We are a family of six— two border collies, Czech Mum, Algerian Dad and two teenage kids, who spent most of their childhood on the northern tip of Asturias. In 2017, the boys had to swap their perfect Asturian accent for the conejero one when we dragged them from the lush meadows of “La Tierrina” all the way to sunburnt Lanzarote. 

On the ferry from Huelva to Arrecife, they made their first Lanzarote friend and asked him about the island: “Si te gustan las rocas…” (“If you like rocks…”) came his laconic answer.

Coming from places blessed by forests, our main worry was, will we like the island if there’s so little green? We must have fallen in love with it straightaway, because a couple of months later we found ourselves signing the papers to become the proud owners of… a sad, abandoned property surrounded by wasteland. 

The first thing my husband did was to save a semi-dead ficus, the only living plant on our newly acquired finca. As the time passes, other plants and trees are slowly joining the crowd. The garden is taking shape mainly under Haki's green hands while the rest of us try to help. Let's face the truth: the boys and I are rather leisure-oriented and prefer catching waves. But none of us can imagine life without planting, watering, and—best of all—harvesting.

So friends, then friends-of-friends, then strangers-who-became-friends found their way to our place. And they, too, have become fans of the Rock. They go surfing with us, join us for stretches, pick veggies from our garden ...

And that's how Lanzarote Surf Garden was born.