Breakfast came a quarter of an hour earlier than we ordered for, happily we were presentable. I didn’t mind it being early as it gave more time for the food to settle. Only one coach for “Hidden Tenerife”, a couple of Germans sat in front of us but sat on different sides of the coach. I wondered if at dinner they sat on opposite sides of a table for two.

We first were taken to the old capital Teguisa of Lanzarote, representative of most of Lanzarote with mostly white walled low buildings. A female windmill in the car park (smaller than normal ‘male’ windmills). A Catholic Church, a pair of bronze lions facing towards the courthouse one with mouth open for the condemned.

Next was Lanzaloe Park, an aloe vera plantation where we saw a demonstration of cutting apart an aloe leaf to reveal a transparent jelly like substance. The presenter told us aloe vera was useful for everything from skin conditions to shoe cleaning (well something like that). Very limited toilet facilities here. The sun was strong today but smokers and those not bothering wearing masks squatted under the little shade there was.

Lastly the splendid Cacti Gardens designed by Cesar Manrique, whose legacy was not only his art but also his influence on Lanzarote maintaining the character it has (practically no high buildings, uniformly white walls, respect for the traditions). A wide range of cacti set in the cone of an old volcano. Our tickets got us a drink but food was limited - we just managed to buy the last bag of crisps! Manrique’s style avoided straight lines, was stylised and evocative.

The Cacti Gardens was in an area they grew prickly pears for the cochineal beetle. An area very reminiscent of Iceland with black lava fields, broken rocks littering the surface, few trees, barren hillsides.