Beach Vibes in El Hierro

#elhierro #islascanarias #travel #beach

It is a beautiful February in El Hierro, and I spent last weekend exploring some of the lovely beaches around the island!

El Hierro is full of volcanic rocks, turquoise water, and sunny blue skies, so I set off to explore more of la Isla con Alma, including some of its stunning beaches. Charco Azul is a hidden jewel on the island, on the coast of Frontera near the south corner of El Hierro. It is not super easy to get to without a car, but I was committed! So, on Friday I took a bus from Valverde, connected in the other big town of Frontera, and made it to the small town of Los Llanillos to start the descent to the coast.

I started off down the hill, past small farms and houses, many topped with solar panels. It was a gorgeous walk, heading down a long, gradual slope towards the sea, sun glittering on the lapping waves. This island is the only place I've ever seen water this color--a stunning, vivid turquoise!

During my walk, I saw lots of interesting desert plants--palm trees, winding cacti, colorful succulents, and sage. El Hierro really is a desert island!

Pretty intense path down to the grotto

Once I got to Charco Azul, I headed down the very steep stone pathway down to the swimming area, complete with natural pools, wooden platforms to lay out on, and a super cool natural swimming cove inside a cave.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and it was so neat to climb into the dark grotto and see the sun shining down into the cool sea cave. I took a refreshing dip, saw a bunch of black lizards camouflaging into the rock, saw some rainbow crabs scurrying back and forth, and swam over to the other side to sit on the big rock in the sun and watch the waves come roaring in from the open sea.

The hike back up to Los Llanillos was pretty rough (no matter how many hills I walk here, I never really get used to it!) but I made it to the bus on time :D And there's nothing like these views! It was an amazing day at the seaside, and one thing I will definitely miss about living on El Hierro is being able to explore a new beach every weekend :)

On Saturday, I went to a closer beach, Timijiraque. It is a black sand beach near the port and the first sandy beach I've found yet on El Hierro. It was a different type of beach day, but very relaxing.

I caught the morning bus, made it to the beach in less than 20 minutes, and staked my claim on one of the big wooden umbrellas set up. It was amazing to lay in the shade of the umbrella, jump in the waves, and hunt for interesting rocks that had washed ashore.

This is a beach that I will definitely be coming back to! It has freshwater showers, a nearby restaurant, and a very convenient bus stop. Plus, it is lovely to lie on soft sand and soak up the sun!

After my beach day, I went to a local play with some teachers from my school. It was a comedy about a mother and daughter who encounter each other at the reception in Heaven and resolve their familial conflicts while the secretary looks on. There were lots of jokes about Spanish bureaucracy, which I enjoyed, and one of the teachers I work with was a main character!

A great weekend overall before I go to Tenerife for the famous Carnaval celebration next weekend. ¡Hasta la próxima!