El Hierro: San Andres - La Albarrada settlement - Sacred Garoe tree - Ermita de la Pena - Mirador de Jinama

A great and adventurous hike! Unfortunately we had a lot of fog during this hike, which blocked potentially great views. The hike starts in San Andres. After about 1.5 km you reach the ancient settlement La Albarrada meaning dry stone wall or enclosure. The stone wall kept the cattle inside and prevented them to eat the crops outside the walls. Next, you will find the site of the sacred El Garoe tree, where there is a small visitor center, entrance 2.50 euros. At this site, trade winds loaded with humidity blow up the north-eastern mountain sides. The humidity condensates on the vegetation and forms droplets that drip onto the ground and into pools. According to legend, the Garoe tree was responsible for quenching the thirst of the original inhabitants of El Hierro, the Bimbaches. It is not hard to imagine how important this water source must have been on the island, taking the complete lack of water on most of the island. Although the fog during our hike prevented a lot of good views, it perfectly showed us the how this natural water source worked because the fog condensated on everything including ourselves! After 8 km you have the option to visit the Ermita de la Pena with some good views of the coast line, after which you will walk slightly uphill for about 5 km along the very, very steep cliff (about 1000 meters high!) that forms the El Golfo valley. You’ll have to climb several stone walls and some fences. We can only imagine how good to views must be without the fog. On the other hand, the fog added a mysterious atmosphere to this part of the hike with its green pastures divided by the many stone walls. Again, when we reached the Mirador de Jinama there was not much to see due to the fog. Also the last part of the hike back to San Andres was trough magical fields with stone walls. A 5 out of 5 star hike without a doubt!