when the plane approached lanzarote and i saw the island again after 20 years (without any images left in my mind), i had to admit that it struck me as if an enormous truck must have thrown a pile of black rocks into the sea. it's a harsh landscape of seldom beauty - when i drove through lanzarote's wide fields of lava it was hard to keep my mouth shut. but there are also some green spots. palm trees and cacti are blossoming in the gardens, just like in yaiza, which is lanzarote's most beautiful town, i think.