La Gomera - 24 October
Dearloves
Wed 26 Oct 2005 11:31
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From our first impressions of La Gomera, we have
found it a wonderful place. The scenery is stunning, it is relatively
unspoilt by tourism (there are no large hotels - yet - we have seen one under
construction) and the people are welcoming.
 Approaching La Gomera
The capital, San Sebastian, is very small and has
many buildings looking as though they are under repair (although there is no
evidence of work being done) but there are some picturesque parts
also.
  The town also has links with Christopher Columbus,
who is said to have stayed here, being entertained by the queen in this
tower:
 This is the well they used to fill up their ships'
drinking water vats (it was the last port of call before departing for the
Americas):
 We hired a car today and drove up to the north of
La Gomera. The views of the island were stunning - it is very fertile
inland. Bananas are grown at the lower levels, where it is very hot.
Higher up, where it is cooler and damper, there are more typically European
crops.
 Like the other Canary Islands that we have visited,
the roads are unexpectedly good, although there are lots of what Alice calls
"hairclip" bends.
 Today we went for a long walk up a mountain,
through a beautiful forest (national park). Once we had come down through
the forest on the other side of the mountain we found a typically Canarian
restaurant to eat in. The tables were all outside and the view was
amazing. We had a huge meal (which was delicious) and the bill came to
EURO 28, including drinks!
 Looking how far we had
walked
 Pip waiting for her lunch. We
really liked the seats.
The only drawback was that Charlie had to wrestle a
billy goat to get to the place!
 Billy Goat Gruff
 Much of the farming has to be done on
man-made terraces, because of lack of land space
 Strelitza (this was part of a huge
bush of them)
 Some of The Gang
Back at the marina, Alice and Pip have made lots of
new friends. There is a gang of 10 children who run riot in the
marina. They love to use the dinghies to get around. Pip has learnt
to row. She is determined to master it - has blisters on her
hands, but won't give up!
 Practising
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