Cochineal Beetle
The cochineal beetle, a small and humble little insect. Small but perfectly formed, it has given us one of the most sort after natural red dyes in the world. During the 19th and 20th centuries the cochineal beetle provided a booming business for The Canary Islands.
The commercial farming of cochineal has all but ended. Its legacy however, can still be seen in and around Mala and Guatiza. Here, plantations of Prickly Pear Cacti (Opuntia Ficus-Indica) are still an impressive sight.
Click the image above to open the full story in a new tab
Cactus Garden
In-between the villages of Guatiza and Mala is the beautiful Jardin de Cactus. The Cactus Garden is planted in an old quarry. A final gift from Cesar Manrique opened in 1991. The terraces now boast more than 450 different species of cactus. The crowning glory it’s windmill, which is now used for teaching.
Lanzarote History
To discover more on the history of Lanzarote, there are a couple of external sites which have proved useful during my wanderings.
Some of the sites are in Spanish only, but most browsers offer a good translate option. I have also made an attempt to summarise a few topics of interest in the History section.