The winter edition of the Lanzarote Guidebook is now available as a free download.

Covering the months of December, January and February, it contains information on the forthcoming carnival season as well as the Festival de Musica and all the usual information about the resorts, restaurants and places to visit.

The guide is rounded off with information on opening times and emergency phone numbers, and is distributed free of charge on the island in a handy pocket format, at the information desk on the arrivals level at the airport, for example.

To get your copy in advance, you can download the electronic version on the download page, or use the order button there to have a copy sent to you.

We’ve reviewed Emma’s Cantina Mexicana in Puerto del Carmen before, but having enjoyed the home-made „Chili Rojo“ this year, I felt it deserved a special mention.

Unlike the “Chili con Carne” which is made of minced beef, Chili Rojo uses chunks of beef in a sauce with garlic, chili, cumin, red peppers and red wine. It is served on a bed of mexican rice with frijoles (re-fried beans) and corn-on-the-cob.

It looked so delicious when it arrived, that I took a photo of it:

And it was hot. The menu apologises that the dish cannot be made less spicy and I was offered a taster in advance, but there was no need. It was not only very tasty but sufficiently spicy as to put it on a par with Pique a lo Macho in Mainz. I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Located in the Castillo de Santa Barbara overlooking Teguise, the Piracy Museum (Museo de la Piratería) is not an easy place to visit.

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. Read the rest of this entry »