53. Tourism in El Hierro

There have recently been protests in many parts of Spain against foreign tourism artificially raising the price of accommodation, making nights unbearably noisy, debasing tradition ...We really are the most fortunate of the Fortunate Isles, as the Canaries were once called: we have virtually no tourism, and certainly no massive tourism with hordes of drunken hooligans. Why not?

The most obvious reason is that El Hierro does not have those things that tourists really expect, not what people profess to want. We have no beaches to crowd with rented loungers; no little Englands complete with pubs, tandoories and fish-and-chips; no ‘vibrant’ night life; no souqs with the suggestion of poverty hidden just round the corner; no quaint bougainvillea-bedecked piles of white cottages; no exotic fruit split open by spectacular machete-wielding bronzed gods … El Hierro only has its unique beauty, varied and condensed into a few square miles emerging from the ocean. It has peace and unpolluted air – you can even see the Milky Way at night. It has, or could have, everything that makes for a real holiday.

The second most obvious reason is the cost of getting here. For example, a regular return flight from London to Tenerife in October (not especially high-season) last year would have cost you from 92€, BUT a return flight on the same dates from Tenerife to El Hierro would have cost you 118€. Residents in the Canaries have a 75% subsidy on inter-island flights. Please come to your own conclusions.

Thirdly, the island has never been promoted, sensibly at least. Few visitors believe the official blurb proclaiming the excellence of our ‘rich folklore’, ‘traditional craftsmanship’, ‘diverse cuisine’, ‘inimitable wines’ … If they do, they soon enlighten their friends when they get back home. And I don’t think the condescending articles by travel writers help much (1).  At one time there were offers to develop hotels, spas and so on from private investors. Our authorities quickly, and rightly, saw that the islanders would not put up with it and the projects were scrapped. In their place we promoted ‘quality tourism’, i.e. big boots and little woolen socks that consumed sandwiches (one a day made with half a roll of bread and two slices of cooked ham bought in a supermarket). Eventually we must have understood this kind of tourism went no way even to cover the cost of maintaining the ancient public footpaths crisscrossing the island. Recently, the idea has been revamped and, additionally, we now cater for bikers (hired mountain-bikes), long distance swimming and cross-country running.

The area known as Las Playas seen from almost a thousand metres above in the pine forest near El Pinar.
The building on on the coast in the centre of the photo is the Parador.

Then, of course, there are the questions of where to lodge the tourist and things for him and her to do. There are two or three very nice small hotels, some boarding houses and a very agreeable ‘Parador’ – state-run hotel. Quite simply insufficient if this is a sector to be developed. Some years ago I investigated setting up a ‘casa rural’. I came away with a fly in my ear convinced that it was a closed shop set up by and for a chosen few. Now there seem to be quite a lot of ‘casas rurales’ so things must have eased up considerably. And a new figure: "VV" - Holiday Home - a sort of casa rural which is not quaint.

As for things for the tourist to do there is very little available at present. But the municipal and island authorities are at last waking up and beginning to recognize and encourage private initiative. There are of course things in this sector that are already working. And others that are beginning to surface. Scuba diving (that was not a joke) at La Restinga is perhaps today’s major single attraction to the island. Paragliding from the spectacular heights above Frontera is becoming more popular.

So far we have indeed been lucky. The wait-and-see attitude of the islanders has paid off and preserved us from the terrible effects of the tourist industry’s insatiable appetite. Now we have to sit down, put aside vested interests and decide about the future; how to use what we have – our forests and protected areas, our coastline and waters, our weather, our mountains, … There are hopeful signs: the lighthouse at Punta de Orchilla, at the deserted westernmost point of the island, may be converted to a luxury hotel; winemakers are promoting visits to wineries and restaurants are taking gastronomy more seriously; there is talk of converting the island into a sort of organic oasis, etc. And then there are future oportunities for development that have hardly been considered yet. The island would be ideal for "residential tourism" especially for the retired, and also for specialized health centers, creative hubs ... Such things, though, require political and financial involvement.
 

Meanwhile, do come and visit the island. Before it's too late. Before someone decides for you what you should do and see, before our festivals become shows for television, before our history is rewritten, before what is typical becomes blandly comercialized ...

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/feb/07/el-hierro-lost-in-the-canaries

45. Into the 21st Century

Over the last 35 years El Hierro has leapt from backwardness into the twenty-first century. At least in public works. The person visibly responsible for this transformation is Tomás Padrón, founder of the insular party, AHI (El Hierro Independent Party – not Independence Party) and President of the Cabildo for most of the time between the late 70’s and the recent crisis. You may not agree with his often apparently marxist policies or you may claim anyone in power during the years of the EU payout bonanza would have done the same or better, but "give credit where credit's due". Here are some of the most salient projects that have made the islanders’ lives so much better.

The Frontera end of the tunnel is hardly noticeable: just a darker semicircle
in the imposing wall surrounding El Golfo.

All in all, the island’s roads are much better than most people would expect for such a small island. The two main towns, Valverde and Frontera, are now connected at sea level by a road which cuts driving time by two thirds and avoids having to motor up more than 1000 metres and down again through the monteverde forest along the ridge of the island’s mountainous backbone. Part of this road is a 2.5 kilometre three-lane tunnel which was drilled from both ends describing an "S" through the mountains. I find it amazing that both bits met up. Another two smaller tunnels have been built between the port and the Parador.

We also have a new highway from Valverde up to San Andrés, making the south of the island more accessible.

Our delightful little airport, more than sufficient for present needs, replaces the scruffy installation we had before. Besides, it’s a perfect example of how well the public responds to a little spoiling from authority. Our new port, greatly enlarged on the old one, caters for large cruisers as well as our daily ferries and includes a pleasure marina. Somehow, though, despite its modern design and efficiency, I miss the charm of the old port and the house with its pretty blue verandah perched on the cliff, the bustle of its popular bar-restaurant, kids diving off the quayside and anglers sitting on the bollards.

Outpatients awaiting their turn for analyses in the foyer
of our hospital.

Depending on who’s estimating the figure, our population is somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 residents. Nevertheless we have a superb little hospital with operating theatres, dialysis, laboratory and imaging, and of course a selection of resident specialists and others that come once a week. Patients who need treatment that cannot be provided here are sent to the main hospitals in Tenerife, if necessary in medical helicopters.

The star of our public works is, of course, the windfarm-come-hydroelectric plant, “La Gorona del Viento”, described in an earlier post. This project is confusingly publicized as providing the island with 100% renewable energy. What is really meant is that one day 100% of the electricity consumed by the island's homes, industries and services will be generated from renewable sources - I don't think electric bulldozers and excavators are very common. The plant was inaugurated in 2015 and at present produces 60% of our electricity. The project obviously favours the island’s environment but otherwise the population, the unconverted whisper, does not seem to benefit from its operation nearly as much as the electrical giant Endesa.

There are many other, less visible projects undertaken during this period of growth. These include the insular domestic water supply ring, day-centres and residences for the elderly, the embellishment and conditioning of urban, rural and seaside facilities, environmental programmes and installations, etc …