Ep44 | Exploring La Graciosa | Looks like we landed on the moon!

January 30-31, 2021 Welcome to La Graciosa where the population is about 700. In this episode, you join us in our first 2 full days of exploring the island. We take the North Route, where the winds blow against us and the currents are strong. We hike up both Mt Mojon & Red mt and get around on our second day of exploration on bikes on this sandy island. La Graciosa is one of the last places in Europe with no asphalted roads. Motor vehicles are strictly limited to a handful of licensed vehicles for special purposes. It is the least explored and most peaceful and serene of the Canary Islands. Tourism is the main industry along with fishing. Every year, tourists flock to the island for its tempered climate and its sandy volcanic coasts. Despite the size of this island, it has a school, a church, post office, supermarkets, medical center, pharmacy, a bank branch, bar-restaurants, bike rental and a square. Access to the island for all the non-sailors is by a 25-minute ferry crossing from Órzola on Lanzarote to the harbour in the village. In this episode of Sailing ELANE, we hike up to the top of Mt. Mojon (266 moh), climb down to the crater. -------------- While exploring Mt Mojon, we recognized many stone formations or barriers and wondered why they were there. We new we were required to stay on the trails in order to preserve the nature, but looking back, I think we were a little too lenient with the boys and might’ve broken a few rules here….Norway's "freedom to roam" law, grants everyone the right to access uncultivated nature for activities – so, all of these restrictions on La Graciosa were unnatural and new for the boys…and, we now realize that , being a protected Natural Park, this fun stone-rolling was an unnecessary way of hurting the landscape and plant life. :/ ---------------- Hiking trails in La Graciosa La Graciosa is not a big island, allowing you to get to know it by walking the trails that cross and run and lead us to those virgin, solitary beaches, which are paradise in every sense of the word. Being a protected Natural Park, a series of rules must be followed to help preserve this natural wonder so that the landscape, plant life and marine life are not affected by the presence of tourists. Therefore, we should never veer from the paths of the routes in order to avoid erosion of any particular area because vegetation might not grow again, and at the same token do not disturb the marine wildlife or tear out wild plants, as many species are endemic, ie – this is there one and only home. Depending on the hours available to spend on the island, recommended routes vary because if you’re restricted by boat timetables back to Lanzarote you will have to be selective over which route to choose in order to make the most of the beaches, sun and the island. La Graciosa is pure volcanic landscape where there are no trees or shade to shelter from the sun on the paths. There is also no possibility of replenishing food or water on the routes and beaches, so a good hat or cap, sunglasses, enough food and water, and sunscreen should not be missing in any backpack on the routes, as well as proper footwear of course. There are 4 main hiking trails found on the island that leads us to the main points of interest on the islands. --- Thanks for watching and we hope you’ll join us for the next episode where we explore the Northeast route of the island, see points of interest and get some beach-time in by calmer waters…lava-stone style. From our family to yours, thank you for joining us on this journey! If you're riding through storms or soaking up sunshine, we pray you feel Pappa-God's anchoring presence with you. Get in touch with us. We'd love to hear from you! Thanks for watching! Until next time, ELANE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS: Movavi Video Suite 25.13 Epidemic Sound: Guajira a la Esperanza (Instrumental Version) – Caro Luna Happy Birthday (Piano Version) – Helmut Schenker Another Home – August Wilhelmsson Te Elijo a Ti (Instrumental Version) – Caro Luna Mojito de Parchita – Guataca Groove The Tide Is Turning – Helmut Schenker February Moon (Instrumental Version) – Victor Lundberg Photos: Anna Briatico (Flickr) Alamy TripAdvisor R2hotels.com Casamundo https://www.visitlagraciosa.com/en/hiking-trails-la-graciosa/ https://isladelagraciosa.com/puntos_de_interes/el-bufon-de-graciosa/