German tourists who stole rocks from Timanfaya National Park voluntarily returned them after personal tragedies.
On October 18, Timanfaya National Park shared a handwritten letter from a German tourist with some stones taken from a protected area in the Canary Islands. In the letter, this tourist confessed that he had stolen the stones and felt that he had been unlucky.
“I have heard that removing volcanic rocks from their place of origin will bring bad luck and I am afraid that this has happened to me,” reads the opening of the letter. This tourist said he had suffered a serious personal tragedy and felt the need to return the stones he had taken.
In the letter, the male tourist also mentioned the location of the rock theft outside the center of Montanas del Fuego – an area with more than 100 craters, in Timanfaya National Park. He hopes the national park management board will return the stones to their original location.
Next to the iconic volcanic rock (left photo) is a handwritten letter (right photo). The main message from this tourist was a plea: “Please, return the stone to the malpaís region”. Image: benefit
This letter was originally sent several years ago but has only just been published now. After posting the letter, the management board also reminded visitors that stealing heritage items or natural elements from the park could result in fines of up to about $3,400. The park also noted “large quantities of rocks and sand” at Montañas del Fuego were seized from suitcases at César Manrique airport.
In addition, rock theft can also harm the ecosystem because rocks are often home to small plants, fungi, insects and endemic species that only exist in that environment. When rocks are removed, the soil can weaken and increase erosion.
The park also warns that removing a stone or sand can cause a “dangerous domino effect” because without stones, insects will have no place to shelter and reproduce, leading to a shortage of food for predators such as lizards and birds.
Illustration of volcanic rocks. Image: USSG
“That stone has no meaning in a display case and it is not a souvenir or raw material for a piece of jewelry. It belongs to nature, sustaining the life and culture of our island,” the national park representative said, criticizing stone thieves for “stealing the future” from people.
This is not the first time a tourist has taken rocks from a national park and returned them. In 2022, Haleakala National Park in Hawaii received some stones in a letter, sent by a visitor with an apology.
In 2005, Nicole, a 21-year-old Canadian tourist, stole amphora ceramic pieces and mosaic tiles from the city of Pompeii, Italy. After 15 years, she encountered a series of bad luck such as getting breast cancer twice, having to have her breasts removed and falling into financial difficulties.
In 2020, she returned the items with an apology letter, saying the stones carried negative energy. Pompeii Park also confirmed that they receive about 100 similar returned packages each year from visitors who believe they are affected by the curse.
Timanfaya National Park on the island of Lanzarote, Spain, is one of the world’s most impressive volcanic landscapes, often compared to the surface of Mars. Formed by violent eruptions in the 18th century, this place is a wild, red-black sea of lava and ash.
Due to the fragile nature of the ecosystem, the park is extremely strictly protected: visitors are strictly prohibited from walking freely and taking anything out of the park, including volcanic rocks. Despite the ban, the beauty of lava rocks still makes many people secretly bring them home. This gave rise to a famous “curse”: anyone who steals stones from Timanfaya will be plagued by bad luck until they return them to the island.