«El Pichirichi»… Springboard or a whale?

Some of the first summertime memories in Terreros, are always of the
beach, San Juan’s fireworks or dipping into the sea to get away from
the heat. All of these memories have something in common, “El
Pichirichi”.

This spot is the natural division of the two most crowded beaches in
terreros, Mar Serena to its right and Mar Rabiosa to its left, where
you can find thousands of fossils from different ages, although its
history is more complex, as we do not know its origin.

There are different theories which try to explain it. The most
curious is more of a legend, as it says that “El Pichirichi” is a
stranded whale , who died, and was covered by sediments over
thousands of years, ending up in what we can see today. And this is
the magic of the place, the mystery that surrounds it.

Years ago, it was used as a temporary port, when cave houses that
surround it were built, that’s why there are some carved steps on the
surface, or a footbridge, also carved, and it was used to load boats
with the salt from Terreros’ Salt Lake, but this practice died out due
to the difficult access for the boats.

In 2012, a wooden walkway was built, as previously it was risky to
access to it due to the unstable and slippery rocks. A new jetty was
also built where the Tourist Boat “Don Pancho” set off to along the
coast sightseeing, nowadays it has no use…

Today the rock is used by locals and visitors as a natural
springboard,even though, there are banning signs. Furthermore, it’s
used to stage San Juan’s fireworks. However, “El Pichirichi” is way
more than that, as it has been the location for music videos, fishing
nights, weddings, billions of photos and peaceful chats with friends
at the end of a summer day with the waves gently lapping in the
background.

Translation by David Gómez