They Come in All Shapes and Sizes

We concluded a very pleasant week in Lanzarote with a visit to the Jardin de Cactus, otherwise known as the cactus garden. We'd actually passed it, and even gone into the car park, earlier in the week, to have a look at the huge metal cactus outside the gates. However, we hadn't thought that wandering round a load of cacti would be particularly exciting, and it wasn't our normal sort of holiday activity, so we'd decided to give it a miss.

However, while shopping in Eurospar one evening, in the middle of the wine section, we met a bear friendly Brit and got chatting. He'd been to the Cactus Garden that day and told us it was well worth a visit as it was an amazing artistic experience. He said it was the artistry with which the garden was laid out that was more important than the cacti themselves.

As it happened, the weather was cool, cloudy and windy on our final day - definitely not beach weather, but perfect for garden visiting - so we decided to pay a visit.

And we're pleased to say that having been, it is worth a visit, especially as the entry fee is very reasonable.

The garden is built in a former quarry, and it was the brain child of Lanzarote's most famous son - Cesar Manrique - who is responsible for most of Lanzarote's tasteful tourist attractions. Although the garden is full of cacti - about 10,000 types - there is much more there than simply cacti. There is a restored windmill and huge volcanic rocks have been turned into natural sculptures and water features.

Wandering round is an aesthetic experience that is very pleasing to the senses. The cacti really do come in all shapes and sizes. Some were quite snake like and reminded us a bit of the 'Day of the Triffids' ...

... while others were short and fat and looked almost fluffy in appearance, although fluffy they most definitely were not. Prickles seemed to be the order of the day and none of us wanted to get too close for photographs, all except one ...

Yorkie risked a close encounter when he found a cactus with fruit that looked good enough to eat. Apparently it was. Those spines were almost as big as Yorkie, so you have to admire his bravery - or foolishness!

After a very lesiurely circuit taking it all in, we stopped for coffee in the garden's cafe. We all agreed that completely misjudged just how much fun looking at cacti could be. 

A few hours after our visit, we were on a plane on the way home. Our visit to Lanzarote had been a successful one, full of interesting experiences, and we will no doubt return one day. In the meantime we have lots of material to write up for the Canary Islands chapter of the Friendly Planet Guide. 

Back soon, 

Love George, Yorkie and Pedro xxx

Submarine Safari

The highlight of our week in Lanzarote was a trip to the bottom of the ocean by submarine. We were venturing where no B.U. bear has been before and we were extremely excited. We booked the trip to celebrate an 80th birthday in the human element of our party (none of us bears can imagine being that old!) and what a  fine way to celebrate it was.

Our submarine was nothing other than a yellow submarine, which made our experience all the more authentic.

As we all boarded in an orderly fashion, our fellow submariners looked calm and composed, but we think that was just the British stiff upper lip syndrome, as we couldn't believe they could help but be as excited as we were. 

Each couple had their own port hole - in our case we were 3 bears to a port hole - but there was still plenty of room. 

Our safety boat led us out and told us when it was safe to dive. As we sank beneath the waves we could watch our submersion on the t.v. screens in front of our seats.

Once submerged our screen display changed to tell us important information about our dive, in particular how deep we were. We went down to around 30 metres (100 feet for those who like the old units).

It didn't take long for lots of lovely fish to appear. They were of all different sizes, shapes and colours and they were simply magical. We went past a couple of wrecks which had been moved to our dive site to encourage fish to colonise the area.

Aboard our support boat was a diver who swam round the submarine feeding the fish. He was very friendly and waved at us every time he passed. We were enthralled when he passed us hanging on to a huge ray who clearly enjoyed his food and wasn't going to miss out on a single scrap. 

You can share our ray experience by clicking on the following video clip ...

We loved every minute of our dive and, as we came back up to the surface, we sang along lustily to, what other than, the song Yellow Submarine, piped over the P.A. system. 

We all got dive certificates at the end, which we are proudly displaying in our Bear Cave. We'd recommend this experience to anyone. 

Lots of love George, Yorkie and Pedro xxx 

No Golf at El Golfo

In our bearish and versatile fashion, we're going back to Lanzarote, as we like talking about hot places when it's cold at home.

Upon leaving the Timanfaya Visitors' Centre, we drove to the coast at El Golfo and ate our packed lunch looking at the sea. This resort is still in the National Park  and here huge swathes of lava run into the sea and disappear beneath the waves. The coast path is an exception to the rule that you can't walk on the lava; you are free to do so as long as you keep to the coast path. As we like walking and we wanted to see the lava up close, we were pleased when we found a circular walk in our walking guide, and out we set.

It was slow going, as lava isn't the easiest of materials to walk on. We had to watch where we were putting our paws, and we all wore boots, as the edges of the lava could be quite sharp.

Our return to our hire bearmobile was via a rather off-road, road. A flat surface had been cleared but we were never more than a stride away from the lava rocks. While walkers are welcome on the path, unauthorised vehicles aren't, which is good, we thought, to preserve the fragile environment. We thought using the Timanfaya devil to advise of the traffic restriction was great, even if it was a bit battered.

On our return to our apartment it was still warn enough to use the pool ...

... which was nicely deserted and very inviting. We sat on the side first and chatted about our exciting day, while we anticipated our swim.

After our swim we decided on a game of giant poolside chess ...

... it wasn't the fastest game, as the pieces were so big relative to us, that we couldn't pick them up. We had to push them across the board to the required spot. You'd never have though that playing chess could provide such strenuous exercise. 

Lots of love, George, Yorkie and Pedro xxx

Hope you had a Good Easter

It's probably a bit late to wish our readers a Happy Easter now, but we hope you had a good one and managed to stay warm in these artic conditions which persist.

Over the Easter period we have enjoyed a good mix of reflection and contemplation ...

... which started in the run up to Easter with our 'Time to be Still' sessions, where the church was simply and beautifully decorated with icons and lights, which we loved ... 

... followed by Good Friday reflections, where we spent time in our version of the Garden of Gethsemene ...

... and laid lit candles around a big cross after carrying it round the Church ...

We've also had lots of fun and family time too, with a visit from the Suffolk and Midlands branches, a good walk, a visit to Fakenham races and lots of lovely shared meals ...

.
... not to mention a feast of Easter eggs and other chocolate goodies. We did feel a tinge of guilt at eating this chick's nest and eggs, but he hasn't gone homeless and now has a fine home with us in our bear cave.

Lots of love from us all to you all

All at Bears Unlimited xxx