Charco del Palo, Lanzarote

Charco del Palo Charco del Palo is one of Lanzarote's best kept secrets. Like Cap d' Agde in France and Vera Playa in Spain it is an entirely nudist community. It is smaller and without the night clubs. Head north up the LZ-1 towards Orzola and look for the Jardin de Cactus signs, turning off towards the Jardin at Guitza. Go past the Jardin entrance to the village of Mala. Look for an inconspicuous right turn just after the bus stop discretely signposted Charco del Palo. You follow a narrow winding road through the cactus fields (cactus is a crop grown for its fruit and the bug from which cochineal is made). The road widens, there is a speed limit and you are in Charco, protected from textile constraints by its isolation. You may well see nudists wandering around the streets. If you tell anyone from Lanzarote you are staying in Charco they will know you are a nudist. Follow the road round to the left, turn right at the Obona sign and you are in the centre of the village. Here there is a food shop, a clothes shop and the English style Rayners pub. Across the road is the French Jardin Tropical, the biggest of the three eating places in Charco, with tables out doors and indoors, arranged around a curiously shaped pool and a bar. Don't be put off by the shabby interior. The owner/chef provides excellent food and wine. A little further on (and round to the left) is the third place, a cosy, friendly cafe/bar Cueva Paloma set next to the Obona reception. All are good places to eat and drink and allow naked dining indoors and out, lunchtimes and evenings (I'm not sure about dress code for Rayners indoors). The Jardin Tropical will arrange naked feasts if enough nudists are interested. They put on a special menu, served at long tables shared by naked diners. There is music, dancing and swimming in the pool. It is a good way to meet new nudist friends. The landscape is dominated by volcanic rock, sometimes in very curious shapes. The black grit serves as a surface to a car park or as soil. The coast is rugged with clifftops scattered with fine golden sand. Every here and there a low circular wall acts as a sunbather's windbreak round a patch of sand. Small coves create three sea-water swimming pools. The southernmost forms a natural tidal pool sheltered from the rough sea by a wall of rocks. It gave the village its name with Charco del Palo roughly translating to Spa Pool. Terraces around the pool provide somewhere to sit or lie in the sun between dips. The northern pool is similar but has been adapted with a concrete wall and lining to become to village's public pool. It retains water at low tide but the bottom can be slippery. The centre pool (Monkey Mountain, named after the naked sunbathers arranged over the enclosing headland) is only for good swimmers. It is deep and not protected from the Atlantic rollers. A rope stretches across it for those concerned about undercurrents. Obona Resort I stayed in the coastal part of the Obona resort, which will be the venue of the BN holiday in November 2015. It is built round a large pool set in a natural shallow valley overlooking the sea. Single story apartments are arranged around the pool cleverly arranged to get the best view of the coastline and the pool whilst giving the entire complex shelter from the wind. Each apartment has a sitting room, kitchen, bed room shower room, secure outdoor drying area and a sunny terrace equipped with table, chairs and sun loungers. Everything is provided except clothes (if you ever need any), beach towel and sit-on towel. Most apartments sleep two but pots, glasses, chairs etc. are for four so you can entertain. By the pool there is a sauna and gymnasium. Staff are friendly and helpful. The cafe provides a good place to have a drink, make new friends and dine when you are not in the mood to cook for yourself. If you do cook you will find your kitchen more than adequately equipped except there is no oven or microwave. Around Lanzarote There is plenty to see and do around Lanzarote. I visited a few places. The nearby Jardin de Cactus has more varieties of cactus than I have ever seen before. Be careful where you sit. North up the LZ-1 there are two large volcanic cave systems meeting at an underground concert hall. Look for Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua. Inland there is the big Sunday market at Teguise. Not to be missed is Parque Nacional de Timanfaya, inland towards the south of the island. It is based on a simmering volcano where you get demonstrations of the searing heat beneath your feet. Dine in the big restaurant where the food is cooked on hot gasses welling up from underground. Then go on the (included) coach tour of the more than lunar terrain and the volcanos. The northern fishing village of Orzola is worth a visit in its own right. But why not take one of the half-hourly ferries to the little island of La Gaciosa. Its south-western coast is sheltered from the Atlantic rollers by the nearby northern end of Lanzarote. You land at Caleta del Sebo having already been given a map of the island. Walks and cycle routes radiate out from the tiny port. Going south there are three sandy beaches with calm sea. The first is in the harbour. Big catamarans take tourists to the second to play in the shallow bay. The third is just a little further and used by nudists. The sheer face of the overlooking Mna Amarilla block you progress to the southernmost tip of the island (except possibly at very low tide). We climbed and turned inland round the back of the mountain. Here we got superb views of Lanzarote and Montana Clara across the water before reaching the north coast at Bajo del Coral. Then we turned to cross back to the port. We were naked the entire time after reaching the third, nudist, bay until the outskirts of the port. For a nudist beach head for Papagayo on the southern tip of Lanzarote just west of Playa Blanca. Don't be put off by the rough stone track which leads to Papageyo or by the 3 euro toll. It is well worth the journey. When you reach the coast you will see a large car park to the right and a summer caravan park to the left. The nudist beach is between the two, reached by a path down a shallow valley from the car park. Avoid the main roads and return through the interior of the island from Uga skirting north of San Bartolome to Teguise. There is interesting mountain scenery and you can buy some Lanzarote wine direct from the vineyards. See the unusual way the vines are grown to shelter them from the winds. After Teguise, go through Tesquite. Just before the LZ-1 you may be lucky enough to see some very unusual landscape to the left of the road. Here the crumbly rocks have been carved into weird shapes by the wind. Be very careful if climbing on them. They crumble easily. No doubt there are other places to visit and maybe I'll see them in November. Or maybe I'll just stay naked. Written September 2015