Strangely, we didn't get land sick that night. It hasn't turned out that way, but we may still be in boat mode. We slept well without lights, none, not even a lamppost light nearby. Long live the darkness!
We wake up around 9am, the stairway turnes out to be very noizy. I believe there are young people who like the echo in the lobby. The front door slams. Well, we'll come back for peace, but our room is very close to the door, which probably explains that. So we get up, ready to discover the island.
We go down to eat on a restaurant terrace, with a view of the water. We see a diving teacher and his student in the water of the port. Louis tells me the teacher will probably take off the students mask and ask him put it back on underwater. I told him that if they did that to me, I would want to punch the teacher in the face. It may not be a good choice of sport for tomorrow, but I don't despair.
We are now good to order coffee with milk with brown sugar (café con leche con azúcar moreno). Louis sees a young boy, and recognizes him: it is a family that was on the ferry. As he tells me, the man in the family seems to be saying the same thing to his wife who is looking at me. Very funny! They seem German by their language. There are a lot of Germans here, as tourists.
We see a cardboard collection truck. The "cardboard garbage collectors" stop their truck, go inside the business to pick up the boxes themselves, that's service!
12.30 euro for 3 sandwiches and 3 lattes. We love! We are going to take a walk on the edge of the water, we look at the people and the port. They have really thought out their waterfront development. It is well done. We even see a kind of emergency dispenser on the edge of the water with self-inflating bags inside to throw to a person in distress in the water or to go and help him. All you have to do is break the glass with the small hammer. An alarm will sound to alert the emergency services. So well thought out!
We then go to the dive shop to meet Houla. They have room for Louis tomorrow for 2 dives. I could join them in the zodiac and go snorkeling while waiting if I want. Louis explains to her that I am holding my nose underwater and asks her if she thinks I can go scuba diving. She says maybe not tomorrow, but she understands the problem. She says that if it's a reflex that makes me breathe in a little when the water enters my nose (that's exactly it), it comes from the time I was in my mother's womb. It's just that I haven't lost that reflex over time like most people do. In her experience, more women than men have this problem, but she doesn't know why. She also had this reflex and now she is the one who takes people diving. So there is hope. So I have to teach my brain not to have this reflex anymore. She tells us to come back around 3 p.m. and she will give me an exercise to do and we can fill out the papers for Louis. Perfect!
Then we drive by car, in landscapes of dried lava, with flowers growing through it. It's extraordinary! So beautiful! Louis wanted to go to the volcano pass, but we change the route on the way: direction Tacorón. There are extraordinary natural pools. It's a bit like bathing in a lunar, or at least otherworldly, landscape: untouched. Amazing!
The infrastructures are well done, they do not disfigure the landscape, they integrate it.
The water is clear, more rocky at the bottom (volcanic rocks). We see several crabs on the rock walls.
We then return to go to the pharmacy. A man in the village is asked. He says he doesn't speak English. We say “farmacia”. He understands and tells us where to go. We understand “derecha” and “naranja” so we agree that it must be in our orange building on the right.
It is particular for Louis to have difficulty making himself understood because so many people speak English. Here, few speak English or understand it, at least in those met since last night. We go to the pharmacy but it is only open from 10 am to 1 pm (except Tuesdays from 4 pm to 7 pm). We will come back.
We go to the dive shop to sign the documents for Louis. Houla explains to me an exercise that I will hasten to do in a few minutes.
Direction the swimming pool: Louis does lengths while I practice. I put my head in the water, holding my nose. Houla lent me a snorkel. So I breathe through my mouth in the snorkel and when I'm calm, I remove my fingers. The water rises a little in my nostrils, but I have to make my brain understand that there is no danger. I have to control my reflex to want to inhale. I get there taking 14 breaths. Then 3 more, but the water rises more in my nose so I stick my head out. I try again but I want to sneeze. I take my head out of the water and sneeze 3 times. I imagine it tickles my nose all that water. I take a break and do 10 lengths. I then start my exercise again: 45 breaths. Yippee! I never would have believed this possible. I start again by swimming slowly with my feet to the ladder on the other side of the pool: 65 breaths. Very satisfied. They won't tell me that I can't dive. It may not be tomorrow, but I will get there!
We will then have a drink and an early dinner since we have not had dinner. Small restaurant in the complex/building. Waiter so nice, not really speaking English, but he tries with his phone. Really appreciated! Succulent paella.
We then return to the apartment to relax a little. We listen to television in Spanish: a sailboat race!
It’s really nice to have nothing planned for a few days. We go forth according to our desires. Tomorrow diving/apnea and then who knows what discoveries we will make.
Another beautiful cloudless day. About 27-29 yesterday and today. Each island is different, even in temperature, but it's windy everywhere. Oh and before I forget, since it's still an interesting fact: once, the island was known to be the end of the known world. So we can say that we will have been at the old known end of the world ;)
Truly an amazing day! El Hierro, with its population of less than 12,000 (2019), won our hearts fast!
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