Road improvements near Arure

The village of Arure  (Archive)

The main road which leads through the mountain village of Arure and on to Valle Gran Rey is to be improved very soon. There is a stretch of road just before arriving at the first houses of Arure after leaving the national park which is currently very narrow with lots of dangerous bends where trucks and buses going in opposite directions can't even pass each other, often leading to delays and minor accidents. The added complication in this mountain area at about 3.000 ft altitude is the often reduced visibility due to mist and fog.

Now this length of road of about 1.300 metres is to be widened and the worst bends will be straightened to improve road safety. The government of the Canary Islands will spend 1,5 million Euros on the project and has already put the works out to tender with a stipulated time for execution of nine months. The sensitive environment so close to the national park will be respected by sticking as much as possible to the existing route and any palm trees that are in the way will be replanted close by. The works are badly needed on this busy road which is the main artery supplying Valle Gran Rey, the second most populous municipal area of La Gomera and the most visited by tourists. 

Serious motorbike crash in Arure

A motorcyclist was severely injured yesterday afternoon when his rented bike left the road and he subsequently collided with a rock near the cemetery of Arure, a mountain village in the municipal area of Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera. The German tourist in his mid-fifties suffered multiple serious injuries and was first transferred by ambulance to the quay in the harbour where an air ambulance landed immediately after. It took the emergency services more than an hour to stabilise the patient sufficiently for further transport by helicopter to the university hospital on Tenerife.

Arure, taken from near the scene of the accident

Camino Zigzag

Above is the beginning of the popular hiking track to Arure from La Alameda in Valle Gran Rey. It zigzags up to the relatively flat plateau on top of La Merica Mountain and then leads on to the mountain village of Arure. Breathtaking views can be enjoyed all along this route which once was the main path between the lower valley and Arure, long before the road was built. Note that it is easier to go up this track than it is going down. I took this photo a good few years ago from the top of Teguerguenche mountain on the opposite side of the valley.

Forest fire in La Gomera's national park

A fire has broken out in the beautiful Jardin de Las Creces area of La Gomera's ancient forest in the Garajonay national park. The alarm was raised around 9:30 pm last night and weather conditions were not helping the many fire brigade units that rushed to the area with winds gusting in excess of 60 km/h and very low relative humidity of less than 20% with temperatures of around 27ºC.

There is also a very large wildfire raging on the neighbouring island of La Palma where all available Canary Islands fire fighting resources have been sent over the past 48 hours plus three additional fire fighting aircraft from the Spanish mainland. Hundreds of people had to flee their homes there.

Last night La Gomera's emergency services evacuated elderly people and those with limited mobility from the village of Las Hayas which is closest to the fire and belongs to the municipality of Valle Gran Rey. All available resources in La Gomera were mobilised and the road between Arure an Las Hayas should be avoided to facilitate the transit of the emergency services there.

Initially 1.5 hectares of forest were reported to be affected in La Gomera last night but the terrain in the area is very abrupt and on a steep slope with difficult access for the fire crews. However, earlier this morning the fire has been declared ''stabilised, but not yet under control'', so let's hope that the rapid response by the fire services will help to avoid a similiar situation to that of the inferno of 2012, which was also preceded by a large blaze on La Palma island. 

Video of La Gomera's fire taken last night:

Posted by Manuel Manuel Padilla Padilla on Saturday, 22 August 2020 (click to view)

Since I got the news around midnight last night I've got this faint smell of burning heather-trees in my nose. I know it must be just the memory of 2012 when this was a dangerous reality for weeks, as I'm sitting in rainy Ireland now. The memory of having lived through the constant state of high alert until the final disaster during La Gomera's 2012 blaze is playing this trick on me.

I'll will update this post later, hopefully with good news.

UPDATE 1: It has just been reported that the firefighters on the ground will get support from the air, but no details were given.

UPDATE 2: One helicopter has been sent to fight La Gomera's fire.

UPDATE 3: La Gomera's island government has issued this additional statement in English: ''It is reported that as many forest tracks as the trails of the surrounding areas of Las Creces are closed. ▪ Tourist accommodations are called upon to communicate this information to their customers.'' (sic)

UPDATE 4: Work continues to control the fire. Meanwhile pictures of part of the affected area have been published by the Cabildo de La Gomera (island government) on their Twitter page:

...and here's another image of the area published by Canarian Weekly this morning:

UPDATE 5 (2:15pm): The situation is more ''stabilised'' now and the fire services are optimistic that the fire will be brought under control today. The affected area is more accessible now since a new access track has been cut into the forest and the helicopter is dumping water over the less accessible spots that are still burning. The evacuated villagers have been told that they can return home later this afternoon. However, the weather remains a worry with the nearest weather station at the graveyard of Arure reporting wind gusts in excess of 75km/h, very low humidity and temperatures over 30ºC.

UPDATE 6 : Thanks to the rapid intervention of the emergency services the fire in La Gomera has been declared ''under control'' and all that remains to be done is to extinguish the remaining hotspots and clearing smouldering timbers. 

In the neighbouring island of La Palma the huge blaze which burned 1200 hectares has been stabilised, but 400 firefighters and several helicopters and planes are still working to make sure none of the many hotspots and glowing embers will reignite the fire.

Light at the end of the tunnel for tunnel illumination

The entrance to the first tunnel near Arure

The two long and dark tunnels on the main and only  road (GM-2) to/from Valle Gran Rey in La Gomera's south-west will now get badly needed lighting after several serious accidents within and years of promises that came to nothing. The Canarian government has finally allocated 1,2 million Euros for the illumination of both the tunnel of Arure, which is 430 metres long, and the nearby tunnel of Yorima of 630 metres lenght. Additional emergency lighting will also be installed and the electrical supply cables will be laid underground to avoid impairing the breathtaking views in the area. The project has already been put out to tender and a speedy installation is expected, with the works to take 19 weeks to completion once a contractor has been selected.

Two dead and one critical after car crashes into house

Scene of the accident in Arure (Image source: Ramon Hernandez/facebook.com)

A car crashed into the wall of a building in a bend on the main GM-1 road in the village of Arure, municipality of Valle Gran Rey, on Sunday night hitting two persons outside the house.

The alarm was raised just before 7 pm and when the emergency services arrived at  the scene a man and a woman who had been in front of the house at the time had been fatally injured, while another woman, who was the passenger in the crashed car, was extracted from the vehicle alive with life-threatening injuries. She was transferred by SUC helicopter to the university hospital in Tenerife, where she remains in critical condition. Meanwhile the male driver of the crashed vehicle was transferred to La Gomera's hospital with less severe injuries.

Several people near the scene of the horrendous crash had to be treated for shock and the whole island of La Gomera remains shaken by the incident. Valle Gran Rey has declared three days of mourning and all events have been cancelled there.

And then there was light...

 ...and not only at the end of the tunnel.

For many years the demand for lighting of the two tunnels below Arure down into Valle Gran Rey had been vociferous, not least after a serious accident involving a cyclist in the 625 metres long tunnel of Yorima. 

As I reported in 2020 the Canarian government had allocated substantial funds for the installation of illumination in both tunnels, but it took another few years for works to be completed, and some time ago the light came on, which I failed to report up to now. 

Many years ago when newly arrived in Valle Gran Rey, I once naively walked down from Arure to La Calera through both dark tunnels at night, trying to hitch a lift down. Nobody stopped for me as they probably thought they saw a ghost. A very scary experience for me and one to be avoided even now that the tunnels are lit, as the bit of pavement on both sides is too narrow to walk on safely, and only serves for standing on, back tightly pressed against the wall, when a car or truck thunders through the tunnel.

Serious accident in tunnel

There was a serious accident in the tunnel of Yorima on the road between Arure and upper Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera yesterday afternoon. A fifty years old male cyclist is reported to have collided with a bus inside the tunnel. Police and an ambulance as well as a doctor and a nurse rushed to the scene. The cyclist was later transferred by air ambulance to a hospital on Tenerife, where he was said to be in  'critical condition'. 

The tunnel of Yorima is about 625 metres long and does not have any illumination.

Archive image on left shows entrance to tunnel near Arure

Finally some decent rain, beautiful rain

...and lots of it today! (Image source: Twitter Proteccion Civil LG)

Today's inclement weather brought a fair bit of disruption to the Canary Islands and to La Gomera in particular. There were a good few rockfalls and landslips, treacherous road conditions, some fallen trees, road closures, ferry problems and disruptions, power outages, and flight delays and diversions. On Tenerife flight operations at both international airports were shut down for a while. Wind gusts of around 100 km/h were widely experienced in the Canaries today with very rough seas. Fog in the higher regions and very poor visibilty at times during heavy squalls were adding to the problems. Further gales with very strong gusts are expected tonight and early tomorrow, which may exceed today's values.

Most importantly though, lots of very badly needed rain arrived and brought some water to drought-suffering La Gomera - thankfully without being too heavy. Here are the statistics for the accumulated precipitation today until about 6:30 pm from some stations around La Gomera:

Arure 41,2 mm - La Dama 29,4 mm - Visitor's Centre Agulo 40,4 mm - on the second highest mountain at 1475 m altitude 45,6 mm - Vallehermoso town 31,2 mm - San Sebastian de La Gomera 16,8 mm - but first prize goes to Hermigua with 59,2 mm. 

Some further heavy showers could come down anywhere tonight to add some more to these figures. La Gomera will be a lot greener in a couple of days, that's for sure.

There were lots of large and small waterfalls all over the island and the barrancos of Playa de Santiago and San Sebastian de La Gomera had a good flow of water. Just before sunset the barranco of Valle Gran Rey began to flow as well, but to a lesser degree:

Barranco of VGR beginning to flow

Barranco of San Sebastian de La Gomera this afternoon (Image: RTVC.es)

...and finally a very short video (Source: Twitter PCLG) of the Playa de Santiago flow:

Corriendo también el barranco de Santiago en #Alajeró.
Recuerda: Evita acercarte a los márgenes de los cauces. pic.twitter.com/XO0ZlFJunu

— Protección Civil La Gomera (@PC_LAGOMERA) February 25, 2018

Tapas route through Valle Gran Rey

Poster

Tapas are tasty Spanish snacks usually eaten with a drink. The word tapa means lid or cover and originally tapas were intended to cover your glass with a small plate of items of food to keep the fruit flies from spoiling the wine. Nowadays they can be quiet substantial and a few tapas will substitute a meal. 

Starting tomorrow you can go on a 'tapas walk' in Valle Gran Rey when several bars and restaurants will offer special tapas for the reasonable price of only € 3. About 18 hostelries throughout the valley are participating - most of them in the lower part of Valle Gran Rey, but in the upper valley and in the mountain village of Arure some tasty tapas are on offer as well. Click map below for all tapas stations. The tapa route (ruta de la tapa) will remain open until December 23rd 2014 and if you have tried the snacks in at least four different hostelries you are eligible to enter a draw for several prizes.

Storm's beautiful and beneficial side

Storm 'Therese' which badly affected the Canary Islands for a full week is now history and the damage it did will take some time to repair, but it also had a very beneficial side. It brought lots more badly needed rain after years of drought to end a winter that was was colder and more rainy than average in the archipelago. Most irrigation-water reservoirs are now full and overflowing. I took above image many years ago, when this reservoir, the Presa de La Quintana near Arure in La Gomera's Valle Gran Rey municipality, was full to capacity after heavy rains. It had been almost empty for years, but is now overflowing once more, guaranteeing irrigation water for the fields below for 2-3 years. The land you can see in the distance just above the dam is the southernmost Canary Island of El Hierro.

Now, I'd also like to share the beautiful image below of the waterfall at Chorro del Lance in Guada (upper Valle Gran Rey) which is only seen occasionally after copious precipitation. The church of San Antonio is in the foreground with the main road curled around it. The prayers for rain in that church were certainly heard. This well composed and executed photo was taken by ©Mauricio Zanello after the first heavy rains of the storm, but before the final deluge.

A very happy and peaceful Easter to you all !

Guided Night Walk with Observation of Lunar Eclipse

A guided night-walk will take place in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera from 7pm tonight, Oct. 18th 2013. The meeting point will be in La Calera near the town hall and the walk will be going up the La Merica mountain to the village of Arure from where participants will be brought by bus to San Antonio where the observation of the penumbral lunar eclipse will begin under the guidance of the president of La Gomera's astronomical association at 10pm. The event is free of charge, but intending participants should bring a flashlight.

Irish Examiner Recommends La Gomera

Writer and former La Gomera resident Damien Enright had a very positive article published in the daily 'Irish Examiner' this week: http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandlife/walkoftheweek/la-gomeras-island-paradise-for-walkers-216432.html
Well done, Damien ! 

Mountain village of Arure at sunset

Greener Gomera

Part of the mountain village of Arure

After the recent rains springtime has arrived in La Gomera with an abundance of wildflowers and the whole island is much greener now. Some of the irrigation water reservoirs are now full again after the worrying prolonged drought and farmers have planted their crops.

Risk of showers continues

Valle Gran Rey during a shower this morning. Ten minutes later it cleared up again

Yesterday La Gomera received the first more substantial rainfalls of this winter season, as did most of the Canary Islands. I collected 11mm of precipitation, while the official weather station near the mountain village of Arure at about 3000ft above the coast of Valle Gran Rey got 30.4 mm. Most of that rain fell during the first half of the day and it brightened up during the afternoon. Down in the valley there was very little wind, but in the mountains it was a different picture where the station on La Gomera's second highest mountain, the Alto de Igualero, recorded a gust of 101 km/h.

The forecast for the next few days is for cloudy periods with some scattered showers, these most likely in the mornings in the mountains and the north, but all areas are at risk. There will be good sunny spells in the southern half of La Gomera at times. Winds should be mostly moderate, fresh in the mountains, mainly from NW. Temperatures will reach the low twenties in southern coastal areas in the afternoons, but will struggle to reach the low teens up in the mountains. The heavy 4-5m Atlantic swell will gradually decrease, but waves will still be up to 2m high on exposed coasts by Wednesday. 

Cold front updated: Ice and snow on La Gomera

One of the many storms which have been battering northern Europe and especially Ireland and Britain has dragged down polar air in a cold front as far as the Canary Islands. There is a noticeable drop in the temperature here and heavy showers have been falling all night. More showers are expected today and on Mount Teide on Tenerife snowfalls have been reported even in the lower regions. A small depression over the western Sahara is squeezing the isobars of the high pressure in the central Atlantic, causing northerly gales over the Canaries which make it feel even colder. Warnings have been issued of winds of up to 90 km/h, heavy showers and high waves. Today is probably the worst day of this weather situation and early next week we should be getting back to the usual more settled and warmer weather. 

Taken at 8am this morning

Update at 12 noon:

It is an exceptionally cold and blustery day with very heavy showers here. There is a thunderstorm nearby it is beginning to rain again and it is only 15ºC. The worst winds are expected from later today until tomorrow morning. The sea is very rough already. 

There is ice and wet snow on some roads in the mountains above 1000m altitude and some stretches of road have been closed to traffic. Worst affected seem to be the areas around Igualero, Chipude and Las Hayas. 
Just now the main road through the national park has been completely closed between Degollada de Peraza (where the road to Santiago branches off) and Apartacaminos (above Arure). Traffic between Valle Gran Rey and the capital San Sebastian de La Gomera is being diverted via the north road through Vallehermoso and Hermigua and vice versa.

Image: gomeranoticias.com

Cable car now under construction

Did you ever wonder, like myself, why the beautiful new 'road to nowhere'  (click for more) with park and playground was built from the central La Calera roundabout down along the barranco in Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera island ? 

Well, now we now the reason. All was done to serve the planned cable car for which construction work has already begun. Just near the end of this new road the ground station for what will be the island's first cable car will be erected and from there the new attraction will travel up the spectacular mountain cliff of La Merica. Many thousands of walkers climb the steep mountain track to continue to the village of Arure and often the rescue helicopter has to be called out as some tourists overestimate their physical condition and underestimate the dangers of this path. In future they can avail of the comfort of a cable car for the way up or down, and people who would never have attempted to scale the cliff can soon enjoy the spectacular vista on the top from the planned viewing platform with a return journey by cable car. 

The journey up the 1500 ft high cliff will only take 17 minutes, as estimated by the German promoter behind the project, who is a resident of La Gomera and has stated that he was inspired by the success and design of the cable car up Mount Teide on Tenerife. His newly formed company called 'Experiencia Merica S.A.' will be relying on Swiss technology and expertise to finish the project on time. If the speed with which the first support masts for the cable car went up recently at the foot of the mountain is anything to go by then they will certainly succeed.

The official opening is planned for April 1st next year with 'a major music event' on the top to mark the occasion.

Roadworks progressing

The widening of the twisty stretch of main road to Valle Gran Rey just before arriving at the first houses of Arure village after leaving the national park, which is had been very narrow and dangerous, is progressing well. The major roadworks are ahead of schedule and the new road section should be finished early next year. However, until then you can expect delays at times during working hours as heavy machinery is at work. If you wanted to avoid this road you could take the minor and even more twisty road through Las Hayas. More...

Amazing cloud formation

Amazing lenticular cloud forming near Valle Gran Rey yesterday afternoon (above) taken from the viewpoint at 'Curva del Queso'. It had developed into a large gloomy-looking cloud (below) 50 minutes later when seen from near the cemetery of Arure at about 2500ft altitude, while the sun kept shining at sea level in Valle Gran Rey.

More bad news: The fires are still raging and as a precautionary measure the town of Arure and parts of upper Valle Gran Rey had to be evacuated, as well as the village of Las  Hayas and some more localities. 
Valle Gran Rey is now cut off as the roads have been closed and the authorities have banned all traffic throughout the whole island.
The is an eerie silence and a distinct smell of smoke.
To make matters worse another forest fire started on Tenerife last night and some of the helicopters that were on their way to La Gomera had to be redirected to that fire.
There is a weather warning that very high temperature and strong winds, especially on higher ground (where the fires are !) are to be expected today and tomorrow.