Lanzarote for St. Patrick's Day 2025

This year we left Ireland for the 4-day Saint Patrick’s Day weekend. The first year we lived here, we went to the parade. The second year, Sally and I were IN the parade (on bikes!). Last year we checked out local Paddy’s day activities and the parade in Sandymount. So we felt pretty okay about getting out of town this year. Also had a gorgeous moonset/sunrise on our way out!

We all felt we needed some sun, so a long weekend in Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands, was the perfect plan. And the plan went perfectly! We stayed at the H10 Rubicon Palace all-inclusive resort, sort of on the southern tip of the island. The resort was lovely - nice food, friendly staff, generous rooms, and stunning sea views. We could see across to the next-most southern island of Fuerteventura and watch the ferries come and go from the port just a ways away. We were near the lighthouse on Punta Pechiguera, with an awesome walking trail running the length of the coastline. One of the highlights of the hotel was the koi and turtle pond, which Sally and I spent a perhaps unreasonable amount of time at, petting the fish and trying to understand what the turtles were up to (they were strangely active).

The countryside (viewed by me only between the airport and resort, really) was volcanic and foreign, with occasional palm trees around the villages, in which all of the buildings were pure white. We also came across many stray cats, but with lots of lovely areas and people feeding them, they seemed quite healthy and friendly. 

While we spend a lot of time pool-side or in the pool, we were also pretty active. David rented a bike and explored the island in spite of the high winds. I enjoyed running and walking on the trail, along with the nice gym amenities. All 3 of us checked out the spa - walking through hot and cold pebble pools, jacuzzi tubs, steam rooms, etc. We played ping pong and mini golf and made the most of resort life.

Sally and I had a couple lovely trips to the beach, and swam and played in the waves enough that there seemed to be half a beach in our swimsuits when we got back to the hotel. The final morning we had to leave early but Sally and I took in the sunset on a last beach walk.

The last night we went to the dinner theater show, which was really strange (sparkly unicorn heads on skimpily dressed dancers, anyone?) and we actually left before it was over. There was lovely guitar music in the courtyard beforehand, though. I suppose overall it was a good cultural event? The main ramification of that was that I’ve now seen Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring as marriage payback. David waited almost 2 decades for that so it seemed only fair. 

We were so lucky to have this beautiful weekend together.