Unless you are situated in the old part of the town, the main beach at Puerto del Carmen is not going to be far away. The Avenida de las Playas is the long road that stretches almost the entire length of the town and the Playa Grande follows that road.

The sand is a mixture of light and dark particles – the dark ones being lava ash, which gives the whole beach a slightly darker shade than you might expect on a holiday in the sun. That said, it is very clean and on a fine day can be an ideal place to go with a family.

The sea is very clear and even a bit saltier than on the European coast. Depending on which part of the beach you are on, there are pedalos for hire, or loungers with sunshades. There are also first aid points and a lifeguard station.

If the beach gets too much for you, or you’ve left something at home, then there are numerous small shops along the avenida that will sell you almost anything, but in particular buckets and spades, beach towels, souvenirs, and discount electronics!

Unfortunately, the beach can be pretty unpleasant when it’s windy – the sand blows up and gets into everything, so it’s best to go there on a fine day with little wind and be prepared to do something else when the weather changes.

One of the problems with international translations is that you have to deal with words connected to places that don’t always have an obvious translation in every language. One example I had a few years ago was “Hong Kong Chinese” – I rang the German Embassy in London to ask them for advice!

So what is something that comes from Lanzarote? Most English texts use “Lanzarotean” and the German equivalent would seem to be “Lanzarotisch”. One restaurant didn’t agree and used “Lanzarotenisch” which maybe sounds more exotic?

Anyone who has been to Lanzarote will probably be able to tell you about the camel rides. They may not have ridden one themselves, but they may have seen them. At the very least they will have heard about them.

The camels take tourists on rides around Timanfaya, the national park with the main volcano located in it. If you have the use of a car, then it is possible to drive to their site and hire a ride locally. Most, however, will have booked a package which includes transport to the site and the ride itself.

Each camel can carry two people – seated one on either side. Once all the camels are loaded up, they stand up in a row and walk off up the mountain.

The camels used to be used on the islands for agriculture and for transport – being suited to the local lack of fresh water on the island. Today they may “only” be used by tourists, but they provide an ecologically-friendly way of seeing the centre of the national park.