Carpe Diem in La Restinga

One of the main tourist attractions in El Hierro is scuba diving in La Restinga, a small fishing village at the south tip of the island. I made it down there for the first time because there was an underwater photography contest (that has been going for over 20 years!), so they were having a bunch of events for the weekend.

I took the guagua down (the Canaria word for bus, still my favorite Spanish word ever) from the bus station in Valverde. It was pretty confusing, because I thought that I had to do a rapid transfer in El Pinar, a town about 3/4 of the way there -- I thought that if I didn't make the transfer I would have to wait two hours for the next bus to La Restinga. It turns out that the same bus just keeps on driving. So it all worked out, even though I was a bit panicked as we came up on El Pinar. :)

My first day in La Restinga, I took a walk along the beach and harbor. There are lots of boats because diving is so big here. There must be four streets in the whole town, and at least 12 diving companies. The environment down here is pretty different from Valverde, all black volcanic rock that still looks like flowing lava.

I also went in a see-through kayak! There were free rides as a part of the underwater photography competition. I saw a sea turtle, some schools of fish, and a couple starfish. Other activities included arts and crafts for kids (build your own ecosystem was a fun project) and a massive slip & slide on Saturday morning.

Check out some of the yummy food I ate this weekend! Fried hake (I think), several types of mojo, a fresh Canaria salsa made up of fresh herbs and citrus, fresh herreño cheese with honey, tinto de verano (the always amazing red wine mixed with ice and lemon soda), shrimp baked in garlic, and grilled parrotfish (catch of the day is always a winner). YUM!

On Saturday, I ventured out into the shores of La Restinga and saw some amazing volcanic formations. The entire coast is made up of neat structures because of how porous the rock is and how fierce the waves have been for millions of years. There are little coves and sea caves everywhere that you can climb into and watch the tidal pools. My favorites were these big rainbow-colored crabs scurrying back and forth looking for treats. No pictures, but they were great to see!

I couldn't stop taking pictures of the rocks and the ocean! I had a great time sitting and watching the waves crash against the shore. It would be a great place to be a Victorian heroine, with the sun glinting off the ocean, the craggly rocks, and the spray of the waves :)

The ocean foam was a beautiful color!

That night, I went to the main plaza in La Restinga to watch the awards for the photographers. There weren't that many people in the competition and there were quite a few awards, so everyone won something, which was surprising but really nice! One guy must have won five giant checks! :D Maybe I should enter sometime . . .

After the awards, there was a dance party with three local DJs. They played everything from salsa to club music to Whitney Houston to one particularly energetic version of Take On Me. Everyone had a great time and the party went until 5am!

On Sunday morning, I went snorkeling. I definitely want to go diving sometime, but I thought I'd start with snorkeling. They took us out on a boat a ways into the ocean, and put down an anchor so the boat wouldn't float away too much. It was a lovely time, over a deep coral reef. I saw a lot of trigger fish, some trumpet fish (that swim upright like seahorse), a couple groupers (at least three feet long), some parrotfish, and more!

It was a lovely sunny morning of enjoying the sea, then back on the bus to Valverde. I can't wait to come back to La Restinga and enjoy diving for real!

#elhierroisland #fulbrightspain #travel

¡Hasta la próxima!