For a start, the advertised opening times are either inaccurate or just plain wrong. When we visited in October, they were advertised for Sundays as until 3pm in winter and 2pm in summer. As it happened, the castle was open until 2.30pm, with the last entry about 15 minutes before that.

Castillo de Santa Barbara near Teguise

The road up to the castle closes 30 minutes after the museum itself. And care should be taken when driving along that road as it is narrow, with a sharp drop either on one or both sides. Especially just before the museum closes, drivers tend to race up it to try and get in – only to find that the time advertised at the bottom of the hill is the closing time of the road, and that they are too late.

Parking spaces at the castle itself are limited and along the edge of a crater.

The views from the top, however, are spectacular. Even more so from the top of the castle, so it is understandable why it was built there. You really can see the coast of Lanzarote in almost every direction.

The view from the castle towards Teguise

Entry to the museum costs €3 for adults and is free for children (as of October 2011). It tells the story of the attacks on the Canary islands by pirates and privateers in the last 500 years. There are a few models of ships and the castle itself, as well as some artefacts, but most of it uses historical maps and as such is not quite so interesting for children as it could be.

However for those interested in Lanzarote’s past it is a chapter that is not usually mentioned amongst the details of the volcanic eruptions.

Here, on two stands run by the El Puerto restaurant from Puerto del Carmen, German sausages and other cooked food are served. The sausages are called „Thüringer“, a type of fried pork sausage that comes from the Thuringia area of the former GDR and contains a small amount of spices.

A range of beers are also on offer.

But a special mention should be given to the market at Teguise.

Here, even the guidebooks tell you not to accept the first price that the sellers ask you for, and try to agree on a price that you are happy with. This is not only more difficult in a language that is foreign to the seller, but often they will be more happy to go down in price if they are selling to someone who appears to be a bit less of a tourist.

So if you can speak Spanish, it is worth using it straight away for any questions you may have, and increasing your chances of lowering the price. The better you speak it, the more chance you have…

Although it is possible to park in the streets around the centre of the town, these are often blocked off for the day with police on hand to make sure that only the locals use them.

For everyone else there are the lava fields on the outskirts, where your car will be guarded for a charge of 1.50EUR. Often these display a notice with the distance to the market – be aware that the first ones you see will not be the closest!

The market sells almost everything in terms of souvenirs and crafts that you could wish for. Most of the souvenirs that you see elsewhere on the island can be found somewhere on the market, usually slightly cheaper than normal.

Crafts such as woodwork or lace are of good quality – and the prices usually reflect this quality.

Clothes stalls sell a variety of cheap T-Shirts as well as hand-made goods. Locally-made clothes often have a label in showing that they come from the Canary Islands, so they are easy to spot, although it is useful to be able to speak Spanish if you have any special questions that you want to ask the stall holders.

In fact, although they are used to tourists and speak some English, it is not as much as in the shops on the coastal resorts so if you do speak to them in Spanish, they really open up and give you a lot more details about their wares.

The market takes place on the square in front of, and the streets surrounding, the church. Somewhere there is bound to be a band playing music, often on pan-pipes or other South American instruments.

One word of warning is necessary, though. The market has a reputation for pick-pockets. It can become so crowded, that you may not notice someone brush past you and take your wallet, so this really is a place to go where you only take essentials and keep what you do take such that you know at all times, that it is still there.

Finally, do remember that amongst all the beautiful wood carvings and lava stones, that whatever you buy you probably have to take back in your suitcase – and there is a limit to how many kilogrammes that can have !