Have a rest...

I took this photo recently at El Cepo near Las Rosas in La Gomera's north, a geologically very interesting area

Carnival season 2024

The carnival season 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'.

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).

See VGR programme below:

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. 

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...

UPDATE: 

Nice poster (below) out now for the carnival in Vallehermoso (March 7th-9th):

The Trap

Above image shows part of the spectacular landscape at El Cepo 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 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. 

Prettiest village of Spain officially is in La Gomera

 Seen from the 'Mirador de Abrante' viewpoint: Spain's most beautiful village is1000 feet below, and 

  the Atlantic ocean is a further 500 feet below La Gomera's historic and stunningly beautiful small town

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 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. 

The town and its municipal rural area is home to just over 1.000 residents and sits below sheer vertical cliffs with Garajonay national park above in the mountains. Agulo is best viewed first from the breathtaking viewpoint with a restaurant and 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. 

British daily 'The Times' earlier this year 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:

''...In 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.   

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. 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”.

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. ...''

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.

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. 

Anyway, 'The Times' described Agulo as follows:

''1. Agulo, La Gomera

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.''

Here's more posts about Agulo and the spectacular viewpoint (click)...

                                                       © lagomera1.blogspot.com

Explore La Gomera's north

The town and valley of Hermigua in La Gomera's north

The much quieter and greener north of La Gomera island, which includes the municipal areas of Agulo and Hermigua, is well worth exploring and the following link has loads of information in English: northgomera.com

New mayor in Valle Gran Rey

The new mayor of Valle Gran Rey, Cristopher Marrero (image: gomeranoticias.com)

Valle Gran Rey's new local administration has now been formed and Cristopher Marrero of the PSOE is the new mayor, even though his party holds only two of the eleven seats on the council. His election was facilitated with the help of the two councillors of the Si Se Puede grouping and the two of the Nueva Canarias party, leaving La Gomera's strongest party ASG in opposition with five seats. See all La Gomera local election 2019 results...

Local election results La Gomera 2019

Casimiro Curbelo

The independent La Gomera socialist ASG party of the island's president Casimiro Curbelo (image on top) was the clear winner in the recent local elections, followed by the socialist PSOE. The graphics below (source: gomeraverde.es) first show the results for the election to La Gomera's cabildo (island government) followed by the results in all five municipal areas of La Gomera, where in some it is not clear yet who will form the new local government ('escaños' = seats). Left environmental group SSP (Si Se Puede) won two seats for the first time in Valle Gran Rey and Vallehermoso as well as one in San Sebastian de La Gomera, plus two seats in the cabildo.

                                                                             CABILDO:

MUNICIPAL AREAS:

La Gomera features in Irish press again

La Gomera's emblematic Roque Agando on left.
(This image © lagomera1.blogspot.com . The article in the Irish Times has several different stock images)

When I opened the magazine supplement in The Irish Times this morning I was greeted by a two-page article about La Gomera by Conor Power, published in the travel section. While this article, too, contains some inaccuracies, it does serve as a nice introduction to the island. La Gomera is definitely being discovered by more and more discerning Irish tourists as a destination a with touch of the west of Ireland and away from the mass tourism in most of the rest of the Canaries. I'm sharing the text part of the article below:

''  La Gomera: The beating heart of the Canary Islands

With the heavy iron key that looked like a prop from a Harry Potter film, Pedro opened the old wooden door and I peered down into the well. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, I could see the gentlest of vibrations on the surface of the water. Just as Wolfgang had said, it was the ancient beating volcanic heart of La Gomera. I thanked him and went back into the bar to rejoin my friends and my beer.

Whether or not the legend was true, there is no doubt that if you’re coming to the Canary Islands and looking for an authentic link to the islands’ ancient past, you’ll find it all around you on this most effervescently green isle.

Located just 20km or so to the west of Tenerife, La Gomera is easily accessed by a regular ferry link from Los Cristianos. Depending on whether you get the hydrofoil or the standard version, it will take either 40 minutes or an hour and a half.

La Gomera looks a bit like the upturned half of a huge green orange that has been broken into rough segments. A permanent rainforest of sorts resides across much of the upper reaches of the island, which are almost permanently shrouded in mist. It’s unlike any other of the Canaries that people are used to seeing, with their characteristic lunar landscapes and bare volcanic fields.

Here in La Gomera, all is lush – from the vast forests of banana trees that run to the shoreline at Santa Catalina to Europe’s largest primitive forest, in the Unesco-listed Parque Nacional de Garajonay. Along the roadsides, exotic papaya fruits heave alongside banana trees. It looks as if the island could keep the entire population of Spain in fruit for the rest of their lives.

We were fortunate to run into Wolfgang and his French Moroccan-born wife Danielle near the start of our stay on La Gomera. With three friends, we had rented a house close to the village of Hermigua on the northeast of the island, just a 15-minute drive along the spectacular, twisty and perfectly-tarred road from the main town of San Sebastián.

Roomy terrace

The central meeting point in Hermigua is Pedro’s bar, with its views over the valley from the roomy terrace outside. Every night there was a themed music night. The first was a French night, where accordion-playing singers brought many of the French-speaking tourists and everyone else out to enjoy a folk-like, convivial atmosphere that turned the place into a little piece of Montmartre.

The second night was a Cuban night where we were treated to live music from a smashing band that wouldn’t have been out of place on a pavement in Havana. The infectious music got everyone up and dancing around the terrace in the warm evening air.

The climate in La Gomera is a little bit different to most other Canary Islands too. The Canaries are known for the variation in temperature between the balmy middle of the day and the cooler evenings but, on La Gomera, you can experience cool spring weather requiring layers and rain gear up in the mountains while, by the seashore, high summer reigns supreme, with temperatures in the mid-20s and seawater warm enough to comfortably bathe in.

The next morning, I travelled north, near the beautifully formed and perfectly located village of Agulo, to a lookout area known as the Mirador de Abrante. Here, the car park ends in stunning red rock cliffs and a restaurant. Inside, the restaurant has a narrow glass floor extension to give you a dizzying perspective of the extraordinary views over the sea and colourful Agulo below.

The restaurant is also well known for the fact that some of its staff communicate through the fascinating whistling language El Silbo. Waiter Fabio was only too happy to give us a demonstration on site, asking us to tell him something in English or Spanish and then translating it into El Silbo. The language was brought to the Canaries by the Guanche people and has survived Spanish colonialism; it is now a mandatory subject for all Gomerans in both primary and secondary schools.

Quiet paradise

Wolfgang and Danielle had bought a house nearby and habitually spend most of the spring living in this green and relatively quiet paradise. After a first day of hard walking along the steep slopes of Hermigua and El Cedro, it was they who advised us to try the more user-friendly trail (10km return trip) from Pastrana to Benchijigua on the south side of the island.

We parked the hired car at the tiny village of Pastrana before heading north along the Barranco (ravine) de Benchijugua – a deep, rocky indentation where the waters flow at a variety of volumes depending on the weather. We started off at around 11am, and the weather was warm and sunny. The spectacular views towards the sea and up into the mountains were superb and the trail was well signposted and provided decent challenges for the average walker.

Along the way, we passed a number of isolated, deserted villages and hamlets before arriving at Benchijigua. It was a very quiet walk as well, and we only encountered a handful of walkers on the way. Benchijigua didn’t have anything by way of refreshing pitstop – just a few unoccupied holiday homes and a closed church – but it was a truly gorgeous spot with panoramic views in all directions from its elevated position looking down on a series of ravines and across to craggy hillsides on three sides.

The atmosphere is low-key, with a complete absence of the lager-lout brigade or the post-Leaving Cert party platoon

At this point, the weather was positively autumnal and even in three layers and with our hoods up, we had to keep moving to stay warm. By the time we got back to Pastrana, the afternoon sun was beating down on us once more. It being a Monday, the one restaurant in the hamlet was closed so we got in the car and drove down into the resort town of Playa de Santiago.

There are plenty of hotels and accommodation centres here to cater for all kinds of visitors, but the atmosphere is decidedly more low-key than most resorts you’ll find in the Canaries, with a complete absence of the lager-lout brigade or the post-Leaving Cert party platoon. Sun and sand it has a-plenty.

Comprehensive package

Valle Gran Rey offers a more comprehensive package for sun-worshippers looking for that little bit less Canary-like Canary Island sun resort, while the fine beaches at San Sebastián have the advantage of being next to the island’s largest town. This is where Christopher Columbus stopped over before his historic voyage to the New World, and much of the town has managed to retain an old-world atmosphere. It’s a place to wander around and take in the Spanish colonial vibes of its colourful, authentic streets.

Back at Hermigua, we were invited to spend an evening at Wolfgang and Christine’s lovely home – a chilled-out abode with a lot of traditional touches built on two levels. Upstairs, the tiled roof terrace covered the entire footprint of the building and was designed to cater for the outdoor life, complete with kitchen corner, large stone table and outdoor loo – all with superb views of lush mountains and blue sea and backing onto a tropical garden.

As the sun went down behind the mist-shrouded mountains, Wolfgang enquired if I had been able to witness the “beating heart of La Gomera” – if I’d seen for myself the pulse from the long-dormant volcanoes that formed the Canaries in the ripples on the surface of the water of the well at Pedro’s.

“Yes,” I said, uncertainly. “I think I did.”

He winked and raised his glass. “Then the beating heart of La Gomera will stay in your soul forever.” ...''

Fire-jumping fiesta

The picturesque town of Agulo in La Gomera's north will celebrate the highlight of the annual Fiesta de San Marcos', the spectacular fire-jumping event, tomorrow night Saturday 28th of April 2018 (see promotional video below). Following an old custom the fires are lit in honour of the town's patron saint San Marcos every year, and many of the town's population are rising to the challenge and jump over the bonfires. Visitors are welcome to join in and there's even a version with smaller fires for the children. If you're a bit older or just not as daring, you can wait until the fires have burnt down a bit and try the 'light' version. The organisers recommend to cover your hair and avoid wearing flammable synthetics. The bonfires will be lit following the procession and mass in the centre of Agulo.

After the spectacular fire-jumping, there'll be general merriment and dancing to live music all night, and and plenty of cold drinks to quench the thirst resulting from the bonfires. I can reveal that this year a Canadian film crew who are shooting a documentary about La Gomera intend to capture what must be La Gomera's most captivating and spectacular fiesta during its main event.

Carnival in Agulo 2018

The picturesque town of Agulo in La Gomera's north will celebrate its carnival for three days from Sunday, February 11th 2018, which also is the main day when a street carnival starts at 12 noon with several samba drumming groups (batucadas) leading the colourful participants and shows on arrival the carnival grounds.

Toilet tips

Toilet keys spotted on a bar counter in Valle Gran Rey on an Irish beer mat: The screw is for the gents.
The beer mat of course is Irish as the local owner of this small cafe/bar is a collector of same. Return keys please !

In many bars and restaurants all over La Gomera the toilet doors are mostly locked and if you need to go, you need to go...up to the counter and ask politely for the key for los servicios in order to relieve yourself. Once you're finished, you'll be expected to switch off the lights again and after locking up to return the key.
The whole procedure is due to the fact that generally toilets in bars and restaurants are for customers only and often a sign is displayed pointing this out. However, due to the fact that public toilets are almost non-existent on La Gomera  (except in the port terminal buildings of San Sebastian and Valle Gran Rey, the capital's municipal market, and the vistor's centre above Agulo - all during opening hours only), many bars and restaurants will oblige and let you use their facilities if asked politely, without you having to burden your digestive system further. Hence the toilets are locked to make sure that you take over responsibility for their condition once you've been given the keys. The lights are generally off to save energy, so you're expected to use the switch twice. It is a nice gesture to leave a small tip for the use of the toilets before leaving, as in some busy locations there's a steady stream of toilet users who're not customers and a lot of scarce water, as well as toilet paper and soap, can be used up in a day, and regular cleaning must be done by staff...

While I'm at it: Generally do not throw any paper or any other waste into the toilet bowl as this often leads to blockages in the system here. There is a bucket or bin provided where ALL associated waste should go. Only in a few newer toilets where no such container is provided can you flush down your used toilet paper.

And, unless you want to get angry looks or a straight refusal, please do not enter bars and restaurants bare-chested or in skimpy swimming gear. Cover up a bit. When coming from a beach, do remember to remove any sand and to dry yourself before entering.

Let's hope that public toilets will be provided in many locations on La Gomera someday soon. The situation during the many fiestas, during the upcoming carnival time, etc., can be quite disgusting when even entrances to shops and homes are  sometimes used as toilets, not to mention walls and beaches. Many of the popular hiking routes do not need any more 'human fertilizer' and associated litter either...

The average tourist...

Tourists enjoying the views at the 'Mirador de Abrante' above Agulo with Tenerife in the background

...stayed 11 days on La Gomera in 2017 and spent about 1.650 Euros on the island during that time. That's according to the latest statistics released by the island's government. The spending per visitor is up by 3% on the previous year and the spending averages 150 Euros per day, a figure which includes the cost of accommodation. The total number of tourists who stayed on La Gomera in 2017 was close to 700.000 which is quite impressive for an island with a population of only 20.000 and without direct flights from the European continent. My personal observation is that a lot more visitors now hire a car for the complete duration of their stay, and not just for a few days during their holidays here as they did only a few years ago.

Minor earthquake close to La Gomera

Evento	Fecha	Hora GMT	Hora Local (*)	Latitud	Longitud	Profundidad (km)	Magnitud	Tipo Mag.	Int. max.	Localizacion
es2017ldmmo	17/09/2017	20:49:03	21:49:03	28.1755	-17.1168	9	2.0	mbLg		E AGULO.IGM

A minor earth tremor of 2.0 on the Richter scale occurred at a depth of nine kilometres close to La Gomera's north-eastern coast at around 9 pm on Sunday night, Sept. 17th 2017.

This is nothing to worry about, as La Gomera's former volcanoes are long extinct and the island has not experienced any volcanic activity for far more than a million years, being one of the oldest islands in the Canaries. La Gomera existed long before the volcanically very active neighbouring island of El Hierro was even born.

Generally volcanic activity in the Canaries is of a 'mild nature', but magma movements deep under and around the Canary Islands cause regular tremors. It is however a rare occurrence that such a quake was registered by the seismic station situated in the mountains above the town of Agulo with an epicentre so close to La Gomera.

Bloomsday in La Gomera

Today is Bloomsday in honour of James Joyce, when celebrations take place in Ireland and around the world to celebrate Thursday 16 June 1904, which is the day depicted in the famous Irish writer's novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the central character in Ulysses. The novel follows the life and thoughts of Leopold Bloom and a host of other characters – real and fictional – from 8am on 16 June 1904 through to the early hours of the following morning.

This year a celebration will also take place in La Gomera, but not until Sunday, June 18th 2017, in the beautiful historic village of Agulo in La Gomera's north. The event starts at 7 pm in the Casa del Pintor Aguiar where excerpts of Ulysses will be be read in different languages as well as poems and other texts dedicated to Joyce's work, accompanied by music from Seamus Mac Aogain. 

The town of Agulo

Very breezy

Winds will be strong to gale force today, Friday Dec.30th, in La Gomera and a warning has been issued by the meteorological service for gusts of 75 km/h or more. The weather station in the Agulo area which is located at the visitor's centre in Juego de Bolas has already recorded a gust of 94 km/h at 8:20 this morning and winds are strong and very gusty in Valle Gran Rey as I write. The winds will be mainly from a south-easterly direction and the warning is valid until tomorrow lunchtime. Winds should then begin to ease gradually over the rest of the weekend.

Extremely clear vision

Yesterday the air was so clear that La Gomera's neighbouring islands could all be seen very clearly and seemed much closer than they actually are. Even Gran Canaria could be seen distinctly. I took above photograph from Juego de Bolas (near Agulo) with a simple little camera at about 10:30 am yesterday morning. La Palma's capital Santa Cruz can clearly be seen and even one of the observatories (red arrow) on Roque de Los Muchachos is distinctly visible - a distance far in excess of 100 kilometres as the crow flies.

Rarely can La Palma be seen from here with such clarity and in such detail. Extremely clear vision when distant objects seem much closer is generally considered a sign of coming rain and this morning the skies look fairly grey...

Road through ravine

The spectacular road from Las Rosas to Agulo in La Gomera's north

Skywalk above Agulo now a major attraction

The Mirador de Abrante skywalk with associated building housing a bar and restaurant has become one of the major attractions in La Gomera's green north since it was opened to the public about one year ago. It is perched about 1000 feet above Agulo and offers sweeping views across the Atlantic (itself a further 500 feet below Agulo) with Tenerife and mount Teide (Spain's highest mountain) forming a spectacular backdrop. Agulo is said to be one of the most beautiful traditional Canarian villages, nestled picturesquely in the cliffs over the Atlantic. The viewpoint's car park, garden areas and the access road have been improved now and from a distance it appears so well integrated into the landscape that it is hard to spot. Today I'm posting some more recent images. How to find it and more...

 

The new municipal mayors of La Gomera

Angel Piñero of  Valle Gran Rey (Image: gomeranoticias.com)

Valle Gran Rey: 

Angel Piñero has been elected mayor of this municipal area on La Gomera last Saturday. His Coalicion Canaria party came out strongest in the recent local elections, winning four of the eleven seats on the local council but unable to gain a majority. However, his candidature was supported by all but the two Si Se Puede councillors and it now appears he will form a minority local government with the support of most elected councillors.

The other 5 municipal mayors on La Gomera were elected as follows:

San Sebastian de La Gomera: 

Now ruled by the new socialist party ASG (6 seats)  in coalition with Antonio Luis Arteaga of Nueva Canarias (1 seat) with Adasat Reyes  of the ASG as mayor. 

Vallehermoso: 

Emiliano Coello of the ASG elected mayor with absolute majority held by the ASG.

Agulo: 

Rosa Chinea (ASG) is new mayor, also with absolute majority of the seats held by her party.

Hermigua: 

Pedro Negrín of CC (2 seats) elected mayor, forming local government in coalition with ASG (2 seats) and PSOE (1seat). Former mayor Solveida Clemente's party is now in opposition with four seats.

Alajeró: 

Manuel Ramón Plasencia of the Spanish Labour Party PSOE managed to go against the trend on La Gomera, now being the only mayor to be re-elected with his party gaining an absolute majority of the seats.

Skywalk and cafe above Agulo finally opening today

Mirador de Abrante above Agulo on La Gomera now open to public

The spectacular  new seven metre long glass (including the floor!) skywalk suspended in the air high on the cliffs above the small town of Agulo on the northern coast of La Gomera will be finally opened to the general public today, including its cafe and restaurant plus information point. The Fred Olsen ferry and tourism company won the tender to run the viewpoint complex called 'Mirador de Abrante' and will be paying just under 1500 Euros rent to the town of Agulo every month. It will be open all day seven days a week. The same company also runs the large restaurant in nearby Las Rosas which solely caters for the daily bus tours from Tenerife. 

The area around the new skywalk attraction is known for its red soil and overlooks Agulo about 1000 feet below. It also offers sweeping views over the Atlantic (a further 500 feet below Agulo) with Tenerife and mount Teide (Spain's highest mountain) in the background. Agulo is said to be one of the most beautiful traditional Canarian villages, nestled picturesquely in the cliffs over the Atlantic. 

The access road and car park were upgraded recently by the island's government. Visitors can get directions from the visitor's centre (Centro de Visitantes) in Juego de Bolas, itself a must-see when on La Gomera and from where the road to the skywalk begins. See UPDATE...