We generally advise visitors to start at the Cesar manrique foundation mainly because its where Cesar’s vision for Lanzarote began. Having just left the foundation with Alex and Karen Wade, it was brought to my attention that Alex had a mission for me. Could I make it possible for him to fulfill a life long dream, to meet his literary idol?  –

Jose Saramago..

Less than 30 minutes later we were parking outside a fairly large yet unassuming building. Following a short conversation on the phone with one of Jose’s assistants, I was advised that although Jose was unable to meet us due to ill health, if we were to head over straight away we could have a look around his dedicated library.

The staff at the library were extremely accommodating, and seemed very proud to show us around. Here we were standing in an immaculate room, floor to ceiling shelves and glass display cabinets packed full to the brim with the work of just one man, each book translated into over 25 languages. I had a feeling in my chest which almost brought tears to my eyes, I felt so proud to be there to appreciate the amount of care and work that surrounded me.

On the wall at the entrance there is a bronze plaque with Nobel prize winning authors listed on it, the great literary genius names jumping out at me Ernest Hemingway, Samuel Beckett, Rudyard Kipling, and there among those names Jose Saramago, a man who has been living in my hometown of  Tias for many years.

Why had I never heard it mentioned that such a hugely successful writer lived so close? I’ve since spoken to people in the village and they say that of course Jose Saramago was extremely well known, often seen walking with his beloved dogs, chatting to friends here and there, or just sitting on a bench watching the world go by.

An insight into his day to day life came by coincidence within two weeks of my library visit. I was invited to view a house for stay eco chic which is situated directly next door to José’s home in Tias. The owner explained to me that he had once bought a very small dog which his wife took an instant disliking to.

“She would react to the dog almost as if it were a mouse! One day the dog went missing, some days passed by and I had convinced myself that I would never see him again”

He caught sight of José in his garden one day, playing with his own dogs, and there among them sat his tiny pooch snuggled by José’s feet. He explained to me with a smile on his face that he never did have the heart to explain to his neighbour that this was in fact his dog, and besides his wife was quite happy..

Cesar Manrique Foundation with Alex Wade 2010

Back to that afternoon in the library,  Alex asked the assistant if he could arrange for an interview with José which would be included in the financial Times ‘Lunch with’ section. We were later advised that José would be pleased to take part in the interview, and the appointment was booked for the 17^th of July 2010.  Alex was ecstatic and so was I as it appeared that my mission had been accomplished, but unfortunately it was not to be.

José never fully recovered from an illness he had during 2009, and on the 18^thof June 2010 he quietly passed away at his home aged 87.  As I drove past his house that day on my daily route out of  Tias, I instantly understood what had happened. There were TV cameras, journalists, vans and cars packed into a small area and all of the attention was focusing on José’s home and library, Lanzarote had lost a loyal friend.

Alex has promised to advise a good Novel for me to start with as I am a novice to Jose’s unique style of writing. First of all it was important for me to learn how the local people in Lanzarote felt about the amazing literary genius. The answer to this seems simple – they are proud that this island was such a huge part of  José’s life. Ultimately, and in my opinion the greatest compliment to his character is that the locals thought of José as an important member of their community.

It’s not a deep or meaningful quote but it’s one that I love because it conveys his cheeky sense of fun. When asked by a journalist who he would like to play him in a movie about his life, José replied

“A good black actor. Morgan Freeman, for example.”

He was a blogger too:  A 2008 Guardian profile of the author displays:

‘In September the octogenarian author began a blog on his foundation’s website, with a ‘love letter’ to Lisbon. He used to write for newspapers, he says, “but now I’m writing every day, and there have been a million visits which I find astonishing, but I’m doing it all for free.” His topics ranged from the credit crunch to advice for divorcing couples on how to divide a library.’

Fundação José Saramago

Located in Tias, Calle Los Topas.

Back to stay eco chic Home

Casa Isla, 70’s eek to heavenly chic –  ’in resort’ holiday pad mission accomplished! 

Building project by IPM Lanzarote

Just as we are about to head off into the sunset a friendly face pops over the wall, from the house next door “glass of wine?”

Why not! We very much enjoyed an hour chatting with the lovely neighbours, a family staying in their parents holiday home, they are from the UK but now live on the French border with Switzerland. We showed them around Casa Isla, chatted about our life in Lanzarote and their life as teachers in an international school, settling into their new surroundings.

Casa Isla, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Until this time stay eco chic had not featured a house in Playa Blanca, but Casa Isla owner Joanne Sadique from England had been very keen to implement as many eco friendly ideas as possible during the renovation process, as she felt that it was important to set an example to other people buying a second home in Lanzarote. 

At stay eco chic we had been concentrating on alternative locations such as our eco resort in Arrieta, however Joanne showed a great interest in what we are trying to achieve, understanding that our aim is to make it very simple for island visitors to continue with their day to day green living habits during their stay. Jo wanted to make sure that number 21D would qualify to fit with the stay eco chic ethos, and of course mum and I were very happy to help.

Island theme, art designs by Ed Winser

Richard Hawkes is an extremely talented UK based architectural designer, he designed himself  a family home which was featured on Grand designs in 2009. Unfortunately I hadn’t seen the episode which featured The Crossway, but it didn’t take long to find it online – one look and I fell in love with his inspirational and beautiful zero carbon home  in Kent.

What has this got to do with anything I hear you ask? July 2010, our last night at Casa Isla we had the pleasure of spending a relaxing hour and a glass of wine with his sister in law, and she felt that he would be pleased to be introduced to stay eco chic, apparently Richard is a big fan of Lanzarote too.

Featured by The Guardian

I have written to Richard today, introduced myself, stay eco chic and of course the lovely Casa Isla . I am sure he has visited Casas Del Sol many times, the holiday home next door to 21D has been in their family for many years.  I’ve received a reply already with some really kind compliments, which have made my day. So much so that I wanted to share, plus its a been a while since I wrote my last blog. I have been a tad busy what with the 3 month summer holiday and three children to entertain in between all of this exciting work!

From the Casa Isla project came an interesting introduction, and one more twist of fate. Purely by chance we had invited a writer named Ruth Supple editor of Image magazine to stay at the eco resort in Arrieta. Ruth explained that she would spend her second week at a friends house just as long as it would be ready seeing as it was being fully refurbished. Needless to say out of the 1000’s of houses on this island, it turned out to be Casa Isla, Ruths friend was indeed Joanne. We are all really looking forward to seeing the feature in Image magazine this autumn where Ruth will review her holiday in Lanzarote.

Last but by far not least, thank you and congratulations to proud holiday home owners Joanne and Sid, you have been an absolute pleasure to work with.

Check out the brilliant Casa Isla introduction video, by Pi Davidson, turn up the audio and enjoy!

The issue of climate change, or “global warming”, is surrounded with hyperbole, hysteria and histrionics. On one side you have the so-called “deniers”, who reject the conclusion that climate change is anthropogenic and say that it is just part of our planet’s natural cycle, and on the other side you have the eco-warriors, who fight day-in and day-out to save us from supposed doom. Neither side particularly appeals to me.

A large proportion of the “green” movement has taken on many of the characteristics of the apocalyptic cultists, with a belief that man is essentially evil, that the End Times are coming and that certain propitiations have to be made to save us. The practice of offsetting your carbon emissions can be compared with the sale of indulgences in the Catholic Church that so offended Martin Luther when he initiated the Protestant Reformation. And too much of the “denial” camp seems to be solely concerned with self-interest and a desire to maintain the status quo.

Personally, I would place myself in-between these two warring factions. Not being a scientist myself, I cannot competently question the veracity of the scientific community’s conclusions that climate change is indeed man-made. But whatever the truth is, I firmly believe that prudence is the best course of action. Make that the only course of action.

Much like Blaise Pascal’s Wager (in which he says that even though the existence of God cannot be determined through reason, a person should wager as though God exists, because living life accordingly has everything to gain and nothing to lose*), I believe we should assume that climate change is our responsibility, and that there’s something we can all do about it.

Global Education

If we reject the idea that climate change is mankind’s fault and deny responsibility, we may find ourselves in very grave circumstances indeed if this proves to be an incorrect belief. However, if we assume that climate change is our responsibility, and live our lives according to this belief, then we have nothing to lose. If our influence on climate change is non-existent, we would have at least succeeded in recycling a little bit more and polluting the world a little bit less. And if we are proven right – well, we would have saved the world.

Put simply, the risks of not doing something about climate change far outweigh the risks of doing something about it. (This video, made by Greg Craven, explains this wager in far better terms than I could.)

The second point to make is that this is not our planet to spoil. We share this planet with an extraordinary abundance of animal and plant life – life that would suffer too if our actions are as damaging as many scientists say they are.

Whether you think I am shamefully hedging my bets or not, the risk of damaging our planet irreparably is too important to ignore and is an issue on which none of us can remain neutral.

*Not to undermine my point but, when it comes to God, I believe he/she/it would prefer honesty.

Yes Already it’s that time!

San Juan Celebrations

The bonfires are said to signify purification, on occasion people will jump over the fire up to three times to cleanse. Originally the Conejero community would venture to bathe in the Ocean for the first time.

Our children always love this event, driving home at night to our house on a hill, they look around at the spots of amber, glistening in the darkness around our village. Though more importantly than this, their three month summer holiday begins, as today the schools have closed here on the Island…..Summer is officially on!

Our  journey was kick started by a visit from new friend, Alex Wade a writer, freelance journalist and occasional media lawyer, who visited us last month with his lovely family. By all accounts they had such a wonderful time that they class it as:

 “one of the best the Wade clan have ever had”.

Alex Wade and his Clan, La Graciosa, May 2010

If you read through the Clan adventure via Alex’s popular Surf Nation blog, you soon realise what an amazing compliment this is.

Image of Kirsty Jones, Surf and Kite surf Champion

As promised I got to work, and our stay eco chic surf page  is now live! (along with quite a few other information pages, but more about that later). When I started out developing the surf page, it was to be for beginners through to an

 ‘All you need to know info guide’

Our sons friend, a 15 year old member of our tight knit circle of friends in the community, gave me a little sad face sign on a popular networking website which we had just posted a link to. When I asked why the sad face,  in a nutshell he said that I was sharing just a little too much information.

Young Surf Group, Famara, lanzarote

I took the hint on board (pardon the pun), especially from a very well seasoned lad within the surf group, who also attends the Dennis Smith centre point surf school. What we have now opted to offer our visitors, is a beginner style guide to surfing and body boarding in Lanzarote. If you are a keen surfer/boarder you will have the opportunity to contact Dennis and he will be the man to move you up a level on the local surf knowledge. Offering lessons if needed, equipment and surf wear advice from his shop in La Santa, Dennis truly does know everything there is to know about surfing in Lanzarote, not to mention that his expert knowledge will keep you safe here in the year round warm water. 

Finca De Arrieta, eco resort close to hot Lanzarote Surf spot

 Click to learn more about our -  November  wellness week at the Arrieta eco resort

Often referred to as the Hawaii of Europe, Lanzarote has powerful waves heading throughout its reefs from October – March, but will be consistent enough to offer good waves during any given month of the year.

If you are up for a surf, surf is always up for you here in Lanzarote, visit us soon, be safe and enjoy.

 Today we say farewell to freelance journalist, part time media lawyer and Author, Alex Wade.

Alex Wade with his Clan

It’s been such a pleasure to meet the clan and we are sad to see them leave, as predicted within five minutes of our first conversation, it was a trip which would generate a lot of positives, some of which I take to be perhaps a little bit other worldly, or let’s just call it fate. Within hours of his arrival Alex was trying out his first post op wave, against my advice and that of his Wife and let’s not forget his surgeon (sorry Alex it had to be said

This daily Surf journey which began here in lanzarote seven days ago, has been one which I am sure is an integral part of his spiritual healing following Alex’s surgery for Cervical Myelopathy only five short months ago. Thanks to a lot of help and guidance from stay eco chic co founder Tila Braddock and our own surf guru Dennis Smith, it’s been possible for Alex to ‘test the waters’ let’s say, and each day he logged a diary on his popular Surf Nation blog to keep his loyal following of readers up to date.

When I started to research Alex’s work prior to his visit I was drawn to a piece he had written back in 2004, Essentially Spanish – Away from the multicultural Costas of the South. It was interesting to see how Alex viewed a predominantly untouched area within the Costa De La Luz named Conil, and I had a clear feeling that this was a direct message to my inner being (my mum has always told me I am a hippy chick at heart..eek she could be right!). undoubtedly there is a duality here, seeing as the area myself and my family live in here in Lanza is also called Conil. Alex describes this area to have a

“ laid-back vibe, one predicated on a love of the good life rather than endless lager and satellite television.” 

 This is exactly the side to Lanzarote which we at stay eco chic wish to convey to those who are consdiering a visit. As Alex confessed to me this week, he only thought of our Island as a bucket and spade destination with endless lager and satellite television. Fair play, we do have plenty of that but it’s fair to say that if you are looking for the traditional “laid back vibe” we have that too.

Traditional Canarian holiday homes with Stay eco chic

So, reading this piece again now at the tail end of their visit it is clear that similar bonds have been formed here in Lanzarote, bonds which will bring the clan back to us time and time again. The mutual friendship and link between us is now firmly in place with a united respect for Lanzarote, stay eco chic family members and the general ethos which Alex’s wife abstract artist Karen Wade feels to be very similar to the vibe around their home town area in Cornwall.

On a personal note I have really enjoyed looking at Alex’s life through the vast spectrum of work he has covered over the years, and I admire how versatile and honest Alex is in his work. I am now among those loyal readers!

The first part of the journey spent at Finca La Corona

Lanzarote feels like home from home for the Clan, with Josh Braddock and  Harry Wade being on such a level with their surfing abilities, It couldn’t have been much more successful if we had tried. There was one positive however which I know for a fact stood out above all others, maybe even above the surfing and where fate took its hand.

During this visit Alex learned that his literary idol is a Lanzarote resident. I must confess I knew little about the Nobel Prize winning author Jose Saramago, but having visited a quaint dedicted library which is located less than 3 minutes drive from my home, it is easy to see how impressive his writing is.

Alex and I at the Cesar Manrique Foundation

Alex explained to me that if he could secure a meeting with Jose it would be the equivalent of a die hard football fan getting a one on one interview with say, David Beckham. So we set off on a mission, following our visit to the Foundation of Cesar Manrique, and other than one small mishap with a lost wallet issue, we reached our goal with help from Jose Saramagos extremely helpful and insightful assistant.

Alex is due to interview Jose this coming July for a feature which will be placed in the Financial Times, needless to say that during a short chat with Javier who is Saramago’s assistant, Alex conveyed his admiration and knowledge to the max. Did he foresee this happening? None of us did, but here we have it, certainty beyond a shadow of a doubt that fate has sucked Alex Wade and his family into the very heart of Lanzarote, and there seems to be no sign of letting go.

Alex & Karen Wade

See you soon Clan! X

We would like to offer special thanks to Yayo & Oda Fontes for inviting Alex to stay at the lovely Poniente for the first four nights of this visit.

Poniente y Naciente, Finca La Corona

Our eldest son Charlie aged 12 stayed the whole weekend with Michelle and Tila at our stay eco chic eco resort along with his pals old and new, Braddock Clan and new clan members 14 year old Harry Wade and 12 year old Elliot Wade. Charlie tells me that he stepped into the surf down in La Santa at about 12pm yesterday and stepped out again at around 5pm, so its fair to say that he enjoyed himself. Watching Charlie would have been one thing, he prefers Famara and Arrieta and this is the first time that he has really enjoyed the La Santa scene. Waiting for his head to bob up after each wave, making sure he isn’t going too far to the left, to the right, to the back.

Watching Alex…well that would have been something else altogether, although his wife Karen informs me that she couldn’t see him, he was hiding, out back!

Alex has returned to the waves 5 months ahead of his surgeons STRONG advice, so Karen tells me, and so I feel like a nagging parent. BE CAREFUL, raising my eyebrows at him, waving my index finger, feeling every bit responsible for his visit this week and for him to be returning home with nothing other to show off than a new set of friends and a great tan, not an injury in sight.

So I just waited for them to return down in Arrieta, then got the lowdown with a large glass of wine in hand, and like most nagging parents was quite proud actually! Well done Alex and I know by now you are somewhere out there again, Famara was mentioned in the office this morning..but don’t forget to be careful

View the Alex Wade biography page or check out his daily Surf Nation post 

So far We have touched on Cesar Manrique, we have touched on local knowledge. We have more than touched on good quality locations and properties in Lanzarote, not forgetting that our simple aim is to set the bar on this island first before we fully concentrate on any other Canary Island location.

Real lanzarote

It’s fair to say that our database of beautiful properties from chic penthouse apartments to funky eco bedwin huts, luxury boutique hotels to shabby chic apartments and cottages ideally located for fun loving water sports enthusiasts is not lacking in variety. From locations to price bracket, and from eco chic twist to simply chic with a twist of eco, we have pretty much something for everyone.

There comes a time when you sit back and look at your product and think, well this grew to where it is today in what seemed like the blink of an eye. What comes next?  We can keep growing quickly, adding property after property, or we can start to fine tune. The journey since October 2009 has been about one thing – to set an example, to simplify sustainable and responsible travel to a realistic non judgemental level. Mission number one was to build a website and database of quality eco and chic properties in prime and mainly alternative locations, mission number one has been accomplished.

It’s now time to delve into the centre of that last question again and begin mission number two. What do our visitors want to know about this island before they arrive? Lets join that up to the professional media people I also mentioned earlier, and this will lead us to present time ‘The new journey’. It started around two weeks ago, we had been researching journalists and inviting various media contacts to visit us in preparation for our November Health week. We received various positive replies and interest, when along an email from Alex Wade, writer, freelance journalist and occasional media lawyer.

It didn’t take long to know for sure that Alex and his family would fit the hand of stay eco chic like a glove. We had a long telephone conversation and from there I started to research Alex Wade, his work as an award winning writer for Surf Nation and Huck, and as a journalist for the newspapers including  The Times , his books including Wrecking Machine (now firmly planted on my ‘to read’ list.) Alex has a massive passion for surfing & sports, and such a versatile working background. It was obvious that this guy would have plenty in common with plenty of people in our circle of friends including of course, Michele and Tila Braddock, co founders of stay eco chic my dear friends and co pilots rolled into one.

So, yesterday Alex and his Clan finally arrived here in Lanzarote and within no time the glove was comfortably placed on the stay eco chic hand. Already there are two new pages on surf nation taking Alex’s loyal readers through his trip to experience surf life in Lanzarote, and also to check out what we are doing here on the S.E.C groovy train. 

I was keen to show Alex an authenticity at the Poniente which is part of the 250 year old reformed Canarian manor house Finca La Corona, I knew it would be very important to offer Alex the true stay eco chic experience and there is nowhere better for that than the eco resort owned by Michelle and Tila, therefore, on the 11^th of May ‘The clan’ will head down to spend three nights at the eco villa.

Stay eco chic resort

From this will come the first and most important answer to that question, Beaches and Surfing. What did Alex want to know about the island before he arrived, he wanted to know about the beaches and surfing (for his son Harry of course!) Did we have a surf page to point him to? No we didn’t, is that about to change? without a doubt in fact in this very moment I know that Alex is out there somewhere, probably La Santa with our very own surf guru and good friend Dennis Smith, owner of centre point surf Lanzarote. Tomorrow Harry wade will be joining the Group with our children to take part in centre point weekly surf camp, and he will be writing about his groms eye view for The Twisted Pit Pilot.

I spend many a day watching my children body boarding and surfing, and at the ripe old age of seven and twelve both of our boys have already taken part in competitions and it’s clear that surfing will always be a part of their life in one way or another. What better way to start this next phase in the making of stay eco chic than to build a page which can contain all of this knowledge we all have, to share our fun, and what better person to help us than Alex Wade and his lovely family. Welcome!

 P.s my head still hurts from the late night last night.

There is nothing wrong with our usual holiday experience, it’s a lovely time to unwind with the people we love, to escape our busy day to day routine. There is still a good deal of planning involved in this  holiday experience, so what about a real break where you don’t have to think about what to eat, where to go next, how you will get there?

Should we feel guilty for wanting just a little bit more? Why not seek the extra something to help your inner wellbeing

What if all you had to plan is what time you would like your massage or which yoga class you will attend. What if all the rest was done for you, healthy food, a morning out to visit a chic Cesar Manrique eco attraction a trip to the Thalasso therapy spa…….

Yes you would still need to make sure that those shoulders were protected

Spf 40 or 20?

What if this was virtually the only decision you had to make for a whole 7 days…

 For the most part we crave escapism from our daily surroundings, not just in the Physical sense but also the routine of day to day life. A holiday helps us to feel rejuvenated, within a day or two we often settle into a new routine, the holiday feeling..heaven!

What if you could go one step further than this? 

Take care of ‘you’ at the Finca De Arrieta, Luxury eco resort,

Seven days, seven ways to pamper your inner self and feel truly revitalised

A Healthy wellness week starts on the 20th of November 2010, Book before the end of  April 2010 and receive a 10% reduction on your luxury eco accommodation.

What is your idea of a Holiday? Whats your favourite part of the experience? Have you ever been on or considered a wellness activity break? Comments and thoughts are always welcome!

’stylish’ or ’smart’,  an element of fashion and the counterpart of ‘posh’

I’m not so sure this is 100% accurate, what if the same principal applies to chic as it does to beauty? For example we could be talking about  a property which contains designs offering quality chic with a sharp and exact style or

 “shabby chic with rounded and uneven edges”

'Go Glamping' in Lanzarote

whether the property is actually chic by definition could differ from one persons opinion to another. When I view a property I feel it’s important to picture it from more than one perspective, this way we can be sure to offer a selection of accommodations to suite a variety of tastes and ideals.

Is chic purely for the elite to apprecaite, ‘posh’ lets say? Or can we all appreciate chic the way we do beauty (going back to the eye of the beholder theory). 

Chic shoes, chic clothing, chic places to stay, its all just a matter of opinion surely!  

Boutique Hotel Hilario and sister Hotel Casona in Yaiza, Lanzarote are a fine example of what I believe a Boutique hotel needs to offer in order to be included on the ‘A’ list (without scaring people away). They offer something just a little bit more special than simply - a really nice place to lay your head at night.

 The history behind each of the buildings is ever present within the interior design. There is an all important emphasis on comfort within each of the rooms, 18 in total between both hotels. The stunning off the beaten track Lanzarote views, including those of the awe inspiriring Timanfaya National Park  creates the perfect finishing touch and offers something truly unique to guests.

Parents with two daughters would describe each as ‘unique’, or non comparable. It would be impossible to choose one as your favourite, and the same applies to these beautiful sister Hotels in rural Lanzarote. They each offer that special something to the new generation of discerning tourists, those who appreciate why Lanzarote is fast becoming a popular destination for – dare I say it …

The ‘chic’ traveller!

Heidi Wigmore
(Co founder)