We’d had Caleton Blanco earmarked as a place to stop ever since reading about it in Lonely Planet. They described the spot as a “series of rarely crowded sandy coves with… natural, untamed beauty with fine white sand and shallow lagoons.” The description may have oversold the site slightly, but it certainly made for a solid Sunday afternoon stop and added even more variety to the collection of beaches we’d visited across the Canary Islands.
After we secured a parking spot in the small-but-busy parking lot, I rested in the car with Eilidh for a few minutes while Amanda and the big kids started their visit. They attempted to explore some of the less-crowded natural pools but found there was a reason there were fewer people: the floor of these pools was covered in slippery moss and thus a little less friendly for exploration.
We spent about 20 minutes in the car before I woke Eilidh up and made her come with me to find Amanda and the bigger kids, thinking the whole family had to be together to make the most of our stop. We arrived to find a very happy Noah, who had been meticulously watching a hermit crab moving through one of the shallow pools. Emmie and Amanda were nearly as interested, but Eilidh wanted nothing of it; she simply wanted more rest and didn’t particularly appreciate the crab or any elements of the unique beach.
Noah was super-excited to hold one of the hermit crabs he found.
Eilidh sort of smiled for a photo…
…but this photo better depicts her general attitude during our stop.
Eilidh got her turn at ice cream after I drove her to a nearby restaurant to use the potty. (She’d been sleeping earlier when Noah, Emmie, and I had ice cream in Órzola.)
Next up was the well-rated Jardín de Cactus de Lanzarote, or cactus garden, a short jaunt south from Caleton Blanco. This was another highly-anticipated stop for Noah, who has been interested in cacti ever since we visited the tiny cactus garden as part of Fuerteventura’s cheese museum. Constructed in 1991 at the site of a former quarry, the wonderfully-curated gardens featured more than 4,500 cacti and more than 450 unique species.
Eilidh was happy in the Tula for most of our cactus garden visit.
Noah smiled for photos with some of his favorite cacti.
Amanda and Emmie hiked up a few stairs to the garden’s traditional windmill. Their selfie overlooks the gardens (and Lanzarote countryside.)
Noah was insistent on documenting our visit, asking Amanda and me to take photos of any cacti which were accompanied by a sign stating the type, and we worked our way through the vast majority of the garden’s extensive walking paths. Overall, the admission price was extremely reasonable, and the site exceeded my modest expectations.
While we generally try to eat at local restaurants when we travel, occasionally a stop at an international chain makes sense. At least, I like to think that the combinations of predictable food and happy kids is a solid justification for seeking out one of three McDonald’s restaurants on the island of Lanzarote. We visited the location in the island’s capital city of Arrecife, which added only a few minutes to our return drive home.
Amanda was yearning for some food that was remotely healthy, so she eschewed the McDonald’s staples in favor of trying their Caesar salad. While hardly gourmet, she reported it was far better than the Caesar salad she’d tried last week in the Gran Canaria Airport. The kids were pleased to have individual Happy Meals, while I tried one of the Signature hamburgers which were different than those available in the United States. They were even more pleased that we followed up the meal with some time at the outdoor “Ronald McDonald Gym” to run and play a bit before we hopped back into our cozy rental car to return to our Lanzarote home for the night.
I’m lovin’ the special flag and wrapping for my signature burger.
Amanda thought it was silly to take a picture of her and her salad, but how else will our loyal readers have an idea of how McDonald’s salads are packaged in Spain?
Emmie’s almost always up for a selfie. This classic photo is taken outside the Arrecife McDonald’s.
