Around 9:30 we all gathered in the girls’ apartment donning our white attire. I must say that we all looked great and probably could have appeared in GQ. We were picked up by Peter, a Rotarian who is from Teneriefe and is Marcos’ friend. We boarded the bus as soon as we got there and quickly learned that most everyone was dressed in white and some guys were allowed to dress as pirates. We were informed that we would be heading out to a wonderful area called Puerto Callimo. The bus ride over there was filled with talk of what everyone was wearing…The Spanish women are all so elegant and the Spanish men have a style that sets them apart from most everyone else. We are led to an outside portico where more people begin to show up and more wine is handed out as we stand outside and enjoy the nice breeze from the ocean. We meet more people and see some of the people that we have already met and enjoy being the center of attention for most conversations. Everyone wants to have their picture taken with us and we want to take pictures of everything we are experiencing. We meet a guy who tells us that he is a Prince of the Ukraine and also a diplomat/ambassador of several royal families. He has his picture taken with us and tells us that he will sign the photos and mail them to us. We don’t really know what to think but we all pose for a picture. 
Out of nowhere, everyone moves to one side of the space and begin looking into the distance. In no time, a ship comes into the harbor and as they approach, we see what looks like pirates. The pirates dock the ship (which looks more like a rich person’s yacht than it does a pirate ship…but everyone plays along) and come running on to shore singing, dancing and pretending to sword fight. After this, a group of people come from the other side of the harbor and are dressed in typical old world style costumes and begin dancing an old world dance while a band made up of around 20 people (that has appeared out of nowhere) begins to play music. We all join in with the groups and clap along. A little while later, we are summoned to the upstairs of the building where we have a table reserved for dinner. A room for of Rotarians is waiting upstairs and we sit and take more pictures. The first course comes out around 12 (yes midnight) and we all partake in some more wine, and the 4 courses that follow. After struggling through dinner (seriously there is no more room in our stomachs), we bid our dinner companions “hasta manana” and head back to the bus around 2 am. The evening was an experience that none of us have ever had nor will we soon forget. I never found an eye patch…
Out of nowhere, everyone moves to one side of the space and begin looking into the distance. In no time, a ship comes into the harbor and as they approach, we see what looks like pirates. The pirates dock the ship (which looks more like a rich person’s yacht than it does a pirate ship…but everyone plays along) and come running on to shore singing, dancing and pretending to sword fight. After this, a group of people come from the other side of the harbor and are dressed in typical old world style costumes and begin dancing an old world dance while a band made up of around 20 people (that has appeared out of nowhere) begins to play music. We all join in with the groups and clap along. A little while later, we are summoned to the upstairs of the building where we have a table reserved for dinner. A room for of Rotarians is waiting upstairs and we sit and take more pictures. The first course comes out around 12 (yes midnight) and we all partake in some more wine, and the 4 courses that follow. After struggling through dinner (seriously there is no more room in our stomachs), we bid our dinner companions “hasta manana” and head back to the bus around 2 am. The evening was an experience that none of us have ever had nor will we soon forget. I never found an eye patch…
After lunch, we loaded the buses again and most of us took advantage of the trip up the mountain to catch a little shut eye as we were up late the night before (as well as every night since we left Greenville). Most of us woke up to our arrival at Mirador del Rio. This is a site that we had visited earlier this week but did not get to see the entire place because of the strike. We walked inside a building designed by Manrique and were amazed by the view. 
This is the place that overlooks a smaller island called La Graciosa and the view was spectacular. 
We took a view pictures and were herded like cats back onto the bus. Again, we all closed our eyes and awoke at Jameo del Agua. This place was extra special. The process by which this place was created is very hard to comprehend but I will try to explain. When lava flows from the volcano over a period of time, the part on the top solidifies…once that is done, the river of lava below it continues to flow until it all runs out typically into the ocean. Sometime in the history of the island, a volcano erupted in this part of the islands and this process occurred. The area where the river of lava was flowing eventually became open space and over a period of time, the upper area became weakened and caved in. This open space was discovered by Cesar Manrique and he turned it into a piece of art/modern gathering place. The area under the surface is home to a small lake type body of water that is supplied water by the ocean. It is also home to a rare form of small albino crab that can be only seen here in Lanzarote because in this area, they have never been exposed to light…Our guide told us that they exist elsewhere in the world but can only be seen here. We walked around this beautiful area all the rest of the afternoon. The amazing part about this place was that most of it was created by nature…Manrique just did a little cleaning up and created a wonderful place within Mother Nature. 
The pictures that we all took do not do the place any justice but you will just have to take my word for it that it was magnificent. 
By the time we had finished walking around this place, the time was around 8 pm and we were supposed to be at the Pirate Party at 9. The guide made a few changes and we were told as we were dropped off at the hotel that we needed to be back at 9:45 for a great adventure…
After the pictures, we head back downstairs and head out the door for our next stop on day number five.
We were taken to the dive simulators next. As we walked outside we saw that there were divers in the water and then we were shown the area where the scuba instructors teach and then in the back of the room was the decompression chamber. Fernando then showed su the simulator that helps train students for survival skills with fires on large ships. After this, we said our goodbyes and thank yous, and Catherine was transported to her TV interview while the rest of us piled in the van to go to Palacio Spinola in Teguise.
then a watercress soup,
then salad,
then fish (tuna),
then meat (rabbit!), 
then a dessert assortment, 
and finally coffee. 
It’s really a good thing that at the District Conference we’re staying a 20 minute walk from the meeting hotel!!
It began with music from a live orchestra, then designated speaker Frank Develyn spoke. It was obviously all in spanish but I was able to see how many rotarians had years with rotary. There were several people standing when asked 30 years or more. Each club was then introduced. Ventura (my initial host family father) carried in a flag. We than began eating dinner, it was wonderful.
After dinner we began talking with all of the Rotarians and had a quick few minutes to share photos and discuss different questions everyone had. Poor Catherine has been a huge benefit to us and to most of the Canarians as well as she has been the mediator between all. Finally, the District Govenor Juan Jesus Suarez finished with a quick speech which ended the evening a few minutes after midnight
The walkway ran alongside the ocean and the sun was shining brightly. Towards the end of walkway, as you get into town, a beach sits in the cove. This beach is directly in the center of town and all the shops/restaurants have a wonderful view of the ocean.
Manrique designed these large sculptures that are all functional to move with the wind and they are placed throughout the estate. Raphael speaks with some people and arranges a special tour of the complex for us. We walk up and are in awe. In the front area (before the entry gate) we see a vast yard of what looks like dried up lava. There are plants growing everywhere and most are protected by stone walls like what we saw in the wine fields earlier this week. We walk inside and the tour guide, Alfredo, begins to tell us about the history of the house and the ideas of Cesar Manrique. The first part was very interesting because we learned about the house itself but then Alfredo decided that instead of talking more about the house, he wanted to share his socialist views about the world…He began by saying that Manrique was very concerned about Lanzarote and development of Mother Earth, etc etc but then he turned it into his idea that the government wants tourism and it is wrong for Lanzarote and wrong for the world…We actually had this discussion in the car earlier this week…Catherine was talking about how beautiful the land was and I was talking about how much money could be made from development of the land. The conversation went around in circles for a few hours but I was finally proven right.
The tour guide (not talking socialism anymore) explains to us that there were several lava bubbles in the ground and Manrique turned them into magnificent rooms. We walk outside and there are beautiful views of the island but nothing is green outside the estate because it is all a lava river. We find his studio which overlooks the lava river and the volcano can be seen in the background. Several pieces of artwork are hung around the rooms and since Manrique’s death in the early nineties; this place has become a shrine to him. Alfredo then tells us that since we are special guest, we get to go behind the scenes where normal visitors are not permitted. He walks us through a closed off area into the…….bathroom. The artist believed that one spends most of their time in the bathroom, so it should be very open and colorful. The room was filled with plants and had an opening to the back portion of the estate. Arturo gave us a demonstration of the proper use.
We then headed back out to go downstairs to see the bubble rooms. There are three bubbles rooms and each has its own color. Each also has an opening at the top that either opens to the house or to the sky. The tour moves on to the outdoor area and this is like nothing we have seen before. There is a large pool that has a waterfall dropping into it. 
There is a large open pit barbeque grill and a great opening for seating and relaxing. We think that Manrique was either quite the entertainer or quite the ladies man...in my mind, he was both. We walk back around to another area where there is a gallery of artwork. Most of the artwork in this room is from the 70s – late 80s and the most interesting pieces in the gallery was art that he had tried to visualize the people trapped in the liquid hot magma (cue the Dr Evil/Austin Powers voice) as the volcano erupted. We walk back to the outside and the final part of the tour is to visit the restrooms and then the gift store. 
After visiting the church, we walked around to the commercial center of the town where all of the shopping is located. We were told yesterday that needed to find all white clothes because we would be going to a white party on Friday evening. So we find a bank and exchange some money and head in search of something white…what is the rule about wearing white clothes after Labor Day? We end up in a place called Ferrer and I find some clothes that make me look like Enrique Iglesias (ladies, I am taken). After everyone has bought clothes, we head to Spanish class.
There are regulations in place that will only allow houses/hotels to be a certain height…This one somehow got by those regulations and we are glad that they did because the view is spectacular. We enjoy some Sangria and fresh olives (I thought I hated olives but these were amazing) and then begin the lessons. 
Alfredo actually helped some of us understand some key terms and I feel better about some of the Spanish because of the lesson. Chris found out that the top of the hotel had wi-fi and hooked up to the internet and Tong talked to Tom on SKYPE. Don’t you love technology? The lesson finished and we all headed back down to gather our bags and head out for dinner.
We enjoyed a few more beers and called it an early night (11 pm) because we all had to pack our stuff…We leave our first host families tomorrow and head to District Conference.
They told us that if we drank too much of this wine, we would end up like the dog (see picture above). We conversed with Rotarians and their spouses for the next little while and then were asked to sit around a large table as more and more people began to come in the doorway…each with a pleasant “hola.” More food began to come out of the kitchen as we sat and spoke in Spanish/English. 
We got more wine and beer passed to us than any of us should have drank and then the main course arrived. Marcial and another Rotarian came in around 2 pm carrying the largest skillet on the face of the earth to cheers from the crowd that had gathered around all of the tables. Naturally, the team joined in the clapping and celebrated the arrival of more food…even though we were completely full from the appetizers. 
Before we knew it, a plate was thrown down in front us that contained paella (a concoction of rice, shrimp, prawns, peppers, clams and who knows what else). We all dug in realizing that this would be our largest meal of the day and the fiesta could possibly last all night. Around 60 people did not make a dent in the food contained in that skillet. None of us realized that we should have left room for dessert but as soon as we placed our forks on the plates, they were cleared and Cayeta (the lady sitting to my left, who I learned has a son who went to school in South Dakota for tourism but came back and works for the family business now...see, my Spanish is much better) presented a pan of a custard-like dish and forced us all to take one. This was dessert number one. Dessert number two came out 3 seconds later and was an apple strudel like cake which again we were all forced to indulge in. Dessert number three came out almost immediately afterward and was some sort of berry pound cake (I think blackberry, Chris thinks cranberry and Catherine thinks blueberry) (at this point we didn’t dare decline as we didn't want to hurt Cayeta's feelings). Dessert number four was a coffee cake that reminded us all of tiramisu (yes we all had some). At this point in the evening, Cayeta and all of her friends began to tell me that there is way more sugar in the desserts in Spain than in America….I think by this point we have all gained 12 extra pounds. Dessert number five was shots of homemade sweet wine/rum. We had a toast and all the Americans drank the shots in one gulp (like normal) and the locals all laughed at us as they drank theirs very slowly. Needless to say it burnt going down. Carla had two again. Dessert number six came out and we had no room in our stomachs. Absolutely no room. There was a plate full of what looked like macaroons. They tasted like a mix between cotton candy and roasted marshmallows. We tried them and they were the best. Should have saved room for more but there was none. Cayeta (who had now become my best friend after several glasses of vino – which we later found out contains 12.5 percent alcohol by volume) told me that she made this merely from huevos and azucar (that translates as eggs and sugar…Ken Tucker). 
Dessert number seven was optional – the guys enjoyed cigars and the girls had café. Seven must have been the magic number because the desserts stopped coming…Or at least they stopped coming to us…Or at least they saw that our stomachs were sticking out on top of the tables so they stopped bringing them. We all got up out of our seats to stretch our legs and our bellies and I accidentally knocked some piece of decoration off the wall and broke it…All the Rotarians laughed but Bert and Chris made fun of me. 
We all sat around and clapped along. Raphael brought me some whiskey that was too strong to smell, let alone drink…I politely tried it but couldn’t get it down…I think what little bit I did get down, put some hair on my chest. The whole atmosphere was one that we will never forget…as we saw the incredible camaraderie that exists among Rotarians…We have seen this in our district when Ed Maier treated us like family even though we had never met him but to see it in another culture was special.
Marcial told us that it takes only five hours for his family to harvest the field each August and just one day for him to finish the rest. This supplies him with wine for the entire year plus much more. He doesn’t sell any of it…just is happy to share it with friends and family…Needless to say, we all hope to be bringing some wine back home with us.
Catherine was asked to introduce the team in Spanish and did a marvelous job expressing our thanks to the Rotarians present at the Fiesta. We ended the evening and headed home with our stomachs completely full. At some point during the evening the sun must have went down because it was dark outside when we left. The afternoon turned evening turned night was an experience that we will never forget and just think we have 26 days left…
Raphael showed us a contraption called a Pila which is used to distill rainwater for drinking since there is no natural clean water on the island. The water runs over a special kind of rock and makes it drinkable...Doesn't look like much but it does the job. Since it is not very easy to get the water, the water bills for the residents are extremely expensive...We will visit a desalinization plant later in the week.
We all hit the bathrooms and headed back on our tour. Knute stopped on the roadside and gave us a tutorial on the reasons for all the cacti fields in this area. Apparently, there is a louse (cochinilla) that attaches itself to the tunera cactus and is harvested and boiled for red dyes which are used to color lipsticks and clothing. The group found it amazing that a plant is sewn just to harvest a bug that attaches itself to the cacti. We were also amazed at Knute's hat celebrating the Chicago Bulls 1996 NBA Championship. He is great and loves America and we love him. He has a wealth of knowledge about the island and has donated his time for us.
We made two camera stops; one at the Valley of the 1,000 Palms (there really aren’t 1000 palm trees down there – but I guess valley of about 450 palm trees didn't sound as nice)
and the other at Mirador del Rio, where the water runs between an island and the coast and forms what looks like a river (rio). The tourism workers at this site started a strike today and most public tourist attractions on the island have workers standing outside with signs protesting for higher wages, more holidays, etc. etc. 
Catherine felt sorry for the strikers, so she shared some M&Ms with the poor employees. Me, being the human resources professional that I am, tried to negotiate so that they would get back to work and let us see the attractions on the island…I am not good at arbitration in another language. I think my way is much better than Catherine’s.
and was reprimanded by the security guard…Raphael immediately took up for Alfredo…Rotarians stick together even when they are wrong. We learned how the natives to La Graciosa would catch fish in olden days, take boats across to Lanzarote, climb the mountainside and then barter with the locals for vegetables with their fish…Most expeditions would take weeks before they were able to return to this small fishing village with supplies even though the trip was only a couple of miles long. After the lesson about the island and a few pictures, we walked back up to our wawa where Catherine and Carla made friends with some “cute” British cyclists who were practicing for the Ironman competition, held later this month on the island…Of course they did. 
