Buracona

Buracona is a set of pools in the black lava on Sal's western shore, and beside them is a collapsed cave with an opening in its roof: for a short window around midday, when the sun is high enough and the sea is calm, light comes through and turns the water inside an intense blue, which is why it is called the Blue Eye. Outside that window and in swell it is simply a dark hole in the rock.

What you actually see

• The Blue Eye - the collapsed cave lit blue by midday sun through the roof opening.
• The lava pools - natural basins in the black rock along the shore.
• The black coast - the volcanic shoreline the pools are cut into.
• The blowhole - the surge coming up through the rock in swell.

When to go

The blue effect needs high midday sun and calm sea, roughly between eleven and one. November to June is the dry season. Swell closes the effect entirely.

Honest expectations

The Blue Eye works only in a narrow midday window with the right conditions; most visitors at other times see nothing special. The rocks are sharp and slippery and the surge is dangerous. Vendors at the site are persistent.

Nearby

Palmeira is south, and Espargos is east.