On my last visit to Lanzarote I discovered a book called “Cuando ardieron los Volcanes”, or “When the Volcanoes spewed Fire” as it is called in English.

Published on the island itself, it is only a small book – 32 pages long and available in Spanish, English and German.

It contains the notes written by one Don Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo who was a priest on Lanzarote during the volcanic eruptions between 1730 and 1736.

His chronicle includes details of where on the island volcanoes were erupting and when, along with other seismic events and even which direction the lava was flowing and the villages that it had reached.  Later he also talks about how the inhabitants took shelter on Gran Canaria.

The book contains some stunning aerial photos of Lanzarote’s volcanoes, but also drawings of the island made to document the volcanic eruptions.  These not only bring home the scale of the disaster, but are also of interest to linguists.  In 1730 the island’s name was spelt “Lansarote” and one of the volcanoes was called “Chimanfaya”.

I have been unable to find the book on Amazon, but I did find a website on Tenerife listing the Spanish and English editions – albeit currently out of stock.  I picked up my copy for 5EUR at the Librería España in Arrecife.

ISBN Numbers
Spanish: 978-84-89023-29-1
English: 978-84-89023-30-7
German: 978-84-89023-31-4