Playa Blanca used to be a tiny fishing village bordered by desert and
ocean. Now it is a five-mile wide construction project.

3 1/2 years ago, I chose Playa Blanca for our vacation because it
was way away from everything on the planet, not to mention on Lanzarote.
There were already 5 major hotels there, with 3 more under construction.
Now there are about 12 major hotels/resorts and a new artificial
harbor complete with an as yet empty Lacoste shirt shop.

There are also land lots being built up where, if you are so inclined,
you can buy a one-story cinderblock box with a pool for around 300,000
euro. Not bad for a place that has no natural source of water.

But some people have fought this building boom. Their houses were there
long before people started to overbuild Playa Blanca. They stayed.
These are photos of three of their houses, and of some of the
surrounding area in Playa Blanca.