When I started this blog in August 2012 during the devastating La Gomera fire I never expected anything and hadn't a clue about blogging. I just wanted to report what was going on here as there wasn't much information from or about La Gomera in English. The international media didn't bother checking facts, never mind sending correspondents, and just reported La Gomera's disaster as part of other fires in the Mediterranean with a bit of sensationalism mixed in.
Initially Mr. Google tempted me to allow advertising on this blog, from which I earned precisely ONE cent, before quickly realising that I didn't need ads clutter and the possibility of maybe earning some more cents. So I pulled the advertising, but had I known that I would get to a million views in just over ten years, maybe that was the wrong decision. However I'm just as happy being poor and to still boast on the banner above: Ads-free. INDEPENDENT.
Surprisingly and unexpectedly my blog has now clocked up over one million visits (see counter on sidebar⇒) as the interest in this blog has grown over the years. While some of the clicks probably are purely accidental, the interest in the island of La Gomera has grown substantially.
Unsurprisingly most of my readers came from English speaking countries, but lagomera1.blogspot.com was also read in every corner of the globe. Even some of the international press as well as local and Spanish media have used material from this blog, some with my permission, some without. Anyone is welcome to freely use material from this blog as long as the linked source is quoted as lagomera1.blogspot.com. Indeed sometimes I use material concerning La Gomera from other media, but I always strive to clearly indicate the source with a link to same.
There's also a lot of regular readers, some of whom I may have disappointed over recent years as I don't post that often anymore. Apologies to them, but thankfully there aren't a lot of exciting affairs in La Gomera to report, and I've always tried to steer well clear of local politics and expats' antics unless it is unavoidable.
To be honest, as I'm getting older I'm getting lazier and after nearly 1.150 posts I often don't remember what I've already covered and what not.
So here's a call for help:
If you love La Gomera and would like to contribute, please use the comments function to contact me with a comment not to be published and your contact email and you've got yourself an unpaid job to publish posts with or without your name on this blog. Interesting images are always welcome, too.
La Gomera is well worth the effort.
Thanks a million to you all, and special thanks to the many readers who commented favourably and to the many new friends that I made through this blog.
Anyway, here's to the next million or two of YOU. Slainte, cheers y salud !
