The Cactus Garden in Guatiza

If you think that after climbing around the Rofera rocks, or walking through the market in Teguise, or maybe running around a volcanic crater would knock us out for a six, then yes, you would be absolutely right! After all, we’re not so young anymore wink-wink. We were really pooped so we headed back to our holiday appartment, and guess what, the driver, yours truly, left the highway one exit too early. This meant driving through one or two villages hoping to get see a sign that said “yay, you are nearly home”. None of that! So just as we were contemplating to make a u-turn and go all the way back to the highway, we saw a huge, big huge, eight metres high huge, metal cactus thingy on the side of the road, and a windmill sort of behind it. Wow! Stop! Yes, the brakes were slammed on (easy when you’re driving like a snail heehee) and we found somewhere to park…in a muddy puddle of water, but hey, whatever. We first walked around the outside of the fenced-in park “just to take a photo of two of the windmill” but then that “curiosity-killed-the-cat” thing got hold of us so we paid and went in. Suddenly there were no tired feet nor big teary yawnings, instead just open-mouthed awe at what greeted us behind the entrance. Cacti in all shapes and sizes!

The Jardín de Cactus is worth a visit for cactus lovers and also if, like us, you appreciate the works of Lanzarote’s very own, and internationally renowned artist, the late César Manrique. This garden was apparently the very last landscape masterpiece he created in 1991, the year before he tragically died in a car accident.

One can argue about it being too small or boring, or about the price of the entrance fee, but come on, there are at least one thousand different species of cacti from all over the world in there. Some are pretty, others a bit ugly and there are strange ones too, and this is what makes it all the more interesting.