Lanzarote Hiking – North | Annual Traditional Walk

Virgen de los Dolores, Romeria, mid September annually

I thought that I would add this traditional walk to my collection as it is an event that happens annually here on the island and, for both residents and those tourist who wish to partake, it is a wonderful walk to take part in.

Firstly, a bit of history. During the volcanic eruptions of 1736 the local residents of Mancha Blanca walked with their priest, carrying a statue of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, to the mountain of Guiguán Moutain, where they promised the Virgin that they would build a church for her if she stopped the lava from reaching their village and their fertile farmlands. One brave man hammered a wooden cross ahead of the moving molten lava flow and, when the lava the cross, it changed direction away from the village. It took the villagers ten years to erect the church with other islanders assisting with their own donations to help the cause on hearing of the miraculous story. During a further eruption in 1824, the villagers again prayed to the Virgen that their lands would not be destoyed. Once more the lava ceased to reach their village thanks to her intervention upon which time the Virgen de los Dolores was proclaimed to be Señora de los Volcanes – Lady of the Volcanoes, and became the patron saint of Lanzarote.
The highlight of the event is the main procession, taking place on September 15th. At this time an effigy of Dolores is paraded through the town. The annual walk takes place on the Saturday preceeding the 15th.

And so, now to the pilgrimage. Islanders walk from all corners of the island on this special day to reach the Virgen de los Dolores church in Mancha Blanca. All dressed in traditional Canarian costume, bringing with them supplies to last them the entire day, as some have to set off in the early hours, depending on the distance that they have to cover. These are often transported by donkey, although shopping trollies decorated with palm leaves laden with goodies are often seen.

Our starting point was a central one on the island, El Monumento al Campesino. I will talk about this Cesar Manrique monument in another post. Here locals, and tourists alike, gathered to collect their commemorative linen bags, printed with a picture of Virgen de los Dolores, containing a complementary sandwich, a piece of fruit and bottle of water for the journey. From here, you leave El Campesino heading towards Tinajo in a northerly direction, but to be honest, with the amount of people walking, you really
don´t need to have directions for this one, you just follow the crowd.

You will soon bear left at a small roundabout after passing the Bodega of Mozaga. The pilgrimage means walking along tarmaced local roads throughout which have been closed to public traffic in honour of the walk. It is difficult to describe the jovial atmosphere that is present by, it must be said, the local people participating in this walk. They themselves make you feel so welcome in this, their traditional event. They bring with them, as stated before, provisions for the entire day. We met a couple of young men who had hand crafted a miniture version of a typical Canarian house mounted on a trailer, towed by a small tractor, that contained all that they needed for the day. One of the men that we were talking to, was walking with his family and friends and had set off from the capital of the island, Arrecife, at 8.30am and was not expecting to reach the church until around 8pm that night.

There is no feeling of being rushed, or of having any kind of time limit as the nightime festivities carry on well into the early hours of the following morning. The route is a meandering one through local farmland with a volcanoes as its backdrop. You will pass though the village of La Vegueta where you will find another refreshment stand where you receive more water and apple for your onward journey. There is also a small supermarket here if you need to purchase any other items. It is here, we came across some of the local men riding their horses, which later on that evening, would perform´dancing´at the fiesta.

You will notice that a lot of the walkers are carrying wine, which is kept in leather pouches. These pouches have to be kept wet to enable to liquid inside to stay cool. If you are offered a drink of wine, the art is to tip your head back, and squeeze the pouch gently, squirting the liquid into your mouth from a short distance away, (not actually placing the nozzle into your mouth).

We reached our destination, the village of Mancha Blanca, after about an two and a half hours of walking covering 10km. Here the village square and surrounding streets are filled with small drink stands where you can sit and watch the other walkers arrive. There are also places to buy a quick snack. There is a large tent which houses a local Artisan Fair between 11th and 15th September where you can buy local handicrafts. There is also a fun fair for those wishing to ride a bucking bronco or chase each other in dodgems. Outside the church itself is a seating area facing a large stage which has been erected for the musical events that will take place during the evening.

All in all, it is a really nice walk to do, especially considering the fact that it involves so many people from all over the island, all celebrating and having fun together. If you are on the island for next years fiesta, I would definately recommend you take part, you don´t have to dress up if you don´t want to, but the welcome you receive if you do is lovely. Traditional costumes are available in most stores in Arrecife in the weeks running up to the event.

But as this is, as stated, only an annual walk why not check out what to expect here on the island when hiking during the rest of the year.

Now that you have found this page, please come further and find out about me and what I am doing here on Lanzarote.

Tags: Los Dolores, Traditional