We have heard about the famous trees of El Hierro, the Sabinas, a juniper tree which bends down to withstand the strong winds. The Sabina is the symbol of the island, included in their coat of arms and El Sabinar is the place to find them, so we left our mountain and drove down over a fantastic gravel road.
The road led us along the mountain and was good to drive. After a while, we entered the cloud forest, while of course the clouds had closed in around us.
We reached the main road and drove to the Santuario Nuestra Señora de los Reyes, the patron saint of El Hierro, where we parked and started our hike from there.
Inside the chapel, the 17th-century altarpiece is preserved, featuring the image of the Virgin of the Kings and the images of the three wise men from the East.
Suddenly, we reached the area of the Sabina trees. We could enter into a pasture and explore many of these fascinating trees, bending down to resist the wind.
On our way back, we met two locals, which were looking for little things like plants and lichen. The told us a lot about what to look for on the island. We started to look closer too and found beautiful things.
We learned that Tasaigo is native to the Canary Islands and Madeira and was used in folk medicine, but it also has dyeing properties. The fruits are a favourite of the lizards and as they are a favourite of the kestrels, the seeds get spread over a great distance.
We will now explore the wild coast in the South of El Hierro – more soon!