A corral to tame the AtlanticTamaduste is the best bet for a quiet day at the beachIf you wanted to capture an image of a perfect bay, it would be a good idea to head to the island of El Hierro, camera in hand, and go to the coast that runs alongside the town of Valverde. The Tamaduste beach, a small fishing village which has opened its doors to tourism (but in a controlled manner) would be the ideal location to capture this picture as it boasts the perfect bay. It has an almost circular sea inlet, practically surrounded by volcanic rocks, and is a beautiful beach with calm and clear waters where you can enjoy a day by the sea far away from the crowds that tend to flock to other parts of the Canarian coastThe waves break at the mouth of the bay and gradually lose their momentum as they reach the black sand with a light push, too gentle to leave a foamy trail. The volcanic rocks that frame this perfect bay are only one hundred metres from the shore but serve to calm the often fierce waters, drawing in and containing the sea to create a natural pool. It is as if the ocean retreats, warned off by imposing rocks that separate the coast from Valverde, the only Canarian capital where this is the case. The calm and contained ocean offers us an unusual and unforgettable sight. In addition, the sight of small boats floating on the clear El Hierro waters, projecting their shadows on the sea bed, creates a perfect picture. Tamaduste is a true reflection of the island, a place where it is possible to find all kinds of landscapes imaginable, but on such a small scale that at times it seems unreal. The small fishing village of Tamaduste, with its little beach, further fuels the feeling of being in a special and unusual place.
However, the Tamaduste beach is not special for its size, but for its beauty. It is set in an almost perfect gulf with a tiny sea opening that its no more than a hundred metres at its widest point. The black sandy beach is around 100 metres long and set merely ten metres from the shore and the bare rocks that act as a natural boundary. However, on El Hierro, the small things are often the biggest. A modern but attractive promenade has been built around the beach which leads directly to the water so visitors to enjoy a day of sea and sun without having to walk through miles of sand (not that this is the case here). Another advantage is that, despite the beach being free of the crowds that tend to grace many of the other beaches in the Archipelago, the Tamaduste beach has a good range of services, making it convenient and almost urban. There are showers, restaurants and modest accommodation faculties and the beach is clean and well maintained, all of which makes this traditional fishing cove into a small scale tourist attraction. However, one of the biggest attractions of Tamaduste is that it is an ideal beach for children. Its calm and shallow waters (no deeper than two metres) make it a great natural swimming pool where the little ones can play in safety.
