Kerman, who owns and runs the well known tapas bars Repikada and La Pikada in Costa Teguise is expanding his empire to include Playa Honda. He’s taken over the old O’Pote restaurant on the main road going towards Deiland.

The new Repikada opens today, and will offer good food at low prices – including pinchos and various tapas dishes.

Maspalomas Gay Pride on our neighbouring island of Gran Canaria has become an international institution, with tens of thousands of gay and lesbian couples and singles descending on the island.

It’s a short hop by puddle jumper or ferry from Lanzarote, where you might enjoy a more peaceful stay!

This is the tenth anniversary of Gay Pride Maspalomas, so the event is now well established, with the base being in the Maspalomas area at the southern tip of the island.

A lot of people mistakenly think Lanzarote might be a little backward when it comes to technology.

But the truth is we’re pretty well sorted! Almost all areas of the island now have access to broadband, and even in the rural north it runs at 6MB, which is fine for streaming television! We also enjoy cellphone coverage all over the island, as well as a pretty robust 3g network.

We’re deep into carnival season here on the island, and it’s later than normal this year, because Easter is also late.

Carnival is a big deal on the island – a time when islanders let their hair down and seriously party. And it’s become even more so over the last few years, with the influx of South Americans, who now make up a substantial part of the population, and who have brought their spin to the way we do things.

Reader Allan Lamb very kindly replied to my request for suggestions of good places to go while on the island. Here’s what he had to say about Charco del Palo, which is on the coast near Mala in the north of the island:

I would suggest going to the naturist village / sand dunes of Charco del Palo / Mala.

With a decent sized Irish population here, and with Lanzarote being a huge tourism destination for Irish folk, we always have a big celebration on the island for St Patrick’s day.

Here’s the plan for this year:

17th March

Golf Tournament at Puerto del Carmen golf

Poker tournament at Puerto del Carmen Casino

The Celtic trail – music events all over Puerto del Carmen

18th March

Because we have no natural water on the island, everyone thinks of  Lanzarote as  a barren, volcanic desert. But at this time of year, parts of the island are actually festooned in wild flowers, which come up for a few months each year.

You’ll see the best of them on high ground, where they can get some moisture from condensation during the cool nights. So visit La Candelaria above Tias, or the hills over Haria, and prepare to be amazed as you see what looks like meadows of wild grasses and flowers!

Here’s a short video showing some on a walk going up the hill from Haria:

Spice is Europe’s first and only Lifestyle all inclusive venue, and it’s here in Lanzarote! Couples are welcomed to a fabulous, but very private venue in the heart of Puerto del Carmen.

With a beautiful pool area, a huge jacuzzi with swim up bar, and spacious, comfortable rooms, Spice has a great adults only environment.

I love Christmas in Lanzarote. It somehow retains a naiveté that Northern Europe has lost. From the fact that Christmas doesn’t really “start” here until a week or so before the great day, to the general lack of commercialisation, it all feels the way I imagine it did in 50’s Britain.

I adore the little Belen nativity displays that every village produces at this time of year. Some are incredibly elaborate, with working water mills, lights that work, and the odd little joke like the bare bum man who can always be found on Haria’s display.

Locals enjoy their main meal of the celebration on Christmas Eve, where families get together and many then attend midnight mass. Christmas day itself is pretty quiet here and is treated as a day of rest.