Volcanic eruptions in 2011 and 2012 transformed the underwater world of El Hierro. Timo Dersch visits this out-of-the-way gem in the Canary Islands, once considered the end of the known world
Words and photographs by Timo Dersch
What is it that makes the Canary Island of El Hierro so special? The answer is: freedom. Diving today, hiking tomorrow, mountain biking the day after … then, perhaps, observing whales for a while, followed by a sunset dinner of fresh local cuisine.
If your whim changes, you simply change your plan. Not a big deal. Life is easy and slow on this unique volcanic island.
El Hierro is different from the other seven Canary Islands. Primarily because of the peace and quiet you find far from the huge hotel bunkers on Tenerife or Gran Canaria. Since there are no international flights, and the ferry ride to get there takes a couple of hours, this island is far from being a mass tourism destination. This is what gives the island its special charm.
It feels as if time stopped 50 years ago for the eleven thousand inhabitants. Fishermen go out on their tiny blue wooden boats, and the farmers grow their bananas and pineapples. Once they make a couple of euros, it is time to relax and lie back. No need to rush things here. ‘For what?’, they simply ask and smile.
There is also the moon-like, igneous rock landscape which varies wherever you go. From desolate, otherworldly lava fields, to pristine black-sand beaches, to mystical forests with fairytale paths, to soft, lush green fields with herds of sheep and cows – the island holds surprises around every corner.
Not even after a week of hiking has the visitor seen it all. But who wants to hike for a week, if there is La Restinga? The little diving town on the southern tip of the island is a twenty-minute drive away from the next village, and feels like a different world. It is the place to be for those who want to explore the wonders the island has to offer underwater.
Since the last volcanic eruptions, from October 2011 to April 2012, the dive sites and marine life are even more appealing. The activity released nutrients into the water which led to an explosion of marine life.
First, there was a surge in bivalves and other molluscs, which invigorated the whole food chain. Today, the island’s waters are teeming with life. There are 46 dive sites right in front of the town. You can reach all of them by boat, which takes from one minute to a maximum of twenty. Most of the diving is by boats, but there are a few shore dives available.
As you are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, anything can swim by during your dive – from Bryde’s whales to angel sharks, from frogfish to seahorses, from manta rays to sand tiger sharks. But most often you will find the friendly giant groupers checking you out. They are the town’s mascots. A statue in front of the harbour pays tribute to the connection of the people with the mero, the Spanish for grouper.
La Restinga and the surrounding marine protected area sit on a volcanic cone, whose recent eruption created a very unique and eerie underwater landscape. The dive sites come with lava tunnels, arches, overhangs and little caves, and are home to vibrant marine life that thrives around the rocky outcrops.
For an easy introduction to the island’s underwater world, the dive site, Tacorón, is highly recommended. The site offers relaxed and enjoyable diving in front of some natural swimming pools created by lava flows, set in front of a picnic area.
You start by descending a steep wall, which gives way to a flatter ground with sandy patches. Once you reach a depth of 20 metres, there are fields of garden eels. After exploring the rocky outline, you head to shallower areas where there is an arch at seven metres, leading to the swimming pools.
Under the arch are to be found small groupers, a porcupine fish (Chilomycterus reticulatus) might hide around the corner, and plenty of the Atlantic trumpetfish (Aulostomus strigosus) are floating around. A school of bastard grunts (Pomadasys incisus), locally better known as Roncadores, form picturesque flight formations in the middle of the pool, and on the rocky edges, the colourful parrotfish feed on the algae.
This is a site you can shore dive and it is popular with snorkellers. There are other snorkel spots to be found all around the island – in fact, wherever you can manage to climb over the rocks and drop in (and climb back out) you will find some beautiful underwater scenery, but Tacorón is particularly glorious.
For the advanced divers, every La Restinga morning is the same routine: fingers crossed for El Bajón. When the conditions allow it and the divers on the boat are advanced enough, you visit the island’s top dive site.
The El Bajón seamount rises up from a depth of around one hundred metres and reminds one of an underwater cathedral. Its steep walls descend from the two tips at nine and six metres of depth are luring the divers into the blue. The strong currents around the majestic ridge feed an abundance of marine life.
On lucky days you can spot mobulas or oceanic mantas circling the ridge; sometimes whale sharks have been spotted. More common are the local schooling fish, such as jacks and yellowtail barracudas, standing in the current. On the walls, you find timid moray eels, parrotfish and groupers. Also, hogfish sometimes cruise by.
Photographers head for the distinctive crater between the two peaks. In terms of dive profiles, it is perfect: you start deep and circle your way around the whole massif, finishing your safety stop on the top, holding on to the buoy line so as not to get dragged away by the current on the way back up.
After the dive, it is time to relax. The town is the perfect place for that. There are public beaches on both sides of the harbour, and the restaurant at the harbourfront, recharges divers’ batteries with its seafood specialities. A cool Dorada beer, the local potatoes and the Canary Island’s special sauces mojo rojo and mojo verde make for the perfect end of the day. Salud!
GETTING THERE:
Take a holiday charter flight to Tenerife. From Tenerife South/Los Cristianos by ferry to Valverde. Or fly from Tenerife North with Binter Canarias to Valverde.
DIVE AND WHALE-WATCHING OPERATOR:
El BajÓn Diving Centre, La Restinga www.buceoelbajon.com/info@buceoelbajon.com/+34 660 359 660
APARTMENTS IN LA RESTINGA
www.buceoelbajon.com/en/services/apartments-el-bajon/
