Take a walk...

...in Garajonay National Park. You can find out how it got its name HERE..

View north-west

Above is a view from 'Mirador de Vallehermoso' La Gomera's Garajonay national park taken earlier this year on a very clear day. It shows an uninterrupted view north-west with La Palma island's two peaks looking very close, but that's an optical illusion as it is about 70 kms away. Stunning anyway, but taken with a 'phone camera and in reality it was more impressive. La Gomera has lots of excellent well chosen viewpoints and a bit more about these HERE...

Who's got the key for this tree ?

Heather tree near Raso de la Bruma in La Gomera's Garajonay national park, spotted recently

La Gomera's stone circle to be moved

One of La Gomera's main visitor attractions is mythical La Laguna Grande in the centre of Garajonay National Park, and indeed in the centre of the island, high up in the mountains surrounded by ancient forests.

La Laguna Grande offers a small interpretative centre that explains the flora and fauna of the national park, a restaurant which is rented and run by the Fred. Olsen ferry company, public toilets, a playground, and barbecues and ovens which are popular with locals often bringing their extended families for day-long celebrations and parties. The area is also included in nearly all coach tours, bringing day trippers from Tenerife and cruise ship excursions. The popular spot is also often chock-a-block with rental cars, bikers and hikers.

 Now a major re-development of La Laguna Grande has been announced which will see the small car park between the open green area and the restaurant extended, providing three times more space. As it is now this car park always quickly fills, resulting in too many cars being parked along the dangerous main road above the area, where the coaches also must park because they cannot turn below. Trees there beside the GM-2 cannot be felled to create more parking along this main east-west artery because all flora and fauna is protected in the national park. 

 Further to this recently approved development it has been announced that the stone circle (see image above) will be moved to the beautiful park around another of the island's main attractions, the Torre del Conde in the island's capital San Sebastian de La Gomera. It had previously been suggested by the Spanish minister for culture to move the monument to a museum in mainland Spain ''to give it more protection from the elements and human interference'', but thankfully La Gomera's president Casimiro Curbelo intervened and he stated that La Gomera will not tolerate these stones leaving the island. There were also well-attended protests held in San Sebastian de La Gomera and during one of those the crowd formed a large 'human stone circle' (cadena humana de piedra) around the Torre del Conde, demanding the monuments be re-erected in front of the tower:

       The 'human stone circle' protest in San Sebastian de La Gomera recently (This image: gomeranoticias.com)

 The compromise solution now is to move the lot to the island's capital where it can be better monitored and protected, as well as making it more accessible to locals and visitors. The associated cup-marked standing stone/boulder (image below) will also be moved there. The whole operation will be supervised by a team of archaeologists and historians, to make sure the exact same alignment will be observed and that no damage is done.

 The existing small playground in the green of Laguna Grande will be augmented with a new themed amusements park with various additional rides and pleasure gardens which ''will reflect the many myths and legends associated with La Laguna Grande''. Work on the project is to begin after Easter when low season begins. It is hoped that both the newly-developed attractions and the relocated stone alignment will be open to the public again on April 1st 2023, according to Cabildo de La Gomera, the island's government. Funding has been made available with part-funding coming from the EU who praised the project as eco-friendly and a ''show-piece sustainable development which also will reduce traffic and emissions in Garajonay National Park''.

Roque Agando in the morning mist

La Gomera's emblematic Roque Agando is the most prominent of a group of volcanic plugs called Los Roques. The others are named Roque Ojila and Roque Zarcita, and sometimes Roque Carmona and Roque Las Lajas are also included.

Agando rises to 1250 metres beside the main road leading west from the island's capital San Sebastián just before Garajonay National Park in the centre of the island.

The summit is not accessible and climbing it is not permitted as it forms part of a protected area.

Historic remains left by the indigenous Guanche tribes have been found on the summit and these were in good condition until the 1980s, when they were ''disturbed and looted by a German group making a documentary film''. 

Mushroom season

A very orange and odd-shaped form of beefsteak mushroom growing on a tree trunk

The mushroom season on La Gomera is not really dependent on the season of the year, but fungal growth happens whenever the conditions are right. Especially in the 10.000 acre Garajonay national park and the surrounding buffer zone of roughly equal size there's an abundance of mushrooms, fungi and toadstools of all kinds, including all the edible ones known in northern Europe. So, whenever there's good humidity and a moderately warm temperature it is worth visiting the national park and keeping an eye on the ground, as I did a few days ago when I snapped these images. Please keep in mind that you're not supposed to take anything from the national park in order to preserve it in its pristine condition.

Natural water bowl...

...formed by tree stump and roots with a young tree growing from it.  Spotted in La Gomera's Garajonay national park.

New surface on main road in national park

The new surface at Raso de la Bruma in the forest of Garajonay national park on the main road known as GM-2, which is the main connection between the east and the west of La Gomera.

Major investment in La Gomera's national park

It has recently been announced that La Gomera's Garajonay national park will receive a further 2,1 million Euros in funding. The money will go towards conservation measures, the restoration of damaged and degraded areas, fire prevention, and general improvements.

Fire quickly extinguished

The remote mountain village of El Cedro.

A fire broke out in La Gomera's Garajonay national park yesterday at midday affecting 1100 sqm of palm trees, sweet chestnut, heather trees, laurel and brush near the village of El Cedro. Fire brigades as well as national park personnel and police rushed to the scene and the fire was under control about an hour  and a half later, but due to the very dry conditions this winter the area around the outbreak was hosed down as well as a precautionary measure.

The El Cedro valley is normally one of the wettest areas in La Gomera receiving a lot of rain, drizzle and fog, but this winter conditions there, and in the rest of the island, have been exceptionally dry and warm.

Magical forest

Images taken yesterday when out walking in La Gomera's magical forest in the Garajonay national park .

La Gomera makes ABTA top ten destinations

La Gomera features among the top ten destinations to watch in their Travel Trends Report 2015. The UK’s largest travel association, representing travel agents and tour operators that sell £31.5 billion of holidays and other travel arrangements each year has the following to say about La Gomera in the report:

''La Gomera (Spain)

The Canary Islands are a firm favourite with UK holidaymakers particularly those looking for winter sun. Temperatures rarely dip below the mid twenty degrees centigrade all year round. In 2015 discerning holidaymakers will take the short ferry ride from Tenerife to the beautiful, unspoilt island of La Gomera. It also features for the first time in the brochures of Thomas Cook. La Gomera offers a range of attractions including the Unesco World Heritage site, Garajonay National Park, subtropical rain forest and wildlife species that are unique to the island. La Gomera is largely undiscovered and is perfect for holidaymakers who don’t want the bright lights and glitz of a busy resort. They will love unwinding in its relaxed main resort Playa de Santiago or on one of the island’s many unspoilt beaches. There’s also plenty to do for the more active, with miles of walking trails throughout the beautiful interior or scuba diving over La Gomera’s spectacular reefs. ''

This is the full list of ABTA Destinations to Watch 2015:

 Austria                                    
 Botswana
 Cuba 
 Dominican Republic 
 La Gomera (Spain) 
 Latvia 
 Japan 
 Norway 
 Pacific Coast (USA) 
 Singapore
 The Netherlands
 The Peloponnese (Greece)

Lichens on rock

Lichens are widespread on La Gomera. Those above I spotted on a rock in the Garajonay national park. Many varieties of lichens found on trees and rocks here have become extinct in most of Europe because of pollution. They need an extremely healthy environment to thrive, especially clean air and a clean supply of moisture.

Coach on fire in national park last night

Images: gomeratoday.com (2 above)
and gomeranoticias.com (1below)

A coach went on fire on the main road through the forest of La Gomera's Garajonay national park between 7 and 8 pm last night. The private bus was travelling in the direction of the island's capital. All passengers could leave the coach unharmed in time before the fire spread and they were taken to their destination by a replacement vehicle. The incident happened in a thickly forested area between La Laguna Grande and Pajaritos. Fire brigades had to  concentrate their efforts to prevent the fire from spreading to the dry vegetation on both sides of the road as some of it had caught fire already. The bus burnt out completely and the road was closed for a while with diversions in place. The latest news late last night was that the situation is completely under control and that the fire has been put out. A unit of the fire brigade remained on the scene of the incident to keep watch. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

The tree that passes water

There is a tree in the forest of El Cedro in the Garajonay national park passing water for you to drink. It is situated just beside the beautifully-located chapel of Nuestra Senora de Lourdes which was built due to the initiative of an English lady. It is surrounded by mature trees and stands just above the babbling brook which runs along the floor of the valley all year. The area around it has a few wooden picnic tables and benches and is popular with locals and visitors alike. The water it 'tinkles' is cool, fresh and safe to drink except during  rare prolonged hot spells in the area in some years, but then park rangers will put up a sign warning you of the possibility that it may not be entirely safe to sip. How did the miracle of the water-passing tree come about ? Well, come and see for yourself if you can unravel the puzzling phenomenon…

 
   

Entry fee for national park visitors proposed

Will they be charged for their visit in the future ?

The commission of national parks which is part of the federation of municipalities of the Canary Islands (FECAM) has proposed the introduction of cover charges for tourists visiting national parks here. The unanimously approved motion was adopted at a meeting held last week, and will have to be tabled at the executive committee of FECAM.

The national park of Timanfaya on Lanzarote is already collecting fees from visitors and this measure could now be introduced at all national parks in the Canary Islands. The reason's given were that most similar parks around the world were charging visitors without any problem, and that the measure was essential to guarantee the maintenance, preservation and further development of these unique places. The autonomous region of the Canaries couldn't afford the luxury of providing free access anymore. Local residents would be exempt from the charges, however, according to the proposal.

The recent cutbacks in public spending might have something to do with it, I guess.