Travels in Lanzarote: Day 3. A Glowing Volcano

So, I have to confess to a slight cheat, as on the actual Day Three of our trip, I didn't do any sketching at all. We spent the morning at an artisan's market in Haria and, in the afternoon, visited one of Cesar Manrique's houses - he had actually been living in Haria, when he was killed in a traffic accident.

The following day we drove to the other end of the island, to the Volcano Park: an extraordinarily spectacular place, where the road winds between one volcano after another.

We drove all the way to the sea, then went on a long, hot walk through the lava field. It was created in the 18th century, when the lava poured out for 6 years solid and killed everything in its path. The lava is completely impossible to walk through, because it is so uneven and so very sharp, but a rough, narrow path had been created through the spiky, black rock. Jagged lumps often towered as high as us, and the barren blanket spread back from the sea as far as the eye could see. It was also like a radiator, having soaked up the sun, so we got very hot and sweaty.

I didn't sketch during the walk, but didn't want a second day to pass without getting my book out so, when we were done, we drove back through the park and John found a place to pull over. The colours of the volcanoes varied so much, according to the oxides in the lava. Some were covered in black ash, some were yellow and red. Because the sun was going down as I painted, the colours of this one were really rich and accentuated.