tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62131510532762143742024-03-17T09:11:34.261+00:00LA GOMERA ISLAND (Canary Islands)News, Views, Info,Weather, and more about the hidden gem La Gomera, and the Canary Islands. Ads-free. INDEPENDENT. La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.comBlogger1141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-54312888795995856672024-03-11T17:43:00.000+00:002024-03-11T17:43:22.638+00:00Oscar winner filmed in La Gomera<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRcM1k-N9BMio4u19Lqrrt334J_6F65Cw2ouuCUpxaOrxc_G3Csq_v2bPSDerYur9YMaUMkNpBVjwPyxWtqUpLMDws9ME-VrFgrwstzQNYoBlZdL1TX3UexHAGSjNU-Cl9LfzjXsCzmyQCTEFc4GtbgIQHs2uD5RIbxFBU29X59CrrWD4ENHmqva12waUO" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2239" data-original-width="1399" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRcM1k-N9BMio4u19Lqrrt334J_6F65Cw2ouuCUpxaOrxc_G3Csq_v2bPSDerYur9YMaUMkNpBVjwPyxWtqUpLMDws9ME-VrFgrwstzQNYoBlZdL1TX3UexHAGSjNU-Cl9LfzjXsCzmyQCTEFc4GtbgIQHs2uD5RIbxFBU29X59CrrWD4ENHmqva12waUO=w400-h640" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard;">Oscar winner Cillian Murphy in bar and restaurant La Chalana in Playa de Santiago, <br />La Gomera late 2013. </span><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"> Guess who's hand is resting on Cillian's shoulder...</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Congratulations to 2024 Oscar winner for best actor Cillian Murphy whom I met in La Gomera in late 2013 when we talked mainly about the island and music. Cillian was in Playa de Santiago shooting 'In The Heart Of The Sea' directed by Ron Howard. I had the luck to have been one of only six 'locals' picked out of over 3.000 applicants as picture doubles. The above image was taken in lovely beach bar La Chalana which was closed to the public at the time as only actors and crew had access. Cillian was one of very few Irish involved and we just bumped into each other there at a quiet time after a day's shooting scenes. I still owe you a beer, Cillian, I couldn't have met a nicer guy !</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">...and yes he looks tired and hungry above, but he's supposed to as he's playing a starving shipwrecked whaler. I looked much worse. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Loads more posts about the time Hollywood came to La Gomera <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/search?q=In+the+heart+of+the+sea&updated-max=2015-12-29T12:40:00Z&max-results=20&start=12&by-date=false" target="_blank">HERE...</a></span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-48561214402230354782024-02-09T13:06:00.002+00:002024-02-23T14:10:49.036+00:00Carnival season 2024 <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXegcMT2qN-IfBsYqNenCKfb2loKxRa8r6xmbFbmP94gKVeLQ3BjR5zKJ7F7J35nxNwhPr1oueXVIYDj0-F77GgV_gFNPxUbAWyaSZ-8yU_8jcK2aahOu8cpmQGwtNCx_NgiJ34WCHux7eWVTdj55eh4Le9-Qou9yS8KrPt3naXx1j-R44kjG-k_s4tyjG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="696" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXegcMT2qN-IfBsYqNenCKfb2loKxRa8r6xmbFbmP94gKVeLQ3BjR5zKJ7F7J35nxNwhPr1oueXVIYDj0-F77GgV_gFNPxUbAWyaSZ-8yU_8jcK2aahOu8cpmQGwtNCx_NgiJ34WCHux7eWVTdj55eh4Le9-Qou9yS8KrPt3naXx1j-R44kjG-k_s4tyjG=w640-h534" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6uWgvlTx4JLDfFUJmpeyJxm9aHzKTM4fkMI3bPFHx4xW_D1xMAf_YT_mFQOxOAex43PrS1DZiBxMHkLwQlFFScPg_6uK-Tk7e89k4iiPjnx-o3dXxVuLZ3lh6vxOzpt0bRSXXyAJfc4SzRmVqQQNVgBkFbxINrH8PCrynjPmaTQfMSUG9AAIOMGmiYpy/s1024/PROGRAMACION-CARNAVAL-2024-2-scaled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="724" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6uWgvlTx4JLDfFUJmpeyJxm9aHzKTM4fkMI3bPFHx4xW_D1xMAf_YT_mFQOxOAex43PrS1DZiBxMHkLwQlFFScPg_6uK-Tk7e89k4iiPjnx-o3dXxVuLZ3lh6vxOzpt0bRSXXyAJfc4SzRmVqQQNVgBkFbxINrH8PCrynjPmaTQfMSUG9AAIOMGmiYpy/w452-h640/PROGRAMACION-CARNAVAL-2024-2-scaled.jpg" width="452" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/2015/01/carnival-time-once-again.html" target="_blank">carnival season</a> 2024 has begun in La Gomera and the island capital San Sebastian's festivities are already in full swing. The main parade will wind its way through the streets tomorrow, Sat. 10th of February 2024, followed as usual by dancing until sunrise, see poster above for the full carnival programme, which is themed 'The Jungle'.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The capital will barely have recovered from the jamboree when the celebrations begin again across the mountains in Valle Gran Rey where this year's theme is 'Hawaii' and the main carnival parade takes place there on Saturday, February 24th 2024 from 5pm(-ish).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">See VGR programme below:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1O6voeTeiqQwBTTkgoD_a6nzrM3E89j8MRhiFV2S0jgsTnp8ENYSwcbWTjIR1IO8ubIIs8zEO7j6nleTqNkbRubu6lNz_M2W0yIebB0qUoHVEjlAV69mi30T1ouf7WXZDVIwmcNhqDQaGv-MkL-Dn6gn2yrmjiPf4NYtwIsLjj0171kPdGuGS4PCD2evG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1448" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1O6voeTeiqQwBTTkgoD_a6nzrM3E89j8MRhiFV2S0jgsTnp8ENYSwcbWTjIR1IO8ubIIs8zEO7j6nleTqNkbRubu6lNz_M2W0yIebB0qUoHVEjlAV69mi30T1ouf7WXZDVIwmcNhqDQaGv-MkL-Dn6gn2yrmjiPf4NYtwIsLjj0171kPdGuGS4PCD2evG=w453-h640" width="453" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then carnival and all aficionados move to Playa de Santiago in the deep south of La Gomera where the fun begins on March 28th, themed 'Pirates of the South', see their poster below. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Agulo and Hermigua in the north of the island will of course have their own distinct carnivals as well, but I don't have their programmes yet. Watch this space...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGwIjLo2I9sm7lSWqRe2Mcwv7Mz6yuek5XCYyA-aZoLIQsWg-wpCiBCRqP3Q_iI5gx4b7eKC7GxxAn-0ju2kLim3BareNAPegzw8xzcS3jSQKeHIlW4noT_KGartuWj099ALq_KcaZ1IlHLaKhK6jGNHPQR9SldrbebkqBL0rbr5I62-8pLDc0N94vBXmk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="696" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGwIjLo2I9sm7lSWqRe2Mcwv7Mz6yuek5XCYyA-aZoLIQsWg-wpCiBCRqP3Q_iI5gx4b7eKC7GxxAn-0ju2kLim3BareNAPegzw8xzcS3jSQKeHIlW4noT_KGartuWj099ALq_KcaZ1IlHLaKhK6jGNHPQR9SldrbebkqBL0rbr5I62-8pLDc0N94vBXmk=w640-h440" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">UPDATE: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Nice poster (below) out now for the carnival in Vallehermoso (March 7th-9th):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIw1c_WQgwY3vhUF_qR7Sj_O1DvdVKJSfHXmiH0WZuX6XRoRl1d0RpOCm7HP3dDNI6KQX82UMNI-KKZY1Asto49l--HQZRHDCGBCdiVLz4g3TgbKdLT0eL2Z4C6FFnj7VC8B_C3IrD2isor2Uohrz9jiLfcmErZzj9JUwHDgJxbeAhY_rtBG4Ek33ysMY1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="724" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIw1c_WQgwY3vhUF_qR7Sj_O1DvdVKJSfHXmiH0WZuX6XRoRl1d0RpOCm7HP3dDNI6KQX82UMNI-KKZY1Asto49l--HQZRHDCGBCdiVLz4g3TgbKdLT0eL2Z4C6FFnj7VC8B_C3IrD2isor2Uohrz9jiLfcmErZzj9JUwHDgJxbeAhY_rtBG4Ek33ysMY1=w453-h640" width="453" /></a></div></div></span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-84266478369736188972024-01-29T12:18:00.001+00:002024-01-31T13:27:17.859+00:00Hello from the donkeys in El Cedro village<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0_5LGaWxk_rq5H8BnKfieJ1XGgK7RVhm_CjhUdoiA100LlpoRXl6Bnx5gwMbC60l5RGOEmR8lG5d2xYNecIhYx9mNXwNHIzeIpAwduNQhGE3CF0ZTd2_87U_Ao1uhgl5xtDu2H7-urNl_ogEOaygjkcLFO0eir-6JNDBdx3zQbmYbaVeoQ8su6AVhkBWd" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1280" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0_5LGaWxk_rq5H8BnKfieJ1XGgK7RVhm_CjhUdoiA100LlpoRXl6Bnx5gwMbC60l5RGOEmR8lG5d2xYNecIhYx9mNXwNHIzeIpAwduNQhGE3CF0ZTd2_87U_Ao1uhgl5xtDu2H7-urNl_ogEOaygjkcLFO0eir-6JNDBdx3zQbmYbaVeoQ8su6AVhkBWd=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-87476520238967364052023-12-19T11:55:00.003+00:002023-12-19T17:35:30.121+00:00The Trap<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmIKs0TMmsOBgoIZIeEGygMbKfdAl3mIwCIn3ELjmnb_bHMVa5KS1xeqB-vhinr9MJ2DSOnU1PDK5mQrxes_XnScF7S7LW565ndN8DH-sPyOm9Os1ADdpMARGzwe9nQ5SPa4sro2OJXyACrXrgEqd06ZgnO-McgXNHBejfI5qHGJBFVqIdy4kNEdvdede2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmIKs0TMmsOBgoIZIeEGygMbKfdAl3mIwCIn3ELjmnb_bHMVa5KS1xeqB-vhinr9MJ2DSOnU1PDK5mQrxes_XnScF7S7LW565ndN8DH-sPyOm9Os1ADdpMARGzwe9nQ5SPa4sro2OJXyACrXrgEqd06ZgnO-McgXNHBejfI5qHGJBFVqIdy4kNEdvdede2=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Above image shows part of the spectacular landscape at <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/2020/11/one-of-la-gomeras-many-tranquil-areas.html" target="_blank">El Cepo</a> near the village of Las Rosas, close to La Gomera's northern coast. 'El Cepo' translates as 'The Trap' and indeed there are many traps in the area, as there </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">are precipitous drops and no marked paths. However, La Gomera's steep landscape contains lots of vertigo-inducing cliffs and mountain passes, so caution is always advised.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-57895125496114324042023-11-13T11:37:00.006+00:002023-11-16T10:55:14.690+00:00This strange video is a must see and a great laugh<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="425" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vqmJzMuRoJ4?si=3WQfOENY-gglZADK" title="YouTube video player" width="720"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I found the above video on the web accidentally and I had to laugh so much it actually hurt. It purports to introduce first-time visitors to La Gomera and give ''essential tips'' for tourists.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It gets really mad from about 0!:15 into the video when a lioness is seen striding through the grass with the voiceover saying that La Gomera's wildlife boasts animals that are ''otherwise extinct in most places''. Now, why is this 'La Gomera lion' wearing a collar ?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">No prizes for spotting the many more ridiculous errors in the video and the disjointed imagery. The voiceover and pronunciation are hilarious, too.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This video was obviously generated using artificial intelligence (AI) and confirms my reasons for always calling same artificial <u>ignorance</u>. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is some nice footage from La Gomera in it, too, and some factual information. But there's definitely no tuk-tuks in La Gomera bringing you into a jungle, etc., etc....</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The author's travel vlog even dares to call itself ''Official Travel Guide'' and states: ''Whether you're planning your travel for 2023 or simply seeking inspiration from travel magazines, our La Gomera - Essential Tips for First-Time Visitors to the Canary Islands video is a must-watch.'' Yeah, no, essentially wrong.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Just imagine some poor innocent who doesn't know anything about La Gomera viewing this video and then deciding to visit to see the non-existent lions...</span></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-72526496366970978212023-11-03T14:51:00.001+00:002023-11-03T14:59:45.899+00:00Unusual series of earthquakes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhthRR-olTjZrIgzi97roMosxSD2ygDLautwXK-569mRNi4xVxUiUX7Qx5dQFYhmMSQFc-33oKBk6fLwttdXiN6RwzBC7arYKeq7lcX9p2BlZhRr_dzNsnQr9Do7q9f_AMG-z1Et2CQNli4_8fhmTxfkO-PFE5gZa-0NS7P1MBQAKie12pwNyRS-IHiIJZ4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1154" data-original-width="1799" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhthRR-olTjZrIgzi97roMosxSD2ygDLautwXK-569mRNi4xVxUiUX7Qx5dQFYhmMSQFc-33oKBk6fLwttdXiN6RwzBC7arYKeq7lcX9p2BlZhRr_dzNsnQr9Do7q9f_AMG-z1Et2CQNli4_8fhmTxfkO-PFE5gZa-0NS7P1MBQAKie12pwNyRS-IHiIJZ4=w640-h410" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span>The latest tremor (above, red star marks epicentre) occurred late at night on the first of November 2023, again </span>near the island's capital San Sebastian de La Gomera and was of 2.5 magnitude.The other markers show where and how intensely it was felt by the population. (Source: <a href="https://www.ign.es/web/ign/portal/ultimos-terremotos/-/ultimos-terremotos/getDetails?evid=es2023vliwz" target="_blank">IGN</a>)</i></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">There has been a series of minor earthquakes reported by the Spanish agency IGN (Instituto Geografico Nacional) in or very close to La Gomera , some of which were widely felt all over the island. Most were on the eastern side near the capital San Sebastian de La Gomera. This somewhat unusual event began last Saturday night and by Monday about 15 minor quakes up to magnitude 2.8 on the Richter scale had been reported by IGN. Some of these quakes were widely felt across the island with reports of the typical low rumbling noise that accompanies earth tremors also coming from various parts of the island. Even the director of the Canarian branch of IGN, Itahiza Dominguez, called these events ''un poco anomala'' ( a bit abnormal) when asked for an explanation by the press. She also said that since the installation of the latest seismograph in La Gomera in 2017 there had been only 17 earth tremors registered by said station previously.</div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">More than that six year total has now occurred in the past few days. However, La Gomera has been volcanically 'dead and cold' i.e. inactive for more than a million years. As it is one of the oldest Canary Islands in origin, the latest activity is unusual and probably points to tectonic movements of some kind, according to Dominguez.</div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">The depths of the epicentres initially were between 10 and 23 kms, but the latest quakes had their origin only 4 to 8 kilometres underground.</div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">There's a rumour going around that the seismograph was triggered by undersea cable laying preparation works for the electricity inter-connector between Tenerife and La Gomera, which is to come ashore in the municipal area of San Sebastian de La Gomera, causing the rumble similar to those heard and felt across the island. It has also been known that very heavy swells at sea pounding La Gomera's coastline will cause the sensitive seismic station high in the mountains of La Gomera's <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/2014/06/short-video-of-national-park-garajonay.html" target="_blank">Garajonay national park</a> to register tremors, as do rock blasting operations and tunnelling for roads. However the scientists at IGN are no fools and usually are wise to these causes. They will not report those tremors as earthquakes and won't list them in their bulletins. </div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;">Overall, La Gomera remains one of the safest places in the Canary Islands in general and seismically in particular. Maybe the vibrations were caused by some blown-in minstrels blowing their didgeridoos too enthusiastically...</div></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-84901296140484504802023-10-16T11:55:00.002+01:002023-10-16T15:38:23.784+01:00Get a free knife just before boarding your flight<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_5KeKL37197d-yVU2xrdFLmPLENLhkX6kho8Nf_fjGIhJDpOvuLv-Nrdr2gYhLofWJVIBEcH-O-2CDnVvqHRsG5WCFw6Sy5MwYr5HARChcSAZgWLIKxyjr09tAiPIzT77gEJ9wcIbtUhVLYD2vKTGwN8o-rXRBr5BGZnsdYiOnDNay-z3AC339aCHzyRH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1302" data-original-width="1527" height="547" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_5KeKL37197d-yVU2xrdFLmPLENLhkX6kho8Nf_fjGIhJDpOvuLv-Nrdr2gYhLofWJVIBEcH-O-2CDnVvqHRsG5WCFw6Sy5MwYr5HARChcSAZgWLIKxyjr09tAiPIzT77gEJ9wcIbtUhVLYD2vKTGwN8o-rXRBr5BGZnsdYiOnDNay-z3AC339aCHzyRH=w640-h547" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: verdana;">The following article and above image appeared in <a href="https://www.canarianweekly.com/posts/Fuerteventura-Airport-Buy-a-magazine-with-a-free-kitchen-knife-before-boarding" target="_blank">Canarian Weekly</a> last month and I'm sharing this worrying story with you below. The large knife was spotted at Fuerteventura airport, but the magazine with the free knife was probably on sale in some other airports as well:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">'' FUERTEVENTURA AIRPORT: </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">BUY A MAGAZINE WITH A FREE KITCHEN KNIFE BEFORE BOARDING</b></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">9/21/23, 7:57 AM By Canarian Weekly Fuerteventura Photo Credit: Noticias Fuerteventura</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The security policies at airports following the September 11th attacks in 2001 have left us all with frustrating experiences when travelling by air. Security systems implemented over 20 years ago sometimes require us to almost strip naked before passing through a scanner, and even empty our bags.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, having a tube of toothpaste or a pot of hair gel confiscated seems even more incredulous when <b>after</b> passing through security at Fuerteventura airport, you come across a newsstand selling a cooking magazine with a six-inch knife (<i>the blade alone appears 6 inches long to me, Ed.</i>) attached to the front, free with the publication!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Passengers were left stunned when they saw a well-known Spanish cooking magazine in departures at Fuerteventura airport, with a ‘Dafne’ kitchen knife as a free gift available to buy and take on the plane.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At the time of this publication, the magazine is still on the shelves and there has been no comment from the airport authorities. Makes you wonder why they bother to confiscate your tweezers or nail clippers! ''</span></div>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-77098090597724835822023-09-15T18:43:00.003+01:002023-09-19T10:04:36.797+01:00I didn't expect that: ONE MILLION visits to this blog<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFzFQI-egmvPvIWtKnT7aFB1xNiN8sLiVU3nfYXNFiRmStPCMKlcYzqO6yqEim2pzReDBKaPIIzn9qA6lveveUaFArE74XUO8m8sSjwsfe59O2yTmxqsg80c4eg-9-SZ7Xf1R745ieqUB-dkLMavCjkl-3N8Le0t79OHHw7UquLbQulnmlGw7GKO7Sgmsk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFzFQI-egmvPvIWtKnT7aFB1xNiN8sLiVU3nfYXNFiRmStPCMKlcYzqO6yqEim2pzReDBKaPIIzn9qA6lveveUaFArE74XUO8m8sSjwsfe59O2yTmxqsg80c4eg-9-SZ7Xf1R745ieqUB-dkLMavCjkl-3N8Le0t79OHHw7UquLbQulnmlGw7GKO7Sgmsk=w640-h420" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>When I started this blog in August 2012 during the <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/p/fires.html" target="_blank">devastating La Gomera fire</a> 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.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>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 </b></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">just as happy being poor and to still boast on the banner above: <i>Ads-free. INDEPENDENT.</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>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. </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Unsurprisingly most of my readers came from English speaking countries, but <i><a href="http://lagomera1.blogspot.com">lagomera1.blogspot.com</a></i> was also read in every corner of the globe. Even some of the international press as well as local and </b></span></span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Spanish media h</b><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ave 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 <a href="http://lagomera1.blogspot.com">lagomera1.blogspot.com</a>. 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.</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>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 </b></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">thankfully </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">there aren't a lot of exciting affairs in La Gomera </b><b style="font-family: verdana;">to report,</b><b style="font-family: verdana;"> and I've always tried to steer well clear of local politics and expats' antics unless it is unavoidable.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;">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. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;">So here's a call for help:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;">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. </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>La Gomera is well worth the effort.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">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.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b> Anyway, here's to the next million or two of YOU. Slainte, cheers y salud !</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoGi79L98sQWV80wGFPsAFEGudtLd44t1bNJHAMazfc1u-SJ1kcEhZWZg23TLpRAEP9XPjFo8f49kW0nU_APk8jdF1PT9YrhhbmPMZajQhCAoCFOgsufRqFGtJvY63W8dX6-8yL3rwWla48N1pV6Enl2xn9XGh85CVggxXH4Al9jGl85gF-DO7QqXFvzgz" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="1337" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoGi79L98sQWV80wGFPsAFEGudtLd44t1bNJHAMazfc1u-SJ1kcEhZWZg23TLpRAEP9XPjFo8f49kW0nU_APk8jdF1PT9YrhhbmPMZajQhCAoCFOgsufRqFGtJvY63W8dX6-8yL3rwWla48N1pV6Enl2xn9XGh85CVggxXH4Al9jGl85gF-DO7QqXFvzgz=w754-h116" width="754" /></a></div></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b></b></span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-58007659034313358482023-09-10T08:50:00.007+01:002023-09-10T09:29:21.077+01:00Twin peaks and a giant's organ<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij1JRoOLKYncxaPmNcEdXPjgRUpCovWG3kBNwYQkeaxh-eD1BFBmVzAHY6Evoly2qROcbd_Ghlkc_1TvxN9eSULiLL2fzKb48aB6J8PiG3xZQt7jagpvy9bK8CmaujJKtYojdFwDMimS1WLCup3OvyZP9wZr68s-g_B714rqtSQBYTgoozgiAAfZ1BzdwR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3248" data-original-width="4333" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij1JRoOLKYncxaPmNcEdXPjgRUpCovWG3kBNwYQkeaxh-eD1BFBmVzAHY6Evoly2qROcbd_Ghlkc_1TvxN9eSULiLL2fzKb48aB6J8PiG3xZQt7jagpvy9bK8CmaujJKtYojdFwDMimS1WLCup3OvyZP9wZr68s-g_B714rqtSQBYTgoozgiAAfZ1BzdwR=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Tenerife's Teide mountain, at more than 12.000 feet Spain's highest peak, seen in the background left with a rock of similar shape at La Gomera's most north-western point near the famous landmark cliffs of Los Organos. These spectacular basalt formations (below) can only be seen from the sea and a trip to Los Organos from Valle Gran on an excursion boat is highly recommended, but the seas can be rough in this windswept remote corner of La Gomera.</div></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG71Is7Ecu0JNoPOqKcyCMO-_oxBjWvhr1XbQyzJv8f-pSdc5A7kcZzhYgYAaZxxpLHpkHMXL-sksQfs-IKiIyMtiE9VLdZqpwpwrImyQr0UKf1CBxJlVxTIRRgG7vM5YnUPsIMzL_x9OVvzT1qFtNdow6BO3rX2Qgqlivs0DUbvmqJGj0fP-qrKUokvvI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3358" data-original-width="4478" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG71Is7Ecu0JNoPOqKcyCMO-_oxBjWvhr1XbQyzJv8f-pSdc5A7kcZzhYgYAaZxxpLHpkHMXL-sksQfs-IKiIyMtiE9VLdZqpwpwrImyQr0UKf1CBxJlVxTIRRgG7vM5YnUPsIMzL_x9OVvzT1qFtNdow6BO3rX2Qgqlivs0DUbvmqJGj0fP-qrKUokvvI=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Partial view of Los Organos. The whole cliff, resembling a giant's church organ, is about 600ft wide and rises to 250ft tall, with enormous prismatic columns of basalt that drop down the cliff face into the sea and continue under water, all visible only from a boat in the clear Atlantic around La Gomera.</span></div><p></p></div>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-54374750737037668732023-08-01T16:39:00.011+01:002023-08-03T23:53:35.613+01:00Power outage in whole island lasting 48+ hours<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDxfGXfaQL6Kgs68SesEE6-ory3EbQVYlrIzIzxsyhrEKBkK1BggpZCwmP9yPmIBnU1o3Y1f2P79lXCdXz6qeXmuDksxvxr0Kl1hS9LfkZ65fkZO4dP97xyrcChWQXRzktfFmQUrX754yJnt-P6KL-VIH1IOhApLq1GWJ3Vo4FHghCMsICpX-DmCnHvsuf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1990" data-original-width="2021" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDxfGXfaQL6Kgs68SesEE6-ory3EbQVYlrIzIzxsyhrEKBkK1BggpZCwmP9yPmIBnU1o3Y1f2P79lXCdXz6qeXmuDksxvxr0Kl1hS9LfkZ65fkZO4dP97xyrcChWQXRzktfFmQUrX754yJnt-P6KL-VIH1IOhApLq1GWJ3Vo4FHghCMsICpX-DmCnHvsuf=w640-h630" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">La Gomera's outdated diesel powered electricity-generating station belching fumes (archive image)</div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A fire broke out in La Gomera's diesel powered electricity-generation plant in the island's capital San Sebastian de La Gomera during the early hours of Sunday morning. Consequently from around 3am the whole island had been without power even though the newly erected wind turbines were producing plenty of electricity. The operating company Endesa, Spain's largest energy supplier, stated that this was due to all power generated having to go through the old power station for distribution around the island and that they have over 100 people working to restore power and repair the damage, but there's no information about the extent or the cause of the fire.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The island's president Casimiro Curbelo vented his anger yesterday, stating that many components in the old generating station were outdated and should have been replaced at least ten years ago. He called for Endesa to rise to their responsibility and said that it is Endesa's duty to guarantee the power supply. He also stated ''what La Gomera is living through since the early hours of Sunday morning shouldn't be allowed in the 21st century''.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Meanwhile power has been partially restored to most parts of the island as more and more large emergency generators have been brought in from neighbouring islands with 12 more being shipped today from Cadiz in Spain. First to have their power restored were medical and other essential facilities. However even those who had their power restored today report that it is intermittent as the demand is high when for example refrigeration restarts after such a long interruption and even all the emergency generators combined can't supply peak demand in the heat of summer. For this reason most public events scheduled to take place over the next couple of weeks have been postponed. The population should ''use electricity responsibly'', i.e. use as little as possible, according to Endesa, as the supply is fragile and unstable.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Multinational Spanish company Endesa never had the best reputation in La Gomera, to put it mildly, and seem to be a prime example of how La Gomera and the Canary Islands in general are being treated badly as Spain's colony and to be exploited by Madrid and Spanish companies. Endesa had revenue of nearly 33 billion Euros last year but are very slow to invest in La Gomera's electrical infrastructure, while charging high prices. Economically unimportant La Gomera's difficult terrain and low population density just doesn't make a huge profit for a multinational utility company.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><u>Old woes caused by old foes</u></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj6dPu59NvXiOhR3CpKMexgUSr5XPZFkysZbYyPxo8eJj3utjq_IOM_kg29eftH6uSV6Iw1dnTY-RZYbenYR3VL9r1Yhw-6RtkfoLG0DV84mG-frkVFItaH6YpoUDwZ_JHvHD_C_j6ZabF9UeqUcZ46bghmJwIhrt1bq7Ib5q4rtuMEDykO3cwwf-kJm7y" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="570" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj6dPu59NvXiOhR3CpKMexgUSr5XPZFkysZbYyPxo8eJj3utjq_IOM_kg29eftH6uSV6Iw1dnTY-RZYbenYR3VL9r1Yhw-6RtkfoLG0DV84mG-frkVFItaH6YpoUDwZ_JHvHD_C_j6ZabF9UeqUcZ46bghmJwIhrt1bq7Ib5q4rtuMEDykO3cwwf-kJm7y=w164-h320" width="164" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><u>...now in La Gomera ???</u></b></i><br />(Source: Endesa.com)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">I remember a few years ago there was a bundle of mains supply cables fallen to the ground from my old neighbour's house with some blank wires showing where the insulation was chafed through by the now corroded away wall bracket. The incident was reported by all neighbours immediately and many times thereafter but nothing happened even though every time it rained or when there was high humidity, noisy blue and green sparks were dancing around merrily several feet in the air and the wires began glowing ominously with louder explosive bursts showering the surroundings in orange to white glowing embers. Endesa eventually put a bit of insulating tape around 'the wound' and tied it high again while wearing 3000-Volt-proof rubber gloves. The crew were very proud of having the latter and said this protection was ''muy importante'' when working in La Gomera. A few months later a study was undertaken for new electricity lines, but only after the whole lot had fallen down again, now sparking away even more crazily in damp weather with the added effect of steam hissing from 'the wound' as well. Concerned neighbours kept reporting same to Endesa angrily, but were being assured by the emergency phone line operator that all would be fixed ''pronto'', soothingly adding ''at least you still have mains power''. Thankfully La Gomera's climate is mostly dry. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only about <b>seven</b> <b>years</b> later Endesa crews, who I must stress are very competent and amicable but suffering a mean employer, arrived and erected a couple of new poles with modern lines and all could breathe a sigh of relief with the electric fireworks and excitement in damp weather gone for good.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">La Gomera had no electricity grid until the 1970s and much of the infrastructure dates back to those years, having been patched up here and there over the decades.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The current electricity emergency will continue for some time as the damage to equipment from Sunday's fire at the generating plant seems to be extensive. Endesa are now pointing the finger at Madrid as apparently they had previously notified the Spanish government of the poor state of the infrastructure.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The island's parliament today held an extraordinary emergency session and unanimously approved a motion calling on Endesa to cover the cost of losses suffered by business and private customers. The island's executive will defend the island's citizens' claims legally and will assist in preparing same, it was announced. An urgent demand for a reform of legislation governing the power supply of and in islands under Spanish jurisdiction will be sent to Madrid.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There'll be a lot of spoiled food going to the piggery and the dump over the coming days. Eating ice cream is definitely not recommended for a while !</span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-80972497523481051752023-07-01T12:13:00.002+01:002023-07-01T15:13:05.881+01:00Last night's bushfire now under control<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEia10mkSW84ChEOZxPaY89p1Ezhfy5S7WRpbwSu3uaBfjHSCCa9XjrHapfv-faeLUVoTEKzqgH_m_bm3CEekROsy8BWJCg26ADxeb4Z6ijzBSDO7dXQww44xZwJIbkINB_ExqXUxFa3D_ihgoZ_EZLfg_9-IkitRA_2nZ6OHE5E9mWppCN1z0DksEH74MX4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1811" data-original-width="3525" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEia10mkSW84ChEOZxPaY89p1Ezhfy5S7WRpbwSu3uaBfjHSCCa9XjrHapfv-faeLUVoTEKzqgH_m_bm3CEekROsy8BWJCg26ADxeb4Z6ijzBSDO7dXQww44xZwJIbkINB_ExqXUxFa3D_ihgoZ_EZLfg_9-IkitRA_2nZ6OHE5E9mWppCN1z0DksEH74MX4=w640-h328" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The scene of the incident, with the blue lights of the emergency services visible (image: gomeranoticias.com)</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: verdana;">There was a fire in an area of bushy vegetation and palm trees in the La Dehesa area near Chipude in the municipal area of Vallehermoso, at the foot of <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-sacred-mountain-la-fortaleza.html" target="_blank">historic La Fortaleza table mountain</a>. The village of La Dehesa is also home to one of only seven petrol stations in La Gomera, which was an additional fire hazard.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The fire was first reported at around 11pm last night and the emergency services were quickly on the scene, working all night to contain the fire. This morning the blaze was brought under control with 16 hectares having been affected by the fire. The Canary Islands are currently on alert for a high risk of fires due to the recent high temperatures and strong winds.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">La Gomera's <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/p/fires.html" target="_blank">disastrous fire of 2012</a> started not too far from last night's blaze.</span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-29659079324060037732023-06-07T06:58:00.004+01:002023-06-07T10:47:25.958+01:00Warning of heavy rains in western Canary Islands<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMFBfyGFnDqrx2NCExGfmkKA2F-7gjZsWmBCpJsmH-liBY_8hIH6l6BVv5pZPETFZ-UH_yAzjes-k4h2PR8D8zHEq5rm_UjACIUjke59OBgsORGF-w9GXNoMEKKx7yvK_bRkwlj2ey0cwfxY_vU2kaFCfYacMfzFd9XZKgVNo-IM7zD--TpuVGtM7GpA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="984" height="405" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMFBfyGFnDqrx2NCExGfmkKA2F-7gjZsWmBCpJsmH-liBY_8hIH6l6BVv5pZPETFZ-UH_yAzjes-k4h2PR8D8zHEq5rm_UjACIUjke59OBgsORGF-w9GXNoMEKKx7yvK_bRkwlj2ey0cwfxY_vU2kaFCfYacMfzFd9XZKgVNo-IM7zD--TpuVGtM7GpA=w640-h405" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A status orange warning of very heavy downpours, thunderstorms and strong winds has been issued for the western Canary Islands today June 7th 2023 by the Spanish meteorological agency. In La Gomera the island's government has activated its emergency plan and all hiking trails, walks and unpaved forestry tracks have been officially closed for today.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yesterday some significant rainfalls were already recorded in many parts of La Gomera and today even heavier rain with accumulations of up to 20mm in just one hour and 12-hour totals of up to 60mm may be expected. There's also a warning of westerly winds blowing in excess of 70 km/h in exposed areas and thunderstorm activity.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">All this is due to a complex area of low pressure, presently around 994 hPa, situated NW of the Canary Islands and named storm Oscar.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Please be aware that there is a high risk of rockfalls, which will remain for a couple of days once the storm has cleared away and the sun heats up the wet mountainsides.</span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-36753785779155663782023-05-09T11:09:00.004+01:002023-05-09T11:09:58.657+01:00The lighthouse of La Gomera<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5qQ7OQGnx4YZCIZVXATiSRI6iWzbK_UHn3P6FcK68YXGT6UyE1pbydG5WWtDuN_KvSy2YNeTiwa_SLti0MEYmwdmv79Mox_gp3KMil3PtQwXuUMJMm8-qvYIWDhTGOvdAtPX485B_n-ddYtiFb6e6VNJ9_QaNIocKOUVyiSkFgfVpcbJDGF0wC7IMqw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1280" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5qQ7OQGnx4YZCIZVXATiSRI6iWzbK_UHn3P6FcK68YXGT6UyE1pbydG5WWtDuN_KvSy2YNeTiwa_SLti0MEYmwdmv79Mox_gp3KMil3PtQwXuUMJMm8-qvYIWDhTGOvdAtPX485B_n-ddYtiFb6e6VNJ9_QaNIocKOUVyiSkFgfVpcbJDGF0wC7IMqw=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">La Gomera's lighthouse <i>Faro San Cristobal, </i>situated<i> </i>a few miles north of the capital San Sebastian de La Gomera seen at sunset, with Tenerife's Teide mountain top towering in the background on left.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-70944385818530387312023-04-12T17:31:00.002+01:002023-04-26T08:28:31.086+01:00The sacred mountain La Fortaleza<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVGkz_86cGvFtVHsfPaFxrfBVVvXBgnoJf7K6hqb0aoHntDCxf82T_Y_GiDdhgm_1hGrQC4AMTLx9yg7RhmZGo16nyqncUZ0P4iSLdWqTVv4CI1VWyoiDhYHnwdWOyqjieqHeUD8EiiQdAXaiLgcdnV8DczaTPL4E_mOI3KbHEBiik1PiQ939QrO4FYg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1733" data-original-width="2603" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVGkz_86cGvFtVHsfPaFxrfBVVvXBgnoJf7K6hqb0aoHntDCxf82T_Y_GiDdhgm_1hGrQC4AMTLx9yg7RhmZGo16nyqncUZ0P4iSLdWqTVv4CI1VWyoiDhYHnwdWOyqjieqHeUD8EiiQdAXaiLgcdnV8DczaTPL4E_mOI3KbHEBiik1PiQ939QrO4FYg=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">La Fortaleza, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">La Gomera's</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> sacred table mountain just south of national park's forest near the island's former capital of Chipude, was once an important ritual site and later served as one of the last strongholds of the indigenous Gomerans against the Spanish conquerors. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Seen here from the east (Mirador de Igualero) at sunset when mists often drift across the top. The Spanish word <i>la fortaleza</i> means <i>strength, toughness </i>or <i>fortitude</i>, but also translates as <i>fort</i> or <i>fortress.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgD25Czv37StQlPlzp7BqBImjj6HxkcvyDPlqdmLyy_Iy4lg-JN6P4oa38GHXPDPXYbdCzCDpXYacjynZxjZKkgpNN8q8JWn9UJSAhdgm-FBe0IxGo8yafrEyKJ_Va18ayoAwjIPMqbaimjpME3w8yviua5uwo44rxxvW9wcAcP9Kq-xQPgF1e3qji6FQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3008" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgD25Czv37StQlPlzp7BqBImjj6HxkcvyDPlqdmLyy_Iy4lg-JN6P4oa38GHXPDPXYbdCzCDpXYacjynZxjZKkgpNN8q8JWn9UJSAhdgm-FBe0IxGo8yafrEyKJ_Va18ayoAwjIPMqbaimjpME3w8yviua5uwo44rxxvW9wcAcP9Kq-xQPgF1e3qji6FQ=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">A similar view of La Fortaleza photographed in daytime. The mountain rises to 1.231 metres asl (over 4.000 ft) and the remote hamlets of Erque and Erquito lie in the deep valley below.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The ancient stone alignments and original religious sites on top were mostly destroyed by the Spanish conquistadores and what remained was further severely disturbed in the 1980's by a group of German esotericists who rearranged the stones and rocks they found to create spirals and other formations according to their own convictions. This happened before the site had been properly investigated and documented by archaeologists and consequently it could not be brought back to its original state. So there's no need to revere what you find there as it's not authentic, bar the rocks themselves, and there's also the addition of a modern Christian cross.</div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd3aQjFurFYAJoEY4WGefLQAGgWVTmKpV3u3lGif2GbROVJYU0maouzXIAjxIyEh-qkcZgUrh8Nqk6W5cXR5erZ7x2FMeFa4puhA67qKcP2f8Hbn6rHX4Lx2XUUthW8h8tfZONwczSRWduuDhUkIuwI0n6cCpmec0ZjEyw_v5LLlzu43Nk2GoYgvzbAg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3008" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd3aQjFurFYAJoEY4WGefLQAGgWVTmKpV3u3lGif2GbROVJYU0maouzXIAjxIyEh-qkcZgUrh8Nqk6W5cXR5erZ7x2FMeFa4puhA67qKcP2f8Hbn6rHX4Lx2XUUthW8h8tfZONwczSRWduuDhUkIuwI0n6cCpmec0ZjEyw_v5LLlzu43Nk2GoYgvzbAg=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Above is a view of La Fortaleza taken from the western side about a kilometre from Chipude, with the village of Pavon, on the road to La Dama, at its foot. From there the table mountain top can be accessed via a slowly ascending winding path (signposted). However, the final ascent is demanding and not suitable for those suffering from vertigo. Bear in mind that you'll also have to climb down the same route as there is no other path back. In the past years some steps were hewn into the rock face that made the clamber up a bit easier, but you'll still need both hands and feet to do it. The spectacular views from the top are the reward for those who make the climb. As the late Tim Hart wrote in his excellent '<i>La Gomera - A Guide...</i>' (ISBN 0-9547989-0-2): ''...to the top, where you feel as if you are on a giant altar to the god of the sky, as did the Guanches, and they called him Arahan''.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">There's a petrol station and also the <i>Bar Los Camioneros</i> close by on the road to La Dama should you need to refuel, or indeed pre-fuel to muster courage and '<i>fortaleza'</i> for the ascent.</div></div></span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-73654336895457386772023-04-01T15:14:00.030+01:002023-04-12T17:51:22.836+01:00The New Age dawns in La Gomera<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2pM2rH95-NSJxeHM_uzGfAUakeXuYG2mKpug7epRm6NNkH2q5SMNRkFvNAx2o0Xqsi3S8U31EfJBy40fnUissTPJi0jP8INqf2qWYvrAP-w-aEB_Tuzk-w9AMjd155aHpg51BI0LOF5ZsKsCmKvHX1u3NKQLjFQ0rEDiqxaqXqL1IRdkS_LuDw73r3Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="1280" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2pM2rH95-NSJxeHM_uzGfAUakeXuYG2mKpug7epRm6NNkH2q5SMNRkFvNAx2o0Xqsi3S8U31EfJBy40fnUissTPJi0jP8INqf2qWYvrAP-w-aEB_Tuzk-w9AMjd155aHpg51BI0LOF5ZsKsCmKvHX1u3NKQLjFQ0rEDiqxaqXqL1IRdkS_LuDw73r3Q=w640-h394" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The boutique apartments with small shopping arcade and the attached 'Piano Bar' on the promenade in La Playa, Valle Gran Rey, collectively trading as 'Gomeralounge' is set for transformation to be La Gomera's first esoteric New Age Centre. ''This new exciting development constitutes a further organic cultural shift in the direction of my important societal aims'' owner Thomas Mueller is quoted as stating recently, adding that he will ''continue the wearisome work to culturally educate the mostly rural populace of La Gomera. I promise to strive to maintain my successful fostering of mainland flamenco in this remote isle, while also giving a platform to my own culturally significant work'', to quote Maestro Mueller from one of his frequent lengthy public speeches. By the way, with his voice and accent he sounds uncannily like former German chancellor Helmut Kohl.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The penny wise patron of the arts is now going to hand over the reigns of his flagship premises to Sandra and Daniel who amassed a fortune through crypto-currency dealings and are now in a position to acquire the business. Thomas Mueller is a German entrepreneur known all over La Gomera as the ''postcard baron''. He made his own fortune through various enterprises like the 'El Fotografo' postcard emporium, the now derelict 'Castillo del Mar' in Vallehermoso, apartment blocks, ice cream parlours, dance studios as well as bars and shops. Also known as a minor film-maker and music producer, 'Don Thomas' is now planning retirement with first letting go of his Gomera Lounge Enterprises.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiH1oswu8RVY2fGllJ4Zxf9uAl1eWaQ90PqhlpmYJJSaGAR0eNqqhS8i986s7kLYYCNC42pxlC7zYY62yo4DM2Bv9ZmYK0qhwdzwidrFxa8e0raoKa3mvp5lWelYwZIn_Z4lXqGV5iUi31yBB9dNym6OnYL1bckRg4jwfkGD1Foq4G98FoxfB448tsQLw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="1280" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiH1oswu8RVY2fGllJ4Zxf9uAl1eWaQ90PqhlpmYJJSaGAR0eNqqhS8i986s7kLYYCNC42pxlC7zYY62yo4DM2Bv9ZmYK0qhwdzwidrFxa8e0raoKa3mvp5lWelYwZIn_Z4lXqGV5iUi31yBB9dNym6OnYL1bckRg4jwfkGD1Foq4G98FoxfB448tsQLw=w640-h248" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A tired looking 'Don Thomas' in his gaudy Gomera Lounge Piano Bar in 2017</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiT2M4oT2Ncy1t2Xn8dbRHM5Nu39Y9HKLTHrUaBjYN5Oi9CCnY6ageGco72mOKyTTdSEW0FKmgPiNr_SXyXm2b0k73kx2bt6qrQk8iy4yt0BkT1yYLHbx-2XmlRyum-f8TiZZc7LmyfHeMR2eCxoSgl0hJFJV5sapbV_hD76NcTeGsFdkw9qV3t1QcJzQ" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3340" data-original-width="2227" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiT2M4oT2Ncy1t2Xn8dbRHM5Nu39Y9HKLTHrUaBjYN5Oi9CCnY6ageGco72mOKyTTdSEW0FKmgPiNr_SXyXm2b0k73kx2bt6qrQk8iy4yt0BkT1yYLHbx-2XmlRyum-f8TiZZc7LmyfHeMR2eCxoSgl0hJFJV5sapbV_hD76NcTeGsFdkw9qV3t1QcJzQ=w268-h400" width="268" /></a><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><div><br /></div><div>The new owners of the Gomera Lounge and Piano Bar will continue Thomas' good work with a new impulse of New Age enthusiasm and intend to '' foster Valle Gran Rey's new spirit of esoteric endeavour'' which recently has seen a profusion of workshops on offer in La Gomera, mostly in German. </div><div>They ranged from avocado-stone carving and ''dancing to the sound of your soul'', learning to sleep in the trees of the forest in the national park to ''disovering the inner self'' and ''human design''. Schooling in mysticism and crypto-currency investing was also offered. The latter workshop was tutored recently by Gomera Lounge's new owners Sandra and Daniel (see poster on right), who wanted to share how they became so wealthy so fast after leaving behind their previous regular lives in Germany. They are now running an ''academy for financial intelligence'' and found a solid investment in the Gomera Lounge complex, which is ideally suited for their goals of fostering the New Age movement and building the crypto-currency economy.</div></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK5OUD0chJynNxk9RbWE8Ct2Typpmsp43_7dcuBPGn4RORSdEkIXMq7anY36KaQIA2x2t9gDUZeoXzpScYIJXhoKikJ2QhYzxQMFnSHD2nQjwyIOEgYTfAEfLd_CLRVDtVFForJhOVrKYHUl-QzK_artVI3o-7wF_qCyQrWGJxiTQ6__1M88_fZ1WpQQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="2872" data-original-width="2092" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK5OUD0chJynNxk9RbWE8Ct2Typpmsp43_7dcuBPGn4RORSdEkIXMq7anY36KaQIA2x2t9gDUZeoXzpScYIJXhoKikJ2QhYzxQMFnSHD2nQjwyIOEgYTfAEfLd_CLRVDtVFForJhOVrKYHUl-QzK_artVI3o-7wF_qCyQrWGJxiTQ6__1M88_fZ1WpQQ=w146-h200" title="Flyers for just a few of the recently offered workshops" width="146" /></a></div>Gomera Lounge's ostentatious themed apartments, ranging from </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">''Bali'' to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">''1001 nights'' offer accommodation for the ever-increasing number of esoterically minded tourists visiting La Gomera and especially Valle Gran Rey who are looking for magic inspiration and mystic enlightenment. These are all seeking suitably esoteric environs and are willing to pay above the standard rate for same. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">The premises' attached Piano Bar will be serving as a showy workshop venue during the day soon, but will continue to offer live music at night. However, in future they will concentrate in the programme more on performances on the mellow mystic side of music. This will continue Thomas Mueller's work in that direction and he has assured customers that his kitschy and tacky (sorry, but that's my opinion, Ed.) elephant video will continue to be shown in an endless loop on the large flat screen in the bar.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The business transaction and subsequent transformation will take a while, but it has transpired that after a short closure for minor refurbishment and ''spiritual cleansing'', </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the grand reopening of the premises is planned to take place on April 1st 2024, w</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ith a ''Meaningful Macrame'' workshop, a Hang Handpan concert and trendy band ''The </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mystic </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Melancholics'' playing dopey dances. The donation box will be passed around as usual and you're expected to give generously as the artists will not get paid by the hosts so as not to break with the Piano Bar's tradition . The popular Nestle products will remain on sale, however, and drink prices will continue to be progressively upmarket as before, we've heard.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Most</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> crypto-currencies will be accepted and are to replace cash transactions 'pronto' (asap), while the Lounge's</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> rooftop jacuzzi with sea views offers customers a relaxing dip should the former take an unexpected dive in the markets.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhN2N4tQcbg5nHn4ZeZswBQwBaKqegc7TDXTI3s5l8HlddrbB40D1afmIvJHqDv_xrlR4bJquPK9mWaHDfu7zaoQj3eXNg9CKt75sk-nSU9-ab2Y3y054o2Api93YfRoMybO7sSr5GUcQS6Ur_zyYI0Kr6f5LGq6KGDOf08WWqc3Qx7aOYsOPkWvmcFug" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="744" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhN2N4tQcbg5nHn4ZeZswBQwBaKqegc7TDXTI3s5l8HlddrbB40D1afmIvJHqDv_xrlR4bJquPK9mWaHDfu7zaoQj3eXNg9CKt75sk-nSU9-ab2Y3y054o2Api93YfRoMybO7sSr5GUcQS6Ur_zyYI0Kr6f5LGq6KGDOf08WWqc3Qx7aOYsOPkWvmcFug=w373-h640" width="373" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The brave ''Nespresso Buddha'' outside the Piano Bar, patiently holding </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">my devotional 'incense stick' while I took the photo a few years ago </div></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-61339831498208919752023-03-07T22:06:00.000+00:002023-03-07T22:06:13.067+00:00Valle Gran Rey seen from the sea<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4aUbkNhLMJ8fde4QUq-kRreOZAaW4xjMCJGhxig4OzR13hFET-frz7b1Bepm1LKmBrmvnxXDZ3f7KZjZ6J78EkPz0jh4TadXcriJ4k2OqUQBD8jLl_6udxNBI_l-BwtIh95vEkfZjFHFDegcQVrKk7a2rufK8HA8AArvtLxgciKH6WPCoY7yawHoXIw"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4aUbkNhLMJ8fde4QUq-kRreOZAaW4xjMCJGhxig4OzR13hFET-frz7b1Bepm1LKmBrmvnxXDZ3f7KZjZ6J78EkPz0jh4TadXcriJ4k2OqUQBD8jLl_6udxNBI_l-BwtIh95vEkfZjFHFDegcQVrKk7a2rufK8HA8AArvtLxgciKH6WPCoY7yawHoXIw=w712-h480" width="712" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Image taken December 2022</div>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-84614836075315167252023-02-24T01:43:00.001+00:002023-02-24T10:38:51.834+00:00New 4* hotel under construction set to open this year<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDcwfDMZ82FkzwEEpZ68TcvRDN3eQceT-oXCrlSfVsgrBfGcMFIiRBbRY7aI-5Zrf8kuHO3ps_oowGLOKXABX5IWELmut2tCdyoBv7dgXW1I1TGAz9mo3Zt04na8CYoqKy8mcDHw4kgwVrAY607ufPSJwMGlEhowevqJPnJFIoIVXBCPmL4qlGBZc_sQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="1217" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDcwfDMZ82FkzwEEpZ68TcvRDN3eQceT-oXCrlSfVsgrBfGcMFIiRBbRY7aI-5Zrf8kuHO3ps_oowGLOKXABX5IWELmut2tCdyoBv7dgXW1I1TGAz9mo3Zt04na8CYoqKy8mcDHw4kgwVrAY607ufPSJwMGlEhowevqJPnJFIoIVXBCPmL4qlGBZc_sQ=w640-h344" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Image taken from the hotel's website (see below)</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: verdana;">A new 4*star hotel is under construction in La Gomera's north-east near the island's capital San Sebastian de La Gomera in the townland of Lomo del Clavo. The site was occupied by a semi-finished holiday apartment development that had been deteriorating for years as an ugly, deserted construction site. This is now being redeveloped into an eco-friendly amenity with all mod cons.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The new hotel with its own organic farm, gardens and spa will have far in excess of 500 beds and should give permanent employment to about 100. It boasts conference and events rooms as well as nine</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> restaurants and bars, including to quote the developers: '' </span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Guro </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Show Bar - </span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>A creative and unforgettable programme awaits at the Guro! Get ready for the most original nightlife </i>''. </span></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Bancal Hotel & Spa' intends to open at the end of this year and already presents its own <a href="https://bancalhotel.com/en/" target="_blank">impressive website</a> in English, Spanish and German. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The developers behind the venture, <i>Corporacion Arca,</i> introduce themselves with '' </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>We are a corporate group that is not afraid to invest, with a collective conscience that includes you and everyone...</i>''. They </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">describe the facility under construction as follows:</span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"> '' Located on a bluff </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">(sic, yeah 'bluff' also means </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">'</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">cliff' or </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">'promontory', but let's just hope that their choice of word wasn't a Freudian slip - Ed.)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">overlooking the sea just 5 km from the capital, the Lomo del Clavo hotel project has been specially designed for people looking to enjoy the island of La Gomera, its nature, its history and its people.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Situated in an exceptional location with stunning views of Tenerife and its volcano, the Lomo del Clavo Hotel combines design, health and cuisine with the utmost respect for the environment and a sustainable philosophy that begins with the recovery of the landscape through the refurbishment of a space that was completely dilapidated. The use of clean energy, efficient waste management and involvement in the development of local economies are the basis of a philosophy that aims to reconcile tourism with the natural environment.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Facilities:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>276 rooms with terrace</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>3 pools (2 of them infinity) and 2 children’s pools</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Nudist area</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>5 bars</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>4 restaurants</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Garden</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Natural forest</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Wellness area with gym, in/outdoor directed activities area, water, treatments and hair styling area</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Club Store Event Rooms</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Covered parking</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Electric vehicle charging points</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>On-site ecological estate...''</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The developers intend to plant acres of gardens and orchards, including a large p</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">roprietary organic farm, all irrigated with treated waste water from the hotel. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That arid area could do with a bit of green again, which would indeed be better than the previous dereliction. San Sebastian de La Gomera is ''soon'' to get La Gomera's first and long overdue water desalination plant, so the hotel's water needs shouldn't take away from <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/2017/12/drought-leads-to-water-rationing-in.html" target="_blank">the town's scarce water supply</a>. But more about water another time...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjC8ACkaJIeSMMXgM1Zy_C6cr5e936kyHia1pbDVboUmx-DgWvq_a17GFqYPxd70eZrtVN4WMRjq3rI3G24FkSBfoUZqpryMVPYCHJH47H8A2RDAWPVV_rvqurcnA5DRsDeOIy2o2thtrWFtIMe3kwkQHtnq6H7riedNXNz-te8DZB4gS2gX8RXZXPXvw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="600" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjC8ACkaJIeSMMXgM1Zy_C6cr5e936kyHia1pbDVboUmx-DgWvq_a17GFqYPxd70eZrtVN4WMRjq3rI3G24FkSBfoUZqpryMVPYCHJH47H8A2RDAWPVV_rvqurcnA5DRsDeOIy2o2thtrWFtIMe3kwkQHtnq6H7riedNXNz-te8DZB4gS2gX8RXZXPXvw=w640-h413" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lomo de Clavo construction site near San Sebastian de La Gomera (Image: gomeraverde.es)</td></tr></tbody></table></div>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-88311947496308611222023-01-15T13:40:00.000+00:002023-01-15T13:40:08.767+00:00Irish break record crossing Atlantic from La Gomera<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgk0xv6rcUHQ9iGl0LmgrMp-tk_0Qp_9J4_TA85OcvyH5Ut3DsT_PjyVwu-W9meChxrGugi7Jv15ZFAH3qxByNyqV1ar-8rkxb9-hw8Cqerk_uJ2SV_3vUCUw83Qv240_JX2UiF7Q90MGDJYn9D8AOSR77S2hPR-MkHS41r3wFyo_QuuY2ha954-oKwaQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1205" data-original-width="2144" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgk0xv6rcUHQ9iGl0LmgrMp-tk_0Qp_9J4_TA85OcvyH5Ut3DsT_PjyVwu-W9meChxrGugi7Jv15ZFAH3qxByNyqV1ar-8rkxb9-hw8Cqerk_uJ2SV_3vUCUw83Qv240_JX2UiF7Q90MGDJYn9D8AOSR77S2hPR-MkHS41r3wFyo_QuuY2ha954-oKwaQ=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The winning Irish team on arrival in Antigua (Image: Atlantic Campaigns)</div></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This winter's </span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge (<a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/search?q=rowing+Atlantic" target="_blank">click here to see previous posts about the race</a>) has been won by an </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Irish team who set a new record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a team of five rowers. They managed to row from San Sebastian de La Gomera to Antigua in just 33 days 12 hours and 38 minutes. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">T</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">he team comprised of Tom Nolan, Diarmuid Ó Briain, Shane Culleton, Gearoid O'Briain and Derek McMullen crossed the finish line of the The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge Saturday evening. They were r</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">owing under the team name, 'Row Hard or Go Home', and set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands on 12 December 2022.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">They broke the previous record set by 'The Ocean 5' team, who completed the same race in 35 days 19 hours and 50 minutes in 2019.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">The five lads had to endure storms and other difficulties during their crossing of the Atlantic in aid of the RNLI and other charities. Today many of their competitors are still far out at sea trying to complete the race including t</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">wo other Irish teams, a</span><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> four-person team, also rowing under the name 'Row Hard or Go Home', only has about another 130 nautical miles to go and is currently in 11th place, and solo rower Jamie Carr. He is competing under the name 'Nothing Ventured' and currently placed second in the solo race with over 1,000 nautical miles still to row.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Another Irishman, Gavan Hennigan from Galway, had previously <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/2017/02/irish-record-atlantic-crossing-from-la.html" target="_blank">set a record in 2017</a> with his impressive solo row in the same event, known as 'the world's toughest rowing race'. He crossed the Atlantic from La Gomera in 49 days and 12 hours on his own.</span></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-41839913483218829962022-12-24T00:31:00.001+00:002022-12-24T00:31:00.176+00:00A Happy Christmas To All<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJDY06n3NFvr_impae7ztutItmwz74x1o7x9jForZQ8RSLAqMFg27iH4TsVLPg0FPtR06KtkmOT5OP1rlwsaMRm310gvRwfKTCkJB4RAbAgIR7r0SCleLzavD-JEGxHTEmIhSSQsreTbPru4qYNeBPK0u763Ua_dW7da0vKBrRZSSNAeVsU8HjQRu__g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1168" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJDY06n3NFvr_impae7ztutItmwz74x1o7x9jForZQ8RSLAqMFg27iH4TsVLPg0FPtR06KtkmOT5OP1rlwsaMRm310gvRwfKTCkJB4RAbAgIR7r0SCleLzavD-JEGxHTEmIhSSQsreTbPru4qYNeBPK0u763Ua_dW7da0vKBrRZSSNAeVsU8HjQRu__g=w584-h640" width="584" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Image taken just before Christmas 2022 in Vueltas, Valle Gran Rey</div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-15887426242680373292022-11-29T18:11:00.032+00:002022-12-01T19:19:17.615+00:00Tragic death of popular publican<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEgDvWGG1cqwUj7dJRZkGBbp7dQW-jyFdQ55Mfe4xtuAwhRNSjJ3VIFPBgwnjLhyGuI8uRPpQCmoaX8iAhWg_5TmqUTQLP12a-lesTQB1WcN3xM5Ne_KdABKKlqvq-LV1rMqhQZ_SiqyEkSgv9En6s-Oam9ChhFhB0NvkZdbcdBmF17lusi3c_z9qxVA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1021" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEgDvWGG1cqwUj7dJRZkGBbp7dQW-jyFdQ55Mfe4xtuAwhRNSjJ3VIFPBgwnjLhyGuI8uRPpQCmoaX8iAhWg_5TmqUTQLP12a-lesTQB1WcN3xM5Ne_KdABKKlqvq-LV1rMqhQZ_SiqyEkSgv9En6s-Oam9ChhFhB0NvkZdbcdBmF17lusi3c_z9qxVA=w613-h640" width="613" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Manolo in his small bar (Image source Facebook)</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Manolo, a good friend of mine and the popular former owner of 'Bar Teguerguenche' in La Puntilla, better known simply as 'Manolo's' was tragically killed when he was knocked down by a car on Valle Gran Rey's main thoroughfare recently. Emergency services attended quickly but despite their efforts he died at the scene of the shocking accident.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Manolo was an avid soccer supporter and had a massive collection of jerseys and fan items in his bar, where many were added by customers from all over the world. He also attended every match of the local Valle Gran Rey soccer club and even closed his bar for those occasions. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He was also one of the few remaining publicans that actively supported live music of all kinds and often went out of his way in the difficult task to obtain licences and permits for many events outside his bar (and some even inside the tiny establishment), while also making sure his neighbours were not disturbed late. Some famous musicians as diverse as Peter van Hooke (Van Morrisson band, Mike & The Mechanics, etc.) and renowned Irish uilleann piper <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/2013/01/renowned-irish-piper-coming-to-la-gomera.html" target="_blank">Mickey Dunne</a>, plus many more played there and Manolo treated every musician like royalty.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Furthermore his good English attracted a lot of English speakers, often seeking advice with the refreshments, and he had a special welcome for the Irish. Last but not least the food and snacks he served in very cramped but spotlessly clean conditions was excellent and his was the best hamburger in Valle Gran Rey, that's what the locals always knew. He seemed to have four arms and four legs as he managed to do all of this on his own most of the time.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He was taken from us in his mid 50s and will be sorely missed by all. RIP Manolo.</span></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-6770395414442993352022-10-06T18:10:00.005+01:002022-10-07T17:42:28.508+01:00Prettiest village of Spain officially is in La Gomera<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8p98gPwSVrbIrGTOuPnT4qvPae4P_Pw6HvSV5eBAwfAU_NXdnxR7YAAAKn9q814JnAxB4g6rA3tx2k0q465-yBSEPRoTsvh4smy0Ms9EoMfXvr1LSwPM2zQQP2Lm2UgM3ZwGmerPIugppEWYzqtehenu9GKicAdbzJcbHxXJaMRgM5_FScjN8hLuYw/s1280/IMG_1410.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8p98gPwSVrbIrGTOuPnT4qvPae4P_Pw6HvSV5eBAwfAU_NXdnxR7YAAAKn9q814JnAxB4g6rA3tx2k0q465-yBSEPRoTsvh4smy0Ms9EoMfXvr1LSwPM2zQQP2Lm2UgM3ZwGmerPIugppEWYzqtehenu9GKicAdbzJcbHxXJaMRgM5_FScjN8hLuYw/w740-h416/IMG_1410.jpg" width="740" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"> Seen from the 'Mirador de Abrante' viewpoint: Spain's most beautiful village is1000 feet below, and </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"> the Atlantic ocean is a further 500 feet below La Gomera's historic and stunningly beautiful small town</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've always said it and several publications did same over many years: the prettiest village, or town as the locals would call it, in </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the Canary Islands and even all of Spain perches on La Gomera's north coast and is named Agulo. The village with its twin 'centres' sits close to and high above the rugged Atlantic coastline and offers spectacular views of neighbouring island Tenerife. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlXkUwnv4leWICUPfdCU9QdeGqFXo4PJC7ysUo4fTrTNjgzdMRL_jk2-MzRcbAWV6wq5zGEcAn6JoUBMeK5C89l2uAK63mvm9yXyGhVsMlfzHBHRZ-C82VON9JM9V84RJIria8OoyK55i4Q_3jSL0FyyJh7gihAyrLlhPkcnyERKCpCAM9qCDNQnhOA/s1280/Mirador%20de%20Abrante.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlXkUwnv4leWICUPfdCU9QdeGqFXo4PJC7ysUo4fTrTNjgzdMRL_jk2-MzRcbAWV6wq5zGEcAn6JoUBMeK5C89l2uAK63mvm9yXyGhVsMlfzHBHRZ-C82VON9JM9V84RJIria8OoyK55i4Q_3jSL0FyyJh7gihAyrLlhPkcnyERKCpCAM9qCDNQnhOA/w738-h480/Mirador%20de%20Abrante.jpg" title="Seen from the 'Mirador de Abrante' viewpoint: Agulo 1000 feet below, the Atlantic ocean a further 500 feet below the La Gomera village" width="738" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">The town and its municipal rural area is home to just over 1.000 residents and sits below sheer vertical cliffs with <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/2016/01/magical-forest.html" target="_blank">Garajonay national park</a> above in the mountains. Agulo is best viewed first from the breathtaking </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">viewpoint with a restaurant and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">glass-floored skywalk hanging onto the clifftop. However the serene town itself with its historic buildings and maze of narrow lanes is a must-explore and worth paying an extended visit. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">British daily '<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-20-prettiest-villages-in-spain-wwh9nd6zd" target="_blank">The Times</a>' </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">earlier this year </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">promoted the fact that Agulo has been officially selected as the prettiest village in all of Spain. They described the source of their article thus:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">''...I</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">n a land of such bounty it’s not easy to pick Spain’s prettiest villages. There are 7,582 municipios with a population of 15,000 or fewer, and you could argue until las vacas come home over which has the most dramatic castle or most charming plaza, or conjures the best magic with flowers, water, sunshine and shade. </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Alternatively you could ask the experts. Founded in 2011 Los Pueblos Mas Bonitos de España is a highly selective association of villages deemed the nation’s prettiest. To be considered the community must have a population of 15,000 or fewer and have “an architectural or natural heritage” — in other words, it has to be pretty. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is then judged by the association according to 29 criteria, including “the harmony of windows, doors etc”, “the aesthetic treatment of overhead lines” and — crucially in the 21st century — “the existence of artisans”.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Those (villages, Ed.) that pass selection become part of a highly selective club that comprises just 105 members — or the top 1.4 per cent of all Spanish villages. ...''</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Agulo won the Spanish title in 2022 and it's easy to see why. I nearly moved there when I first came to La Gomera, such were the charms of this town. There's little tourism and most visitors are day-trippers from Tenerife that you'll only see passing through around lunchtime. Most other times you'll have the beauty of the village almost to yourself.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">By the way, Fyffes, the global fruit and fresh produce company headquartered in Ireland, once owned land and premises in and around Agulo from the late 1890's for many years. They grew bananas there and later tomatoes as well for export directly to Europe via packing facilities and a crane at a small beach and rocks just below Agulo town. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anyway, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">'The Times' described Agulo as follows:</span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>''1. Agulo, La Gomera</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">Eleven hairpins from a black rock beach and hidden in banana plantations amid an Escher-like confusion of terraces lies the village of Agulo. Such is the might of the surrounding topography, and the colonial beauty of its cobbled lower town, that you can feel at times that you’re in Peru. Come for the hiking on marked trails that offer views of Tenerife and El Teide, or through the rainforests of the Garajonay National Park. Choose carefully: some are Andean in scale. Stay dead centre in the historic Casa de la Oje. It’s basic, with sea views, but charming nonetheless.''</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Here's <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/search?q=Agulo" target="_blank">more posts about Agulo and the spectacular viewpoint (click)...</a></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDmLxNU_r9N0OqvLSwFKXiX9g_2ZVJlpmikmdFpBwjL5rppn3r273QsBYAaPMUjoGT4aOKqaHImdckunUqUaYqqIQk5meJpSkeTiUkTJzf-OxBUodu3sUUe53RT3_pUPhEGoLaLYLnEAndrNd0qCzcPWVXz_k7eBDCakylbxBZ-sNEzkGD_HxG_gWH6w=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: xx-small;">© lagomera1.blogspot.com</span><br /><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-8071713269893840912022-09-24T13:23:00.002+01:002022-09-24T17:39:58.922+01:00Storm Hermine: Heavy rain in Canaries - WARNING<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCSj8JX48cMZ5iOBfW6NUfyAClRdxJWB8WeE9jLOxNNjQkC9G1FtYNGegyenbDDY7hj2hf2jyhGC6qMG8sIXyPkHEdxf9vlOiIUmBWzRU3Y0C-5EOBZcUegDQhKRO493_voko8vAOclMOrP1tFtqrf5ZKNjUJachK7kFEd43EpR-L_esfrlIbaU41Iuw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1255" data-original-width="4356" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCSj8JX48cMZ5iOBfW6NUfyAClRdxJWB8WeE9jLOxNNjQkC9G1FtYNGegyenbDDY7hj2hf2jyhGC6qMG8sIXyPkHEdxf9vlOiIUmBWzRU3Y0C-5EOBZcUegDQhKRO493_voko8vAOclMOrP1tFtqrf5ZKNjUJachK7kFEd43EpR-L_esfrlIbaU41Iuw=w697-h184" width="697" /></a><br /> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Archive image</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>A tropical storm named Hermine has formed north of the Cabo Verde Islands and is moving slowly north towards the Canary Islands. The associated heavy rainfall is imminent in the Canaries and warnings have been issued by the Spanish authorities for today, Sept. 24th 2022, tomorrow, and Monday. The American National Hurricane Centre has also issued a public advisory in its latest bulletin:</b></span></p><pre style="background-color: #fcfcfc; font-size: 14px;">BULLETIN
Tropical Storm Hermine Advisory Number 4
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL102022
800 AM CVT Sat Sep 24 2022
...HEAVY RAINS EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND FOR THE CANARY
ISLANDS...
...FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS...
</pre><pre style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><pre style="font-size: 14px;">HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
RAINFALL: Tropical Storm Hermine is expected to produce 3 to 6 (75
to 150 mm) inches of rainfall with localized higher amounts up to 10
inches (250 mm) across the Canary Islands through this weekend. This
rainfall may cause some flash flooding in areas of higher terrain.</pre></pre><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>These rainfall amounts are especially hazardous after years of drought in the Canaries. Rockfalls and landslides can be expected. Do not walk or drive in the mountains. The Canarian government has issued the a ''maximum alert'' and recommends to avoid all travel and all outdoor activities. Traffic disruption is to be expected. All events have been cancelled. Flooding in valleys and all lower regions is also possible. Thunderstorms have been predicted which can deposit extreme amounts of precipitation in a short space of time. The western Canary Islands are most at risk and for these level orange warnings have been issued for La Gomera (even red for parts of La Palma island and same for all of El Hierro island), as well as </b></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">numerous public advisories by local authorities. Rainfall may accumulate up to 30mm in just one hour in La Gomera</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>One bit of good news is that winds won't be extreme, but still an added hazard with warnings in place of peak gusts of around 70 km/h, but possibly higher in exposed mountain areas.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Below is a summary of the warnings issued for tomorrow, Sunday 25th of Sept. 2022:</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpjcssmT-Z1JMhS7fySJDRKrlwbUvKumV_jNWwq0LeAoaZVzcqiy66A1vvK3gVMjull0kqNlOvSfHmZweRYotAGQcaSoPgF3XvjmR1Rag0ipH5r94j5GrPqYd9cDKjW7A2O7xVeUnSpycRIdEdt3F2AyLCnAxtpP7gzn8S3zy-3pax7fWcbOmdj_0sOg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="1015" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpjcssmT-Z1JMhS7fySJDRKrlwbUvKumV_jNWwq0LeAoaZVzcqiy66A1vvK3gVMjull0kqNlOvSfHmZweRYotAGQcaSoPgF3XvjmR1Rag0ipH5r94j5GrPqYd9cDKjW7A2O7xVeUnSpycRIdEdt3F2AyLCnAxtpP7gzn8S3zy-3pax7fWcbOmdj_0sOg=w640-h238" width="640" /></a></b></span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-53766982270435021952022-07-15T10:41:00.003+01:002022-07-15T11:13:01.039+01:00Body discovered in Tuesday's fire outbreak<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjM3CJOeNIdOMHuq0ntXubeZf3mewlOq_i42juYh4DYrBIXFiXfl_bGyG_UzocfCULKQrR2UtUE0Lqs3smhKbKw9ZHXGnHr1mjKVTf6sXwcbblZP4az_ECloHuMyWETgfBpjPJpvt7oUQC6IACizGQlwAcT2-ycFgHqEKOjuy42MsObmC9p_RNTwkSA1g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="899" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjM3CJOeNIdOMHuq0ntXubeZf3mewlOq_i42juYh4DYrBIXFiXfl_bGyG_UzocfCULKQrR2UtUE0Lqs3smhKbKw9ZHXGnHr1mjKVTf6sXwcbblZP4az_ECloHuMyWETgfBpjPJpvt7oUQC6IACizGQlwAcT2-ycFgHqEKOjuy42MsObmC9p_RNTwkSA1g=w619-h640" width="619" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The scene of the fire near Playa del Ingles (Image: <a href="https://twitter.com/bomberosvolvgr" target="_blank">Bomberos Valle Gran Rey</a>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>A fire broke out in Valle Gran Rey on Tuesday afternoon around 4pm. The small area of scrubland affected is close to the minor road between La Playa and Playa del Ingles, near art gallery Oasis. The local voluntary fire brigade arrived quickly on the scene and the fire was subsequently brought under control. However, when the area was checked more thoroughly a male body was discovered. Rumour has it that the fatality is a Swiss citizen and that a small gas container had exploded. Another person is said to have narrowly escaped the flames uninjured. The Guardia Civil police continue to investigate the incident.</b></div></span><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-59738616091631461432022-07-08T11:08:00.000+01:002022-07-08T11:08:26.103+01:00Tuna fair in Playa de Santiago tomorrow<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_ckMPnO2f_S5WP0uggXwUy2hThu7QNiNcEbQMJ7BzVqk2gAKSBWzzx0WKZRkSfZlEJIgkmlYaSvJE8tK-sH8JbtjMEUhJON5TcTr8QhGI0zLDfSAwtAkilY_g5_8nqjZ35EO73EY8CdbZOpyMnZ1EJ1Es3hrU8OLKXeJ3QQhCm22eQRaQJzCD3RpuVA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1754" data-original-width="1240" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_ckMPnO2f_S5WP0uggXwUy2hThu7QNiNcEbQMJ7BzVqk2gAKSBWzzx0WKZRkSfZlEJIgkmlYaSvJE8tK-sH8JbtjMEUhJON5TcTr8QhGI0zLDfSAwtAkilY_g5_8nqjZ35EO73EY8CdbZOpyMnZ1EJ1Es3hrU8OLKXeJ3QQhCm22eQRaQJzCD3RpuVA=w453-h640" width="453" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Tomorrow, Saturday July 9th 2022, Playa de Santiago in La Gomera's south will host a 'Tuna Fair' from 10am with cookery demostrations, fish and wine pairings, free tapas, children's events, market stalls, live music and surprises. All is themed around fresh tuna, as Playa de Santiago's port is where most of La Gomera's tuna catch is landed and all along the south coast you can still see the ruins of several tuna canneries.</b></span></div><p></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6213151053276214374.post-24435847202210155862022-07-05T15:35:00.005+01:002022-07-05T15:40:04.700+01:00Police station moved to the harbour of Valle Gran Rey<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoSCXITP84zQM7Z328ufVpkAfiyENK0OIc-WdpmoLAsZqbigMSDBppyQ5dCpkpd6MSaEGkusokFhsCVB7iQOUz7Bv4D85qHXL2AkKEyviKZQ9mCHfaivhxecVZzBNsDF75IkQ21jqlAUxoyUdN4DVyb71mEpO9v9SwaZD1ZMdZ1M7hkWG1zKfIorTZug" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2281" data-original-width="3545" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoSCXITP84zQM7Z328ufVpkAfiyENK0OIc-WdpmoLAsZqbigMSDBppyQ5dCpkpd6MSaEGkusokFhsCVB7iQOUz7Bv4D85qHXL2AkKEyviKZQ9mCHfaivhxecVZzBNsDF75IkQ21jqlAUxoyUdN4DVyb71mEpO9v9SwaZD1ZMdZ1M7hkWG1zKfIorTZug=w640-h412" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Gomera's president Casimiro Curbelo speaking at the opening of the new Guardia Civil post (Image: <a href="https://gomeraverde.es/art/90236/la-guardia-civil-incorpora-un-nuevo-puesto-en-las-instalaciones-del-puerto-de-valle-gran-rey">gomeraverde.es</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Valle Gran Rey's Guardia Civil police station has recently moved from its previous location in La Playa to the harbour of Valle Gran Rey. The refurbished building on the pier in front of the fishermen's co-op once housed the office of the 'Garajonay Express' direct ferry, but had been vacant for years since the termination of said ferry connection. Now the Guardia Civil police have relocated to what is meant to be their permanent station in Valle Gran Rey, and NOT to 'Casa Maria' as I reported as an <a href="https://lagomera1.blogspot.com/2021/04/new-police-station-to-be-opened-in.html" target="_blank">April fool's joke last year...</a>, but who knows if the Policia Canaria or some other Spanish police force is not eyeing that vacant building to cover the western side of Valle Gran Rey ?</b></span></p>La Gomerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06068830417682566564noreply@blogger.com0