On our last day with the rental car we went towards the north of the island to visit the green caves.
We found ourselves in a guided tour through a collapsed lava tunnel that was not green at all, but used to be home to the sheep of the Green family, the “Verdes” who used to live in this area when the caves were first discovered. Therefore the misleading name (but based on history not some marketing gig like Greenland apparently). They were still very beautiful and impressive! Especially the clear reflection in the last part of the tour.
We walked through many different tunnels and caves and were quite impressed by the 5km long cave. It had formed when a nearby volcano erupted and the lava that was flowing though this natural ravine started to cool off on the top and sides, but kept flowing downhill towards the sea in the middle, hence creating the lava tube. Only 1km of the cave can be visited, but it goes on all the way to the sea and on the other side towards the volcano, where research stations are positioned to collect seismic data.
Next to our anchorage, between the little beach, the cruise ship landing and the cargo-unloading-dock is a castle. Turns out it is actually a contemporary art museum, currently housing an exhibition on a Spanish architect and his work, which was very interesting.
The restaurant had a nice view on the lagoon (and nice beer) and also an explanation to what the 4 horsemen statues meant that we see poking out the ocean every day. The installation is called "the rising tide" and symbolise the impact of humans on nature, illustrated by the heads of the horses that look like oil pumps. When the tide is high, only the heads of the two men poke out the ocean, the horses and the kids are underwater.
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