Fulbrighters in El Hierro

#elhierro #islascanarias

I had some more visitors in El Hierro! Six Fulbrighters, placed on Tenerife and Gran Canaria, came to see me on my tiny island at the edge of the world, and we went diving, saw many beautiful beaches, and enjoyed some yummy seafood.

My visitors came on Friday, which was the same day of my big parade from my last blog post, so when we met up we headed to a beach: Timijiraque, the beautiful black sand beach I have spent several lovely afternoons at. We also went to the Mirador de Isora, a viewpoint with a stunning view of the coastline.

We enjoyed the drive down to the south tip of the island where we were spending the night before an early dive the next morning, through pine forest and past spectacular viewpoints. We got a bit off the beaten track at one point and ended up on a dirt road, but found the highway again without too much trouble.

We stayed at a lovely little AirBNB in La Restinga, the fishing village that is the place for diving on the island (and in the Canaries, if locals are to be believed :D), with a great view of the port. For dinner, we had a great fish platter, a sampling of the catch of the day which included an entire fried fish, tuna (??), and several fish whose names I didn't know. We also had garlic shrimp (my favorite) and the famous wrinkly potatoes and mojo. Delicious!

The next morning, we got up bright and early to go diving! Another girl and I went on a discovery dive since we had never done it before, and it was a great experience! Not many pictures, because lots of the action happened underwater, but we went diving in the harbor and saw tons of fish, including a turtle, trumpet fish, parrotfish, lots of colorful schools of fish darting to and fro, and a massive stingray with wings two meters wide! An amazing morning :D

I had more garlic shrimp for lunch and then we ventured out to the lava flows near town, where the stone seems to flow like molten lava. It looks like it erupted last week, not thousands of years ago. The coastline here is one of my favorites, because it has brilliant turquoise water, crashing waves, sea arches, rainbow crabs scurrying about, and nothing but water as far as the eye can see. There's no more islands on this horizon –– nothing but sky and sea for thousands of miles, truly the edge of the world.

That evening, we went to Tacorón, a beach in the south that I have been meaning to go to but which is very difficult to get to without a car. It is a beautiful little cove with that same stunning turquoise water, rocky shores, and sea walls you can swim over to and watch the waves lap in. It is one of El Hierro's many natural pools, a tidal pool perfect for swimming and semi-protected from the waves.

There's nothing like watching the cliffs light up as the sun goes down.

We drove a little bit up the mountain to an overlook to watch the sunset. Absolutely beautiful end to a great day!

The next day, we started off at La Maceta, some more natural pools in the province of Frontera. It was a beautiful morning, and the pools are great for a dip because they are protected by little rock walls from the waves. There are also little picnic areas with barbecue pits for cooking over a fire, covered with palm frond roofs.

There is a piece of art near La Maceta that is one of my favorites: a piece of rusting metal shaped like the island of El Hierro, with the symbol of the island, the Sabinar (bent over Juniper tree) cut out of it. Through it, you can see the Roque del Salmor, the native habitat of our Giant Lizards!

That afternoon, we had a lovely drive up to the big town of Frontera and stopped by their Sunday market. For lunch, we had pizza and pasta at an Italian place, but the highlight was homemade pineapple ice cream served in an El Hierro pineapple!

After lunch, we drove up to the highest point on El Hierro, Malpaso (1,501 meters or 4,924 feet), which had a stunning view since it was above the clouds and had a gorgeous view of the coastline, the stretching ocean, and the islands of La Palma and La Gomera!

On our drive down, we passed the sanctuary of our patron saint, la Virgen de los Reyes, which is a cute little chapel tucked into the mountains.

We also made it to el Sabinar, the symbol of El Hierro. I always love this tree!

We drove all the way to the west tip of the island to el Faro de Orchilla, the lighthouse where Columbus stopped on his second voyage and which was known as Zero Meridian until the 19th century when it was moved to Greenwich. A beautiful coastline and stunning light off the ocean!

Our last stop of the day was a beach I've been meaning to get to, Verodal. It is a red sand beach with big waves and towering cliffs, and it was great to take a dip after all the driving in the sun.

A gorgeous sunset at Verodal to end the day!

¡Hasta la próxima!