I knew that Lanzarote had an aquarium at C.C. El Trebol in Costa Teguise but I hadn’t had the opportunity to visit until earlier this week. There’s a lovely gift shop at the entrance and exit to the aquarium with a good range of souvenirs from pocket money price range upwards.

We descended down the stairs into the darkness and made our way to the first set of tanks, beside each one is an illuminated description of what to look for. If you want to take photos you must not use the flash so make sure you have the camera right setting before entering. There were some beautiful corals and anemone’s really brightly coloured with vibrant pink, purple, red, yellow varieties. The spiny sea urchins were fascinating waving their spines around, there were some red hermit crabs, boxer shrimps with big claws and weird looking sea cucumbers.

I liked the different styles of tanks, there were round holes to peep through at different levels too so that even toddlers could see the fish, some of the larger tanks had bench seating so that you could sit and watch the life inside. If you’re visiting the aquarium, don’t rush through, take your time to search each tank for the inhabitants listed, some of them are very good at hiding!

An exhibition entitled 'Que bello es vivir' is currently on show in the old barrel warehouse of El Grifo, Museo del Vino. If you take a drive through La Geria, or wine producing region of Lanzarote, you will soon come across El Grifo or the mythological griffin monument by César Manrique which acts as a signpost for the wine museum from the road. Situated next to Masdache, the ancient bodega was built on the lava which followed the volcanic eruptions of the 1730's. Inside it some of these volcanic cavities are on view, still in use as vaults for the storage and ageing of wines.

As a visitor wandering through the museum, its easy to be struck by the very tranquil setting, the ancient and rustic feel of the place and the complexity and number of wine making tools, barrels and instruments. The exhibition itself is an amazing series of aerial photographs of the surrounding landscapes. These stunning views, with their rich natural textures and colours easily compliment the rustic setting. Mainly large scale, they show a range of breathtaking sights including Montana Colorado, Volcan del Cuervo and an aerial view of the bodega El Grifo itself. As a refreshing look at these views the photographs live up to the exhibition title which can be translated as 'life is great'.

It doesn’t happen often, but we do get some rain here at this time of the year. And when it does rain, it can really come down!

So here are some tips in case you are affected by a rainy day whilst here on holiday:

1/ Visit an attraction

Five of the seven main attractions of the island are inside or under cover. So a rainy day is a good time to visit The Fundacion Cesar Manrique, The Mirador del Rio, the Cueva de los verdes, the Jameos del agua or the Castillo San Jose.

2/ Visit the Aquarium in Costa Teguise

I discovered a road by chance that I hadn’t driven along before and thought this could be the start of a series of articles about the hidden parts of Lanzarote that you don’t see from the main roads.

The road I took was one from Guatiza, if heading North as you exit the roundabout towards the village of Guatiza you want the first turning left which takes you over a bridge crossing the LZ-1 Arrecife to Órzola road. The reason I took the road was to take a photo looking back at the village of Guatiza and then the corona in front of me and curiosity got the better of me and I decided to see where the road went!

Have you seen the model boats along the front in Arrecife? You can normally find a selection of them racing around the water on a Saturday morning, these photos were taken at Charco San Ginés but the other spot is by the bar on the corner where Club Náutico is situated.

If you look closely you can also see the mandatory cans of cerveza required to rehydrate whilst participating in this sport!

I’m ashamed to say that in the ten years of living in Lanzarote I hadn’t yet walked the paseo marítimo (promendade) along the front at Playa Blanca, the opportunity arose recently on a beautiful winter’s day in January. We decided to park our car at the El Faro end of Playa Blanca and start from the lighthouse around the bay to Papagayo – well, that was the plan and we had our beach kit with us to relax at the end.

The pavement doesn’t quite reach the lighthouse but there is a path worn across the terrain to the Faro de Pechiguera lighthouses, the new construction dwarfing the old. There’s a lovely view over the Bocaina straights to the island of Fuerteventura with small fishing boats, sailing yachts and the ferries passing back and too.

We headed away from the lighthouse and around the coast passing the odd fisherman and a couple spear fishing, there was a splash of colour as we reached the Heredad Kamezi villas, they have a distinctive red lava stone wall with some lovely plants climbing amongst the boulders. This area is called Las Lajas Blancas.

On an impulse recently I walked back up to Haría from the lovely Arrieta beach, by road its a distance of 7km. I walked from the roundabout with the Manrique wind toy along the (LZ-10) road to Haría  before turning off after the long straight – if you prefer you can start this walk from the beach, along a dirt track, please see the Google Earth image, both ways meet at yellow pin no 6.

Look for the tall Agave stick on the right hand side of the road, this marks the path for the next stage. The first part of the path is not clear, you walk up the barranco to the side of the small out building and then it is more clearly marked, this section cuts up between the road which sweeps round the bend before climbing again.

There is a really great walk from Haría up to the forest and picnic area called Bosquecillo, from the centre of the village there are two routes, one is easier underfoot but longer.

Start from the Plaza de Constitución, with the ayuntamiento building on your left walk along the road past the library, when you get to the junction at the corner you need to decide which way you prefer, its shown as pointer number one on the Google Earth image.