We chose Lanzarote, the most easterly island of the chain and according to the experts the most exotic. While all the Canary Islands have their extinct volcanoes, Lanzarote is dominated by them. Every hill is conical, and many have that sinister broken crater's edge where streams of lava once spilled over and poured across the landscape. The last eruption occurred in 1824. The ground is mostly infertile, and with its minimal rainfall the island has the misfortune of not having a single river or stream.
Fresh water has to be pumped from wells or wrung out of the sea via desalinisation plants.
But the attraction is the coast, and as it only takes an hour to drive from one end of the island to the other, and half that time to cross, you are never far from the sea. In most places, the sand is a respectable yellow, and only a few beaches have the tell-tale black sand of lava deposits. The oldest resort, Puerto del Carmen, has several miles of yellow sand as well as a pleasant small cove, Playa Chica, near the yachting harbour. Most of the package tours concentrate here or at Playa Blanca on the south coast. But with a rented car you can get to the quieter beaches of El Papagayo along a dirt track to the east of Playa Blanca.