The smallest and remotest of the Canary Islands, El Hierro, is, in many ways, the most progressive. Powered by wind and water, the ten thousand residents will soon be self-sufficient in electricity. The goal is for everyone to drive electric cars in a few years.
The island is packed with about one thousand volcanoes, and the last eruption on land was two hundred years ago. The most recent underwater eruption happened in 2011 and gained the attention of the international scientific community. UNESCO has designated the island a Biosphere Reserve, and our three months here have been one of the best times of my life.
I’m unsure what I liked best because the island is fantastic and diverse. The last photos my husband took before we left show why I will always think about El Hierro with peace and love 🙂
2 responses to “Last Photos from an Amazing Island with 1000 Volcanoes”
Thank you for these photographs evoking my own memories of the places shewn.
I live in Timijiraque (not shewn in your pictures!) with a full-year rental – although I
am here for only about four months each year.
You are absolutely correct that it is difficult to choose what one likes best about
the island. I wondered for years in which part I would live but fate, in 2014, led
me here to Timijiraque and I am pleased that it did. There is a road up to Isora
that was newly paved in 2014 that reduces journey time to El Pinar considerably
and, of course, the tunnel means only half an hour to Frontera rather than the
hour and a half over the top.
I leave on Wednesday – not due to return until the autumn – and so my focus
will switch to creating a summer home in Ireland. However, I draw strength
from knowing that I will soon return to El Hierro – autumn, winter, spring.
Congratulations on creating so many vibrant memories.
May they stay with you as inspiration for years to come.
It is said that those who stay more than ten days on El
Hierro will want to stay for ever. It is like that but I have
found that one CAN live elsewhere – provided that there
is a real prospect of return within a not-too-distant future.
In Friendship
Alan
Hi Alan,
Thanks for your wonderful reply. Yes, El Hierro is something exceptional and we will return someday, for sure. You might also be interested in seeing the photos from our first days in “Landed in El Hierro”, (some of them closer to your place and the new road to El Pinar 😊 ) and there are also more pictures in “The Natural Healing of El Tamaduste” and “Walking the Lava Path from El Tamaduste to La Fortaleza”. A happy trip back to Ireland! From a small diamond to a larger emerald in the Atlantic Ocean and vice versa. You are a lucky man!