Digna and I continued our walk along the seaside, while we enjoyed the view of the deep blue Atlantic Ocean next to the slopes of the green fields. We passed by the BEACH of Playa Quemada, which mostly consists of small stones all the way through. The village of Playa Quemada itself is very small and very much Canarian. There we met this very relaxed looking fisherman, who seemed to not have a care in the world.

When passing the village of PLAYA QUEMADA the walk started to get pretty tough going up and down the fields all the time on a hard slippery terrain. So we really had to concentrate and focus on where to step to avoid slipping down the cliff.  We reached our first stop ,which was a tiny stone beach. That beach is called PLAYA DEL POZO. Right in the center of the beach someone has constructed a what looks like a water well, only with no water in it.

And also a bus stop look-a-like   construction of stones and rocks.

Lanzarote has several of those sorts of constructions scattered around the island. No one seems to know who build them.

When standing right there looking up to the field I saw a huge drawing, at least 50 by 5 meters,  of what looked to me as an ANCHOR.. It was the first time I saw it that close up. I have only seen it from the seaside from a boat, when sailing by. There are many stories to that “drawing”, and it has been there for many years!! One day I will definitely tell some of those stories!

After a well deserved break on the Beach of Playa del Pozo and having sipped a half liter of water we continued our walk along the fields. The high temperature started be noticeably. That is why everyone, who lives here permanently knows that when exercising, early morning is the best option.

Our next and last stop that day was the arrival to what is called “The Secret Garden Of Playa Quemada”. It’s a very special place I have to say. I wonder if such a garden  exists elsewhere in the world? It’s situated close to the sea and as you can imagine the access to it is difficult, because of it’s location and watering those plants in the secret garden is anything but easy.

There is a huge gap in the cliff, where children’s toys from many different countries are used as decoration, as well as all sorts of lost buoys from passing boats.

However, it’s obvious that the plants growing there are being well taken care of by someone and so is the “decoration”. Everything looks so tidy and clean. And inside the cliff we even found a Visitors book! When I opened it I was amazed to see the different comments from other visitors from all around the world. Funnily, I noticed that the book itself was just about 3 years old. I took the time to write a comment, in which I promised that my next blog post would be about this walk to The Secret Garden of Playa Quemada!