Lanzarote’s Pirate
Posted by Dylan on July 2, 2009When it comes to world-class service and excellent amenities, our 5-star Lanzarote hotels are a cut above the rest. There is a splendid sense of old-world charm mixed with the best that contemporary hotel accommodations can offer. The design is truly exquisite, and the atmosphere is one that will make the weariest travel feel rejuvenated and ready to explore the luscious island life. Lanzarote is a gem in the Canary Islands, a kind of paradise on earth. It has a natural warmth that comes from island lifestyles, and the locals and travelers alike share the sense that the place is something else.
Lanzarote has an excellent reputation as an island that is extremely hospitable and friendly. The beaches are gorgeous, and some of them are famous for attracting an enthusiastic naturalist clientele. But there is much more to the place than luxury on the sea. It has a fascinating history of navigators and even pirates, and this history is one that the whole family can explore. The famous explorer, Sir Francis Drake, was a beloved seaman to the English, and enjoyed the support of the crown, but his reputation in Spain is something else altogether.
His nickname here was El Draque, a play on his name to give it another meaning, the Dragon. In Spain, he was nothing less than a pirate. Having once been trapped in the Mexican port, San Juan de Ulua, he survived, but took it upon himself to spend the rest of his life taking vengeance on the Spanish. He regularly traveled between this country and the Americas, and his reputation in the Canaries was particularly nasty. Here, Sir Francis Drake had many failed missions to overtake some of the islands, but his desire for vengeance lived on. Before his last voyage, where he was heading for Puerto Rico to take over that island, he insisted on stopping in the Canaries, where he and his crew tried to annex one of the islands. This was unsuccessful, as was his attempts to take Puerto Rico. He died at sea, and was buried there in a lead coffin.
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