El Hierro

Part of the Canaries, El Hierro is a striking volcanic island and here its rocky bays are host to this rather mannered supernatural thriller, very much in the current Spanish vogue, made by a former commercial director (Gabe Ibáñez), about a young mother whose six-year-old boy goes missing on the ferry over to the island.

Hierro 2010

El Hierro, the last island between here and Antigua, lay ahead, and beyond that nothing but open ocean.

Rowing the ATLANTIC Roz Savage 2009

El Hierro, the last island between here and Antigua, lay ahead, and beyond that nothing but open ocean.

Rowing the ATLANTIC Roz Savage 2009

It seemed that El Hierro, the westernmost of the Canary Islands, was never going to disappear from sight.

Rowing the ATLANTIC Roz Savage 2009

It seemed that El Hierro, the westernmost of the Canary Islands, was never going to disappear from sight.

Rowing the ATLANTIC Roz Savage 2009

Accomplishments thus far include recovery plans and the reintroduction of the giant lizard of El Hierro (Gallotia simonyi machadoi); the conservation of Chiroptera and invertebrates in volcanic cavities; the conservation of five priority species of the Canarian sub-humid montane layer (monteverde); and the conservation of endemic birds, such as the Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (Fringilla teydea polatzeki), dark and white tailed laurel pigeons (Columba bolli, C. junoniae), and others.

Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests 2008

Smaller relatives of these extinct reptiles are still living in cliffs and crevices of islands like El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife and probably La Palma.

Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests 2008

La Palma and El Hierro are the youngest islands, only 2-3 million years old.

Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests 2008

A similar process of radiation has occurred in many birds, such as the blue tit Parus caeruleus (Paridae) that has evolved into three different subspecies: P.c. teneriffae in Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Gomera, P.c. ombriosus in El Hierro and P.c. palmensis in La Palma.

Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests 2008

La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro are the islands with best-conserved habitats and biotas, probably due to smaller size and lower deforestation.

Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests 2008