Beautiful Lanzarote sure to impress

Mar 21 2010 Sunday Sun

NESTLED in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean the island of Lanzarote is magnificent mix of surf, sand, caves and culture. LIZ LAMB smothers herself in suncream to find out more.

BEFORE I jetted off to Lanzarote my image of the island was that it was a non-stop party place, up there with the likes of Tenerife and Magaluf.

How wrong I was! Instead of a 24-hour drinking culture and naff English cafes serving fry-ups, I discovered a gem of an island that not only has stunning scenery and top-notch cuisine but a reputation for attracting some of world’s best sports stars thanks to it’s unique facilities, all-year- round warm weather and fantastic surf.

When I arrived in the Canaries I was immediately struck by the beauty of this volcanic isle.

Mountains towered over the black, ashen terrain which, surprisingly, was scattered with bright orange flowers and greenery and there wasn’t a tower block hotel in sight.

First stop was Bogavante, a seaside restaurant in the small fishing village of El Golfo. We found an outside table with a fantastic view of the ocean and only a metre away from the sea.

As we soaked up the sun we dined on Canarian delicacies of Papas Arrugada – wrinkly potatoes boiled in sea water – which were served with red and green mojo sauces. Both are traditional Canarian sauces made with garlic and herbs or red peppers.

For the main meal a large steaming pot of seafood risotto, with lobsters which looked like they had been caught only minutes earlier, was served in the middle of the table so our party of friends could help themselves.

The meal was superb, as was the location, and it was a great introduction to the island and it’s cuisine.

By now we were all feeling weary from our early-morning flight so we headed to our hotel, H10 Rubicon Palace, in the resort of Playa Blanca, to the south of the island and a 20-minute journey by sea to Fuerteventura.

The hotel is a vast complex which houses a spa, eight swimming pools, a sports centre, disco, three restaurants, bars and a scuba diving centre. It is also right by the ocean and I was lucky enough to bag a double room with a balcony that had views over the sea.

Once we had unpacked and freshened up we decided to sample the hotel’s à la carte restaurant Venecia. The eaterie is a plush affair with crisp white table linen and top notch decor.

Unfortunately, the cuisine did not live up to our expectations and my dish of local fish and vegetables was so bland I left it half eaten. My fellow diners echoed the same sentiments. The hotel really needs to up it’s game with this eaterie as the buffet restaurant served much tastier fare than its posh counterpart.