CURSE LIFTED?

Man Returns Stolen ‘Cursed’ Stones After ‘Personal Tragedy’

The tourist took the volcanic rocks several years ago from a national park in Spain.

A tourist has returned “cursed” volcanic stones that he stole from a Spanish national park after suffering a “major personal tragedy.” He took the stones from the Timanfaya National Park several years ago but gave them back with a letter to the Canary Islands authorities. “I have heard of legends where the removal of volcanic rock from it’s source of origin, brings bad luck and I fear this has befallen me,” he wrote. He added that he’s returning the “few grams of rock” and asks for them to be scattered “outside the visitor centre.” Taking natural elements from the protected park can lead to fines of over $3,000, according to the park’s social networks. But the penalty can be even higher if it’s considered a more serious infraction. “That rock is meaningless in your display case, it’s not a souvenir or raw material for a pendant. It belongs to nature. It sustains the life and culture of our island. Stealing nature is stealing the future,” said a National Park spokeswoman. Many stones and sand have been confiscated from tourists’ luggage at the César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport in Spain in recent years.