Otro Mundo. Lanzarote Stories. Introduction
Some people fall in love with Lanzarote at first sight.
Others arrive, look around and see only volcanic rock, wind and a landscape that feels almost lunar.
And no matter how many photographs they see, how many articles they read or how many times others try to explain it, they never quite understand the fascination.
Perhaps that is because Lanzarote is not an island that can be explained. We first came to Lanzarote because of cycling, drawn by Ironman Lanzarote, often considered one of the toughest triathlons in the world after Kona and something of a Mecca for endurance athletes.
At the time, we knew very little about the island itself and certainly never imagined that one day we would end up living here.
Looking back, it is difficult to say exactly when it started.
The island did not reveal itself all at once.
It happened slowly.
The stories collected here are not a guide to Lanzarote.
They are simply moments, encounters, places and memories that, over the years, helped us see the island differently.
Some begin along Lanzarote's cycling routes, others in the villages of the north, around a table, by the ocean or in conversations that were never planned.
Perhaps some of these stories will feel familiar.
Perhaps your Lanzarote will be completely different.
In many ways, these stories are also the reason why we created Casitas Santa Rita.
Not to offer a different Lanzarote.
But to create a place from which guests can discover their own.
A quiet starting point.
A place to slow down, look around and allow the island to reveal itself in its own time.
We never set out to create a holiday rental.
We wanted to create the kind of place we ourselves had been looking for during all those years of returning to Lanzarote.
A place from which curiosity could take over.
Some of the stories collected here may feel personal.
Others may not resonate with you at all.
And that is perfectly fine.
Because the most rewarding discoveries are rarely the same for everyone.
Over the years, we came to realise that there is not one Lanzarote, but many.
The island each visitor discovers depends on the roads they choose, the people they meet and the experiences they allow themselves to have.
Perhaps that is what Otro Mundo means to us.
Not another world.
But another way of seeing the same one.
Share your story!
Every visitor discovers a different Lanzarote. If this story reminded you of a place, a person or a moment from your own journey, we'd love to hear about it.
Perhaps you've experienced an Otro Mundo moment too.