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

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

Our Lunar Journey

We're sorry that part 2 'coming soon', has been rather delayed, but another of our adventures (a rather polar one this time) got in the way.

But back to the warmer climes of Lanzarote, and the even warmer volcanic region of the Timanfaya National Park, where we had just boarded our coach ready to be driven round the park.

Our front row seats gave us a good view and it was a comfortable ride as, although we were passing through the rockiest of surrounds, we had a narrow strip of tarmac to drive along.

It was wide enough for one bus only and strictly one way; it also required an experienced driver as there were places with hairpin bends and big drops. Our driver was very good and bear friendly. Whenever we stopped for photos he would let us step forward and take pictures through his big side window. 

There was lots to see and many stops. The individual volcanoes were joined together by a sea of lava and it was simply amazing to see all the formations lava could cool into. 

Pedro was very excited by this amazing volcanic cone .... 

and lapsed into Spanish so we didn't understand much of what he said, so we concentrated on the taped commentary instead ... 

Some of the craters were best viewed from inside the bus as we wouldn't have wanted to get too close to the edge of this one ... 

... we had visions of it being rather warm in the depths of that crater!

We learnt that this environment, while appearing quite barren and harsh, was very fragile. This is why vehicles, other than the official buses, are not allowed. If  a car drove off the tarmac strip and onto the ash, it would take a long time, months, possibly years, for the tyre tracks to disappear. Camel's feet don't do too much damage though, and there is an option to take a camel ride in one area of the park. We did see the camels, but the bus didn't stop, so we just gave them a cheery wave. 

After the bus tour ended, we made for the visitor's centre. Before we had got all the way round, we got a bit volcanoed out, but we did enjoy one unusual experience ...

... and no, we hadn't fallen into the bowels of that crater we showed you earlier, we were down in the basement for a simulation of a volcano errupting. There were lots of red and orange flashes and some rumbling, but we think it must have been a lot worse at Pompeii. 

As we came out of the visitor's centre we were ready for a bit of sea air, so it was to the coast we headed next. 

Love George, Yorkie and Pedro xxx

It's Devilishly Hot ...

In our last post we reported that a visit to the Teguise Sunday Market is a must. Another must is a visit to the Timanfaya National Park. The Park covers the volcanic area of Lanzarote and includes both volcanoes and miles and miles of martian landscape of pumice and ash.

It is a delicate and fragile landscape, so you can't drive or wander freely round, but your entrance fee includes a great coach tour.

As you wait for your coach there are some great demonstrations to see. The park staff show you just how close to the surface the heat and molten material is ...

... they poke a bundle of dry brushwood into a crack in the grounds and moment later it bursts into flames. They also take you to fissures generating enough heat to barbecue chicken for the visitors' restaurant. We nearly jumped out of our fur when a man poured water from a bucket into a metal tube in the ground and, seconds later, it exploded in geyser like form, with a loud whoosh ...

It was exciting and dramatic stuff but we couldn't help wondering whether another eruption was imminent and whether this really was the safest place to be. We were reassured though when we learnt that there hasn't been an eruption since 1824. If there had been an eruption while we we were there, we would certainly have made history.  

It wasn't long before it was time to board our coach for our tour. Pedro made friends with a fellow Spaniard, our driver, and as a result got us seats right at the front of the coach, with the best possible views ... 

The tour follows in part 2, coming soon.

Lots of love

George, Yorkie and Pedro xxx

In the Pink at Teguise

If you find yourself in Lanzarote - and hopefully our blog might inspire you to go (Pedro is available for guiding) - be sure to visit the Teguise Sunday market. It is simply huge and, unlike most markets that we tend to go to - it actually sells things that we and our minders wanted to buy. We were simply spoiled for choice, and the prices were very reasonable. We spent a lot of money, but that was simply because we bought so much - wooly lambs skin slippers, earrings, scarves, lizard mugs, necklaces, hand made soaps, spices and more - not all for us though, we were present shopping as well.

There are too many stalls to visit them all without a break, so we stopped off in a lovely courtyard cafe for a refreshing cafe con leche grande.

Our only complaint was that it was a bit pink (the cafe not the coffee) - after all we are all boy bears. However, it was a lovely peaceful spot, even though just a few steps away from the bustling market. What's more, as you will see behind us, we had live music, from a talented Spanish guitarist. Pedro even recognised the songs he was playing and was able to put a suitable request in.

From the market we travelled north to do a walk which would take in a town, which the guide books said was rather charming - that of Haria. We shall report in the Friendly Planet Guide that the town was o.k. but not unmissable. As for our walk, this was quite exciting and not for the faint hearted or those who suffer from vertigo.

We did fail to recognise 'a breeze-block walled enclosure' which our walking guide told us to look out for, so there may have been an easier path, but the path we took was almost vertical and rather close to the edge of a very high cliff - plus it was very windy.  We therefore had rather more of an adventurous walk than we were expecting.

The descent, which you see in our next picture, was not quite so steep, but still steep enough for our female minder and her folks, who didn't look too much in their element as they teetered their way down.

We are very sure pawed and can bound down a steep hill just like mountain goats, so we gave the others a good head start and took in the terrific view that we got from being so high up.

We wanted to see as much of Lanzarote as we could in our week, so from Haria, we drove on to the view point at the northerly tip of the island, the Mirador del Rio. Sadly we can't show you much more than the car park, and this great piece of iron work which Pedro is climbing ...

... as it cost several euros to get in, which put us off, especially as it was quite late in the day and not good weather for lingering. We did walk back down the road for some good - and free - views of the island of Graciosa.  We did speak to someone later in the week who said that the entrance fee was worth it, so don't let our stinginess put you off, if you do visit, after reading this blog.

This really was a cracking day and finished off beautifully with good food and wine in the evening. The only downside was our male minder suffering from a nasty bug.

Lots of love

George, Yorkie and Pedro xxx

Shades of Grey (but not 50!)

If we could only use one word to use to sum up Lanzarote, our choice would probably be rocky. It's not so noticeable on the tourist beaches, where golden sand is predictably on offer, but as you know, we like to get off the beaten track and explore on paw. The going under paw wasn't particularly easy, as it was, quite simply, invariably rocky.

Those rocks get everywhere and are frequently used in preference to bricks for wall building. There are low walls used for constructing salt pans ...

... and some really tall walls, which completely dwarfed us, as you can see...

... just look at those buttresses; we were worn out by the time we'd climbed to the top to see what these towering walls were protecting. Strangely enough it didn't seem to be anything, the view from the top was just of barren wasteland. Still, these volcanic rocks were not exactly in short supply so why not spend an afternoon practising wall building? 

Some stretches of coast path were very rocky, as well as windy, creating some big crashing waves. When the path dropped down to sea level at a beach, it was no surprise to find there were lots more rocks and they were the familiar shade of grey.    

Sitting on rocks in the sun is very pleasant though as you get a nice warm bottom. Talking of warm,  that lovely Spanish sun brought out the lizards - or was it the crumbs from our sandwich lunch which brought them out? 

We thought Chelmer might like a picture for his nature notes collection. 

Lots of love

Pedro, George & Yorkie xxx

After the Snow, the Sun

Some of us, well Yorkie, Pedro and me (George) have browner fur than usual at the moment. This is not because we haven't washed or because we've been out in the mud, but because we've just returned from yet another adventure.

This time of year there's only one place to go (as we don't really do skiing), and that's to the sun.

Sun, pool, lounger - what more do you need? - apart from a cold beer!

As the chapter on the Canaries in the Friendly Planet Guide was a bit thin, we decided to research some more material, by visiting the island of Lanzarote.

It was a great choice, and our timing was impeccable, as we went when there was more snow and sub zero temperatures at home.

We stayed, along with our minders, and their folks, in 2 apartments at the delightful Holiday Bond Complex of Santa Rosa. We'd come to expect something special from a HPB property and we were not disappointed.

Just look at the amazing towel sculptures that greeted us ...

... how romantic! The flowers were real by the way. 

It wasn't only in the bedroom that we were greeted by towel sculptures; they were also in the bathroom and in the kitchen ... 

We did wonder if we were going to see any birds with this interesting colour scheme on the island. 

Some of our readers may not be as familiar with our Bears Unlimited travelling companion, Pedro, as they are with regulars, Yorkie and myself. Pedro was our secret weapon as he's passionately Spanish - speaks the language perfectly (no surprise) and can use his contacts to get us into all sorts of interesting places, both on and off the tourist trail. 

We'll be back soon to share some of our explorations of the island with you. 

Lots of love

George, Pedro and Yorkie xxx 

Gio's Church Selection

I'm sure you won't be too surprised to hear that we did visit one or two churches along the way. The numbers weren't as great as you might think, due to the fact that, as we found on our earlier trip, the Spanish do tend to keep their churches locked. It's a great shame.

Quite soon into this trip, we walked through the big city of Leon. The Camino took us right past the entrance to this magnificent cathedral ...


The office where we went to get a stamp for our pilgrim passports was just after the rather fine screen in our next picture...


The artwork was so intricate that there was almost too much to see. I concentrated on the colours instead as I'm a simple soul, and found some of the frills too much.

In contrast, I really loved the simplicity of the church at Rabanal. It was just outside the albergue we stayed at, run by the English Co-fraternity of St James. It was very old and very peaceful. When we arrived a French pilgrim was playing his recorder inside and it sounded wonderful.


A few days later we went into a church that was open and, while the church was not really to my taste, with a bit too much gold and heavy decoration, I was more pleased that you can imagine, to see my old friend St. Roch, with his dog, again. We saw St Roch quite a lot in France but only occasionally in Spain. He is the patron saint of pilgrims and was a similar sort of figure to St Francis of Assisi, so, with me being a Franciscan bear, there is an immediate affinity.


You'll always know if you've seen St Roche as he always has his very distinctive thigh wound and the dog who saved his life by bringing him food when he was sick, at his feet.

We'll talk a bit more about the big one, Santiago Cathedral, next time.

Lots of love Gio xxx

Our Art Selection

While we were away on our pilgrimage, you had lots of words from us and less pictures that usual. It's now time to redress the balance and share a few pictures with just a few explanatory words.

Here are the first 3 we have selected, on the subject of artwork.

Within minutes of setting foot back in Sahagun, the starting point for this trip and end point of our last trip, we were greeting our old friend St James, without whom there would be no Camino. He does seem to change his appearance quite a bit along the way, and here comes across as quite a lean and gaunt figure ,and we always think it looks like he has his shopping bag with him. It was nearly 2 years since we stood in this very place beside this particular St James, and we can't describe how good it was to see him again, even though we weren't too sure about the yellow eyes which he has gained since we last saw him.


A few miles down the road, in a small village, was this wonderful agricultural scene, carefully worked in metal ...


Yorkie and I were quite tempted to ask for a lift, but it was a bit soon in our walk and anyway, Gio, our pilgrimage leader, would never have allowed it. He was determined to walk every step of the way and we couldn't help but be inspired by his passion and commitment. We were there to walk, and walk we would.

After a lot of walking, every pilgrim needs a rest and our next sculpture showed us just how to do it. We wasted no time in following this pilgrim's fine example and resting our paws and eyelids.


We loved the spot chosen for this rest. It was right outside one of the most impressive and expensive paradors in Spain. We knew we couldn't afford to sleep inside it, but we did enjoy our snooze outside it.

More pictures to come.

Lots of love, George, Yorkie and Gio xxx

Alhambra 2

We hope you enjoyed the Suffolk branch's post from Brittany as much as we did. It just goes to show what a nose for travel us bears have; we get everywhere. In fact, while the Suffolk branch were sunning themselves in Brittany, we were away on yet another Norfolk branch adventure, but before we reveal more, it's back to the Alhambra and another stunning picture to start us off.

Often when we tour round historic sites and old monuments, we begin to flag quite quickly as we get culture overload. Not so with the Alhambra - we remained bright eyed and bushy tailed for many hours drinking it all in.

This was because there was so much to see and so much variety. After visiting the palaces, we investigated the Alcazaba (great name!) which was the military fortress.

It was grand from the outside and also on the inside ...

The architecture was very different to that of the palaces, as you would expect. Climbing to the top of the tower gave us some views to marvel at ...

At the best of times Gio can't help being a bit boggly-eyed, which is part of his immense charm, but even he had to boggle more than usual ...

... and we still hadn't got to our favourite bit yet. Pictures coming soon!

Lots of love George, Yorkie, Gio and Pedro xxx

One of the 7 Wonders of the World?

The highlight of our week in Spain was undoubtedly our trip to the Alhambra. There was so much to see, and it was all so stunning, that it will fill a very long chapter in the Friendly Planet Guide.

We decided to pass on the organised HPB trip and arrange our own, so we could depart at a civilised hour. Trig, our trusty hire car, had a long run up to Granada but we enjoyed the scenery en route, especially the views of the snow capped Sierras.

Granada also looked a fine city as we drove through, but, on this occasion, the Alhambra was more than enough for us, so we ignored its charms.


Our timed slot to visit the Nazaries Palaces was at 2.00 p.m. so we made sure we were there early. The timed slots work well and we enjoyed being able to view these stunning palaces and courtyards without having to fight our way through huge crowds.

We had hired audio guides so we were able to hear lots of fascinating facts about the Alhambra, all in English! There was a lot to learn, but to be honest with you, we've forgotten it all now, so we won't spout any exotic names or dates. In any event, the Alhambra is a feast for the eyes, far more than a feast for the ears.

We particularly enjoyed the open spaces ...



... and Gio was thrilled with all the scallop shells at the entrance to the places, as they reminded him of his time walking the Camino to Santiago (the scallop being the emblem of St James).


Pedro and I were quite taken with the ornate niches, of which the following is a good example.


They made good resting places for bears and strangely enough they were always unoccupied, possibly as they were too small for humans. We liked the suggestion that, historically, they were places to leave your slippers when you went inside, although this probably is just a fanciful notion.

We hope you're beginning to get a flavour of the Alhambra and why we enjoyed our visit so much.

We've got lots more Alhambra pictures to share, so keep looking out for our next post.

Lots of love, George, Yorkie, Gio and Pedro

Down to Sea Level

As we digested the contents of our lunch box looking ahead to the sea, our destination for the afternoon, we remembered to take a look behind us to see where we'd climbed up from. We'd nearly missed this view in our eagerness to see what was to come ...


... this was the top of the delightful gorge that we'd just climbed out of. The path down was a lot easier, at least to begin with, because it was tarmaced and zigzagging, although still very steep.
See what we mean ...

It wasn't long before the smooth path ran out and we put our paws into four wheel drive to descend on the loose rock safely.

As we went down, the sea got closer and closer. When we reached it, we found it was a stunning stretch of coastline. We could see why it was a national park. Of course we do like to think our photography skills had something to do with it looking so good.

There was nothing for it, but to stop for an libation in the local cafe, so we could sit and drink in the lovely views.

We got a little lost trying to follow the path along the coast. It should have been easy, just keeping the sea on our right, but somehow it wasn't.

We did a bit of pioneering cross country trekking, to take us back to the road which took us up to an official viewpoint. This art installation made a lovely seat for us to rest our tired legs while we took in another fine view.

Because it was Spain, even though it was only March, we could bask in warm sunshine under blue skies.

From there it was a fast downhill march back to our mining town starting point, then back to El Pueblito for a relaxing sauna and swim.

Lots of love George, Yorkie, Pedro and Gio xxx

Only in Spain

We might have been hungry when we went into the restaurant, but after a very fine meal, we decided, the next day, that we needed another walk, to work off some of the calories.

Thanks to the H.P.B. pack of walks, we were again able to start the walk right from the front door of our apartment. We went up and over the hills we'd walked earlier in the week, and ended up in a gorge with very steep sides and a dry river bed. Look very closely at our next picture and you must spot us amongst the grey.

As you can see from the blue sky, it was a lovely sunny day and the gorge proved to be quite a sun trap. It was nice flat walking along the river bed for a while, then it started to get a bit rockier and we came across  vegetation and running water. It was lovely sitting on a boulder cooling our paws ... 

We were sorry  to leave the oasis of the gorge and to climb out onto more barren ground. It wasn't long before this territory turned out to be far more exciting that we'd first thought. It was wild tortoise territory and we had the great pleasure to meet one of the inhabitants. Gio, being the patient bear he is, sat very still and quiet and the tortoise walked right up to him, and even brushed past him.

What a thrill that was!

After a spell of arid brown lanscape, it was back to a world of colour with a vengeance as we walked through a huge orchard of orange and lemon trees. They were simply laden with fruit and we thought there must surely have been enough to feed the whole world.

Pedro felt very much at home in these citrus groves. He firmly ruled against any fruit scrumping, and rightly so, but he did let us pick up and taste test a windfall which was the freshest and juiciest orange we had ever tasted.

It did leave us with rather sticky paws through!

Lots of  love George, Yorkie, Pedro and Gio xxx

Perhaps Not One to Try at Home

As we tucked into our lunch, prior to going out exploring, it started to rain - in Spain! It was quite heavy rain so we convinced ourselves it would be a short, sharp shower. And so it was, by the time we were ready to go out, the rain had stopped. Bravo we thought!

Our first foray out into Spain proper, was going to be on foot, and straight out from El Pueblito. One of the nice things about HPB sites is that you can often buy a pack of local walks - for just 1 euro - from reception. We had got our pack on arrival, and decided on number 2, a nearby dinosaur gorge walk, to start. We were attracted by the dinosaur theme and it sounded the most adventurous, which appeals to active and brave bears like us.

It was a simple 15 minute walk to the gorge, then the fun started. Our path was straight up the, now dry, floor of the gorge. There was lots of scrambling over boulders involved and we also had to pick our way through lots of plant growth. And then, it started to rain again. Normally walking up narrow, and steep sided gorges is not a good thing to do in heavy rain, as there can be a danger of flash floods. However, on this occasion, as the river bed was very sandy and long dried up, we felt there was no risk of flooding. The rain didn't last long anyway, it was just another shower.

You'll need to be very sharp eyed to spot us in our first picture. We're sitting on a rock in front of our first dinosaur find. As you can see we'd found a fossilised giant ray. It was simply huge, and we marvelled at how small the modern day rays have become in comparison. If this one hadn't been fossilised we'd have been very scared.

Our next prehistoric rock was of great interest for two reasons: first, it was full of fossils and, second, it made a great climbing wall. As you can hopefully see, despite my camouflage fur, Yorkie and I wasted no time in starting a race to the top. By now we understood exactly why this was called the dinosaur gorge walk; it was because of all the fossils everywhere. 

As we left the gorge, we started to climb and to get some great views of the area where we were staying.  We didn't find any more fossils, but we did get a fine hilltop view of El Pueblito. Home for the week was one of those white boxes! We'd thought we were staying in a nice, quiet, away from it all area when we arrived, and  now we could see why. Apart from a few local farms and dwellings, there was nothing but countryside all around us.

By now we appreciated that we had picked a great place to holiday, and we were really looking forward to the rest of the week.

Lots of love, George, Yorkie, Gio and Pedro xxxx