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Hierro:
This place is magic. Sharp lava rocks and small dots of green from cactus and fine white sand and deep blue ocean build a formidable surf arena at the dusty desert of the north shore. The landscape itself is halucinating. The colours are mindblowing. But the waves that bombard this coast during winter make this place a surfers paradise.
Predominant northeast trade winds here come sideoff- to offshore. North atlantic winter swells hit the coast with full furour. And Hierro has three spots to ride those waves. Three spots within a distance of 300 meters and three spots with a totaly different character.
La Derecha de los Alemanes: at the northern end of the little bay. It´s a long but easy paddle out to the reef as there almost never breaks a wave in the channel. The rights out there break very long and offer nice rippable faces. They are very safe, as long as the waves dont get bigger than 3m (faces). If You fall You´ll get swept into the safe channel. But dont expect to be the only one out there as the comfortable nature of this wave is no secret anymore. Be carefull with strong currents in the channel when the waves are really big.
La Izquierda: here it gets more serious. A formidable left and a nice right break at the reef in the middle of the bay. To get out jump from the reef shelf at the right end of the bay. But time Your depart good, as cleanup sets come in once in a while with bigger swells. The left can offer really long rides perfect for carving speedy turns during high tide and mid tide. With low tide the wave gets very sucky and offers the odd tube breaking into very shallow waters on very sharp lava reef. A decent currents tends to pull You to the lineup. Be carefull though with outside bombs detonating right at the lineup. it´s a good idea to wear booties here, as the reef is very sharp and a lot of urchins live here. (check pics from 2005 and 2006!)
La Derecha / the bubble: this high performance wave breaks at the right / northern side of the bay. It offers a very good but intense right and a short left. Waves have a lot of power here. On low tide the right offers very nice tubes. Be aware, that this place is for experts only!
Due to the quality and easy acces of the place crowds are a factor here. Even though the modd is usually pretty mellow, the high surfing level of locals and visitors alike make it difficult to get waves. Early morning hours are the best to score it with just a few friends.
It might be possible to windsurf or kiteboard here, but during the winter season this place belongs to the surfers!
more pics at the galleries (Hierro, La Derecha de los Alemanes, La Izquierda, La Derecha / the bubble).
For wave and wind forcasts on the spot check this (Majanicho works under similar conditions as Hierro):
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