About El Hierro

Source: A LIFE DAYLIST ON CATAMARAN MANA-MANA

I decided to dedicate my second Canarian photo report to El Hierro. To tell you the truth, my heart is forever given to this island. You won't find luxury and developed infrastructure on El Hierro, everything here is as simple as possible. The ten thousand inhabitants of the island know each other by sight and do their jobs to the best of their ability.

La Estaca, El Hierro's sea gate.

There are two ports on Hierro for yachtsmen: Estaca and Restinga. There are almost no anchorages. Sometimes, in calm weather, you can anchor in front of Timihiraque beach. Estaca is a more modern port, ferries come in, more places for yachts. I have a photo from two years ago, and now the whole port is occupied by lockers there. Nearby, though not within walking distance, is the island's capital, Valverde. Here is cooler in the winter than in Resting, and life without a car is sad because there isn't even a populated area. So, a couple of restaurants.

La Restinga is located in the very south of the island. It’s summer here all year. There's not much berthing space, and only yachts can stand at the pier. The catamaran is too much chatter in the tidal currents, so the moorings are torn like strings. The port is municipal, prices are not high. The town is small, between the volcano and the ocean, very cozy, populated by fishermen and divers. Experts say that Hierro is one of the best dive spots on the planet. In the nearby Pacific Sea (Mar de las Calmas) hundreds of species of fish, mantas, sharks, etc. are frequent guests. Every year in Resting, the World Championship of Underwater Photography is held. Even the underwater volcanic eruption in September 2011 are paralyzed underwater life only for a short time. The fish are back, and there are more of them. In Resting there is a small museum dedicated to the eruption.

El Golfo

When you plan a winter vacation in the Canaries, it is very important to consider the features of the climate. Each island has a warm zone, it is as warm during the day as in summer and you can swim. Although the water is refreshing. As a general rule, the entire coastal zone - warm. On Hierro, these are La Restinga, Tamaduste, La Caleta, Timihiraque. A win-win option is to rent an apartment in the Frontera Valley. Somewhat disfigured by greenhouses, this land, gently descending to the ocean, is characterized by a consistently warm and dry climate. A wall of cliffs rises a thousand meters to protect it from bad weather.

Tinor in bloom

All other zones are very wet and cool in winter, especially at night. And in the daytime they are covered by clouds. So, on my first visit to Hierro, I settled in the mountain village of Mocanal, very picturesque and densely populated, not at all touristy. During the day, Buska and I enjoyed the flowers, goats, calves, chickens, and other animals. And in the evening I just didn't know what else to wear, and how to survive those few hours before diving under the blankets. But in the summer, it's heaven here! It's fresh, green, and you can walk right from the house in either direction. Few cars, few tourists, all the riches of Hierro for you. In addition to Mocanal, I would recommend El Pinar, Ecedo, Valverde, San Andres for summer holidays.

El Golfo flows gently down to the ocean, and just before the surf breaks, it plunges downhill

Now let's go around the attractions. The island is small, so even in one day by car you can see a lot. For those who are lucky enough to spend a week or two on Hierro, I recommend hiking.

So, the capital of the island, Valverde. All the civilization of the island, museums, and churches are concentrated here. You can walk around the whole town in half an hour. In winter, it's quite cool and wet and sometimes foggy. But in the sunny day Valverde will not leave you indifferent.

Valverde

In general, the most spectacular place of the island is Mirador la Pena. The whole valley of la Frontera with the rugged edge of the rocks, watered by the ocean, opens up in front of you. You can also admire it from the terrace of the cafe designed by the famous Cesar Manrique! You may not have time for anything, but you have to stop by La Pena. By the way, for lovers of aromatic homemade cookies without additives and preservatives, I recommend stopping at a small wood-fired bakery in Guarazoca.

View of Frontera from the La Pena viewpoint

Since we were on a mountain range, it makes sense to go to the highest point of Hierro - volcano Malpaso, 1501 m. Strangely enough, you can easily get to the highest point by car, but on an unpaved road. If you are lucky and there are no clouds, the view from here is gorgeous.

Above 1300 metres, no grass grows on Hierro. Trees stick straight out of the volcanic soil.

Nearby, ancient, moss-covered wells in the rain forest of Fuentes de Cruz de los Reyes are worth a 10-minute stop.

Fuentes de Cruz de los Reyes

Do not miss Mirador la Llania, located at the top of the ridge, with a two-sided view of the ocean. Paragliders start from here. Nearby is another viewpoint Jinama with views to the Frontera. Just beyond it, one of the best hiking trails on the island leads down the mountainside to Frontera. The 8-kilometer descent down about 970 meters through different climates, took me more than two hours and is forever engraved in my memory. Interestingly, until the mid-20th century, this trail was the only artery connecting the two parts of the island, and mountain donkeys carried loads on it.

Camino de Jinama

From here, it is a short walk to the symbol of the island, the Garoe tree, whose leaves collected moisture from the clouds and flowed into a reservoir at the roots. This is how the ancient inhabitants of Hierro got their fresh water, because there are no rivers or lakes on Hierro. Plants feed on dew. From Garoet starts a nice circular hiking route.

Hiking route near the Garoe tree

Going down to the valley of El Golfo, or La Frontera. Not to be missed: Las Puntas. A tiny hotel on a promontory, on three sides of which steep cliffs drop into the ocean. In the olden days, this was the island's main cargo port. Here was loaded wine and other agricultural products. It's surprising, because the ocean is never calm here and I'm at a loss as to how the ships approached the cliffs.

Tiny hotel on Las Puntas

We move on, the Guinea ecomuseum. Very primitive huts made of unhewn stones, with slits smeared with a mixture of cattle dung and water, in which the shepherds lived until the 1940s or 1950s. Then the houses were left and the village was abandoned. Inside, all the utensils, furniture, and colonial goods were preserved. When the village was found, they decided to open a museum. Much became clearer to me about Hierro after the guide showed us some of the structures and the volcano tube - a corridor and a circular hall. But the house with large lizards, the symbol of Hierro, did not impress me.

Ecomuseum Guinea

The next stop on the route is La Maceta Rocks Bathing Pool with picnic places. I wouldn't dare swim there, but it's a beautiful place.

La Maceta

And nearby is an unassuming cooperative store, which I recommend for those interested in wine-making. Here we can find almost all kinds of local wine and local fruit. This way, you don't have to go to every winery in the area.

Local wines of Hierro

Charco Azul is the second bath in the cliffs in Frontera. It is certainly a very romantic place, and super-popular with tourists. It is the calling card of Hierro. It is a natural pool in a frozen flow of lava, framed by an arch on top. Swimming in it, you feel like Aphrodite.

Charco Azul

Sabina de el Hierro

Hierro is the further out into the ocean than any other of the Canary Islands. From the time of Ptolemy until 1884, the meridians were counted from Cape Punta de la Orchilla. From these glorious times for inhabitants are left with a rather ugly concrete obelisk and a nice lighthouse. But hand on heart, in the west of the island only the beach of Verodal deserves attention. The sand on the beach is the color of cinnamon and it is unforgettable. It's not recommended to swim away from the shore: the strong currents take you into the ocean.

Verodal

Mirador de las Playas

We descend from the mountains to the south, through El Pinar, to Restinga. Here we are primarily interested in the numerous fish restaurants with fresh fish from the fishing port. The town is surrounded on all sides by frozen rivers of black lava.

La Restinga neighbourhood

It's a good idea to visit Tacoron, the oven of the island. Even on the coldest winter days, on Tacoron it's hot and very quiet. You can swim, have a picnic and walk to Playa Roja.

Playa Roja

If you come to the island for more than 1 day, you can visit, for example, the seaside resort La Caleta, with a series of seawater pools and cafes.

La Caleta

... or visit to the town located on either side of the small, deep Tamaduste Bay, just behind the airport. The ocean wave enters to the bay and ensures the clear, turquoise water.

Tamaduste

On Hierro, as on many other islands, traces of ancient people were found. They lived in caves, raised domestic animals, plowed the land. That is, in general, they did about the same things as the current inhabitants of the island, only they didn't have internet. You can learn about them by visiting the museum El Julan. From the viewpoint there is a good view of the border of the Pacific Sea. Even when the ocean is boiling around, there is peace and quiet in this triangle. The area of El Julan Park is the property of the King of Spain and it is not allowed to walk freely. But you can join a group and walk to Balthazar Cave.

El Julan National Park

For the most advanced tourists, it is the Pozo de las Calcosas, an enchanted place. It is unlike anything else, a little gloomy, with hundreds of ramshackle houses and an entire tongue of lava that once poured out into the ocean. The only hermit tourists are live here now.

Pozo de las Calcosas

A little more about gastronomy. On the island are grown grapes, bananas, pineapples, almonds. Grated almonds are make "quesadille", a kind of marzipan.

In January and February, almonds are in bloom

In addition, there are cows in the center of the island that can climb mountains! The milk is used to make the cheeses that are unique to the island, aged and smoked, and to bake my favorite quesadilles. There are four quesadille factories on the island, and the products of one of them are distributed to all of Canary through Dino's supermarkets. Unfortunately, these particular quesadilles have preservatives added to them and taste significantly inferior to the wood-fired ones baked in Valverde's oldest oven, Adrián Gutierrez e Hijas. These keep for no longer than a week and have unique taste and nutritional properties. It contains only natural products, a great rarity in our world of total globalization. The shape is flower because the first shapes were cut out of tin oil cans. Since 1900, the shape and composition of the quesadille has not changed one bit.

Quesadilla from the factory Gutierrez e Hijos, Valverde

In recent years, El Hierro has been trying to switch from burning fuel oil to green energy - wind and hydroelectric generators. And also to change cars to electric cars. Since there is no industry on the island, this goal is probably achievable.

Wildflowers, agaves, lush vegetation of Hierro