El Hierro
Our position is 27:47.10N 17:54.07W Thursday 11 November 2010 We left Santa Cruz de la Palma at first light on Tuesday for the
53Nm sail to El Hierro. After the rain and wind of the previous day it was good to
see a clear sky and good visibility – both La Gomera and Tenerife were clearly
sighted before sunrise and once round an obstructing headland, so was El
Hierro. The wind was light but was from behind and soon increased to be strong enough
to sail, with the moths being shaken out of the cruising chute for maximum speed.
The passage was uneventful and afforded opportunities for foot care and a start to
be made on fitting the safety netting. Towards the end the wind died away
completely, so we motored into the well sheltered harbour with about an hour of
daylight remaining, and were assisted to tie up to the very high bollards on the wall
by Thomas and Gabrielle from Gatorali, who were the only other yacht in the
harbour and were occupying the only available space by a ladder. Once tied up we
spent quite a long time adjusting the warps, installing a fender plank (I knew we
were carrying about for something) and contemplating a route up the wall. Having
decided to utilise our own steps, and after an abortive attempt to rig a cradle between
bollards from which to suspend it, we moved forward in order to have a central bollard
from which we could hang them, and this proved most successful. We were both
able to get on and off at all states of the tide. Puerto de la Estaca is a small, well developed harbour (plenty of
euro funding spent here) but with very little activity or facility. Just after a
visit to the office with our papers we witnessed a workman powering his drill by
sticking the bare wires on his extension directly into a wall socket. We had arranged to
meet up with Pat and Tom on Remedios before they headed back to Florida. They were
coming from Santa Cruz on Tenerife so on Wednesday morning we climbed the harbour
wall to see if they were anywhere near. Sure enough we could see a boat in the
distance coming towards us and in what seemed like next to no time we were helping them to
tie up to the wall behind us. When they were settled they went to sleep off the
effects of the overnight passage, while we were hailed from the quayside by Bob
and Liz, who claimed to be two thirds of the British population on the island.
As well as a lot of useful information about the island, they gave us a lift the
5km up to Valverde, the island’s capital, where we had a look round and took some
pictures. While waiting outside the car hire office for it to open a local
indicated that it would be open shortly. When no one materialised he conferred with a
friend and the next minute I’m being handed a mobile phone and told to speak with an
anonymous woman. She did speak English but the conversation got off to a somewhat
surreal start as she seemed to think I had run out of money, but more in hope than
expectation, we requested a hire car at the harbour for the next day, and were
assured it would be there at 9am. Then it was off to the supermarket to supplement the
supplies we had brought for the evening meal as Gabrielle and Thomas were to be
joining us all. We caught a bus back down to the harbour – not without its trials as,
although we had established the route we needed, there was some uncertainty about
which of the many buses at the bus station we wanted, or indeed if there was a
driver and when exactly it would go – but all went well and we arrived back with enough
time to cook. Thomas and Gabrielle were bringing a fish course, as Thomas had caught 2
tuna while sailing to El Hierro, and had more fish than he knew what to do with. A
most convivial evening followed, with much chat and wine. Fortunately everyone
got back on board their own boats safely, in spite of the distance to climb down. Amazingly the car did turn up a 9 and, together with Pat & Tom
we set off for a trip round the island. First stop was an amazing “sculpture”
constructed from old washing machines and other household appliances, plastered over, but
already showing signs of wear, even though it was only completed last year. Then on to
Valverde to visit the tourist office and let Pat and Tom have a look at the town.
The tourist office directed us to the offices of the organisation responsible for the
plan to make El Hierro self sufficient for energy, and here we were well received
by an extremely helpful lady, who in spite of not having much English herself,
quickly put together 2 sets of an information document and let us all watch a video on
her PC, which explained about the Hydro Electric scheme. With Pat at the wheel
(Americans understand about driving on the wrong side of the road) we visited
another Manrique designed viewpoint with integral restaurant, had lunch with an
incredible quantity of meat and not much else in a small village bar, looked at some
trees that generate water, (although by that time the clouds had descended on us, so
it didn’t seem that amazing) and headed down south to see La Restinga, another harbour
improved with European funding. We thought we saw Gatorali on her way to the
Cape Verde islands sailing by the bottom of the island so gave them a wave. On the
way back we found the upper reservoir of the hydro electric scheme, still under
construction, but being groomed meticulously in preparation for its gigantic PVC
pond liner. It was now getting towards the end of the day. It’s hard to see the whole
island in a short period as the roads do not really join up because of the
mountainous terrain. There was just time for a bread stop at the supermarket and a quick
visit to the lower reservoir construction for the hydro electric scheme. This is next
door to Puerto de la Estaca and we can hear the pile drivers, but the reservoir is
quite a long way behind the upper one in terms of completion. The day ended
with a fish supper in the harbour cafe. This was also a voyage of discovery due to
communication difficulties with the waitress, but the fish was excellent, even
if we never identified an English name for it and could not find out what it
would cost beforehand. Unfortunately difficulty establishing an internet connection will
delay the sending of this blog and tomorrow we set off back to Tenerife and Pat
& Tom depart for Florida. Let’s hope we all have favourable winds! KLW
Evidence that the big coloured one does come out of its bag
and the skipper uses the foredeck for jobs while the crew have other uses for
the wide open spaces!
Finally tied up against the wall at Puerto de la Estaca, El
Hierro with fender board and steps for gaining dry land installed. We had
concerns about the overhang on the wall, but as it was neaps it didn’t seem to
cause any problem.
The very underutilised ferry terminal building at the
harbour. Do we care that this is where our contributions go?!
The
cathedral in
Valverde
Remedios joins Moorglade and Gatorali (She isn’t really flying a tanker from
her mast!) Dinner on
board – (from left) Kay, Pat, Tom, Gabrielle and Thomas
Installation
built from rubbish
The offices where we learned about the energy self sufficiency plans
The Manrique
restaurant built into the cliff side at the
viewpoint
Inspecting the water making tree – Pat & Tom weren’t sure what they should
be doing with the trough
The upper
reservoir for the energy scheme being “groomed”.
Kay showing agility on the steps – even after wild living with Pat & Tom! There was
even a man with a broom, sweeping it! |