From El Sabinar we had continued down the mountains to the sea. From green pastures, we came into the lava fields of the south. The lighthouse of Orchilla marks since 1933 the south-western tip of the islands for the seafarers.
At the Embarcadero there was a parking and some infrastructure, even the possibility for a swim in the sea, but there were already many people there, so we left and decided to find a more secluded spot.
A gravel route led us to the monument for the historic prime meridian. What we hadn’t known before, that already in ancient times, El Hierro as the westernmost point of the known world, was established as a reference point. With the rediscovery of the Canary Islands in the 14th century, this was revisited and the Ferro Meridian was established as the prime meridian at this point in 1634. In 1885, it was replaced by the Greenwich Prime Meridian. A monument commemorates the former prime meridian at this location.
From the monument we had made our way through the lava to get closer to the sea, where the waves were crashing against the rocks in a spectacular way.
We left the Meridian monument the next day, to drive to the most southern point of El Hierro at La Restinga. The road along the steep slopes was spectacular but also a bit scarry, with oncoming traffic, steep drops and a narrow road without barriers.
We stopped at the Geoparque, where we could admire once again lava structures and lava tunnels but also learned a little about the underwater eruption of 2011, which had occurred just south of La Restinga.
In the afternoon, we reached the bay of Tacorón, where it would be great for a swim, just that the water is too cold for us. We had a great time with a lovely couple from Germany, we had already met at the Malpaso peak.
The next afternoon, we finally drove to La Restinga for a superb Sunday lunch and a lazy time at the beach to digest the meal.
We had reached the most southern point of Europe and most western point of Spain (if you look at Europe in a political way)!
The greener areas higher up are calling us again, let’s see where we will go next!