New images of improved harbour village

See previous post 

Works in Vueltas now completed

Part of the new look Vueltas village showing the newly-reopened bar La Yesca on left  (Image © gomeranoticias )

The remodelling of the fishing village of Vueltas which is also the commercial hub of Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera has been achieved and finished in what must be a record time, considering that some works take ages and/or end unfinished.
The road and pavement are both at the same level, allowing easy access even for wheelchairs. Badly needed street lighting and other urban furniture has been added and the whole area looks much more inviting.
I will post a detailed report with more pictures once I'll be there in autumn.

Inner harbour improvements

Re-plasering of the quay

While work on the pedestrianisation of the harbour town of Vueltas  in Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera is continuing, the inner harbour is also being tidied up and some improvements  have already been finished. The slipway has been resurfaced and a separation wall to the harbour beach was installed, while widening and tidying that corner of the sandy beach. New railings have been installed above the slipway and also at the steps leading down into the water. Now they're re-plastering all of the front of the old quay, which had become very rough in recent years. New moorings for the fishing boats have also been laid underwater.

A young skater on a wall...

...of the transformer station in the harbour of Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera has appeared hovering there just recently:

Work in harbour village making good progress

After the usual controversies and objections when work began in November last, the work on first phase of the re-development of the centre of Vueltas is making good progress. It is a tough time for the shops, bars and restaurants in the area with traffic disruption, some noise and lots of dust as unwelcome visitors, but once finished the area will be much more attractive and once again the focal point of Valle Gran Rey (see plans). Traffic into the village itself is currently being diverted towards the beautiful harbour beach, then up to the left at the beach and down left again along a narrow street into the village. But it is much more comfortable to park the car in the harbour and walk the few steps into the centre - it may look closed-off but there is pedestrian access to all areas at any time during construction. Below some recent images of the work being carried out:

This short stretch of road will never reopen but will very soon be a pleasant plaza
with some trees and benches and room for outdoor tables of the cafes/restaurants

Controversy as work begins on harbour village facelift

Yesterday morning in Vueltas
(Images courtesy of VINO TINTO'

Yesterday morning work began on the long overdue revamp and pedestrianisation of the quirky harbour town of Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera.

(see: Pedestrianisation of Vueltas a step closer to reality)

However, as soon as work had begun near the banana packing plant some local people were protesting to the foreman about the positioning of some construction materials and the white container (see image). They were demanding the removal of same to a location in the outer harbour. It appears that this will be done and that work will continue, but further shouting and protesting can be expected as there is a small but very vociferous group of people in Valle Gran Rey who will fight even the most insignificant issues. The mottos seem to be 'Not within a mile of my front door!' or 'No change at all!'. Due to this pressure sometimes plans have to be amended so many times that the money allocated to certain projects runs out before work can be completed. Let's hope that this time they'll succeed in completing the long-overdue tidy-up of what is one of the most vibrant villages on La Gomera - without too much controversy. 
UPDATE 11 am:
The small group of short-sighted protesters have again attacked the workers on site this morning and these appear to have downed tools. The local government have called for an urgent meeting of all authorities and the contractors involved. Now the main issue of contention appears to be the timing of the commencement of the works as it coincides with the beginning of peak tourist season. Poorly scribbled graffiti has appeared on the wall of the banana packing plant and on the container site office which roughly translates as ''No to the works at this time. The district of Vueltas''. In my opinion there's never a good time for building noise and disruption, but when things need to get done, the sooner one starts the sooner it will be finished - promising a better future. There isn't a tourist destination in the world that doesn't have building and repair work disruption even during peak season. 
The newly smeared childish graffiti doesn't make the area any more attractive and its quality is indicative...

Pedestrianisation of Vueltas a step closer to reality

Vueltas seen from the new pier

The long overdue revamp of the harbour town of Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera is to go ahead finally with some modifications to the original plans. 

The work to be carried out will cost just over 600.000 Euros and an official announcement has been published inviting contractors to tender for the job. The duration of the construction phase is set at eight months and the work is to be carried out in three distinct phases to minimise traffic disruption. It is expected that work will begin later this summer.

Politicians, officials and  Canarian TV on a walkabout discussing the plans with residents in the centre of Vueltas recently

Plans for harbour village closer to reality

Vueltas seen from the unfinished outer harbour

The regional government of the island of La Gomera has finally approved a revamp of the long-neglected harbour village of Vueltas in the south-western municipal area of Valle Gran Rey. While all other town centres on La Gomera have got a tidy-up with main thoroughfares made level, wheelchair friendly, and were traffic-calmed and smartened-up for all users with flowers and a more agreeable ambience, Valle Gran Rey with its central port of Vueltas however remained stuck in the concrete-laden 70's, forming an obstacle course for pedestrians making it almost impossible to negotiate with a pram or wheelchair. To this day there  are no bins, hardly any street lights and no greenery to speak of, while still maintaining the charm of the previous fishing village before the developers came.

One of the lanes of Vueltas

All this is about to change as the official announcement promises the redevelopment of 43.000 square metres of Vueltas with a traffic-calmed central road and plants, trees, benches and other amenities. The proposal was published in the official BOP document yesterday. The envisaged clean-up will cost 609.280 Euros and 38 Cents (how do they ever figure it out to the exact Cent, I wonder), and the duration of construction is to take eight months only.

Hooray, with a bit of luck finally we might move away from a sprawl lacking shade, ambience and basic facilities - forward to cleaner, greener, better times. Once the revamp is completed we might get a harbour area that can compete again with those in much less developed countries abroad. The natural charms are there, all it now needs is a clean-up that upgrades the village. See: The plans for Vueltas and: An overview of the Vueltas situation

Vueltas inner harbour and beach

Top spots to watch sunsets - Part 4

Valle Gran Rey is the 'sunset capital' of La Gomera and I want to introduce you to some of the best and most popular locations from where to watch the spectacle over the Atlantic ocean with a cool or hot drink in your hand. The order in which they appear does not intend to give a ranking and my suggestion is that you'll try them all for the sake of variety. If you've got any further proposals please let me know, or even better send me your own post with your snapshots.

Another one of my favourite spots to watch the sun go down is in the harbour village of Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey. It can be reached through the pedestrian lanes of the town or up a few steps from the pedestrian crossing on the harbour side of the roundabout with the fishing boat. It is a small bar and restaurant called Tambara and offers a panoramic view across the Atlantic from the harbour out to El Hierro in the South and as far as La Palma in the west from the just recently extended terrace. The interior views are just as spectacular as the whole decor is of handmade mosaics and furniture in the Moorish style and transports you to Marocco just a few hundred mile to the east of where you're sitting. It was all painstakingly done involving endless hours of labour by the previous local owner, who has now handed it over to his sister and her Italian husband who is also the chef.The great relaxing music coming from the sound system often takes you on a journey around the world with frequent stops in North Africa. The food is excellent offering the best and most interesting tapas on La Gomera and tends towards Italian food with distinct North African influences. Great cocktails, fruit juices and teas as well as good wines are on offer,too, as are homemade cakes. All in all Tambara is one of the most beautiful bars in the Canary Islands.

Vueltas village: The plans

At a meeting with residents and business owners of the harbour village of Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera, the following plans of the island's government and the local administration for pedestrianisation and upgrading of the existing centre of the town were hotly discussed. The construction of phase one was said to take only eight months and vehicular access for residents and business is guaranteed at all times. Click on images to enlarge.

See previous post: Harbour town of Vueltas to get overdue revamp

Dark green: Pedestrian - Blue: Parks - Red: Two way traffic - Black:Restricted
one way traffic Orange: Existing pedestrian lanes - Dark red: New parking 

Grey zones 4 and 5 will remain parking initially - later to be
transformed into parks when additional parking (blue) is created

Paving and levelling

Proposed street furniture, paving and trees 

Street lighting

Traffic flow during construction phases 1-3

Harbour town of Vueltas to get overdue revamp

'Vueltas-on-Sea'

The ever-popular cosmopolitan and bohemian harbour town of Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey   which boasts the area's only safe sandy beach and offers quirky shops, cafes, bars and restaurants while fishermen go about their daily business, is finally to get a long-overdue revamp with complete pedestrianisation of its central main road from the harbour to the top of the town.Today it still presents itself in a fairly neglected state with hardly any street lights, no litter bins and very little greenery. The pavements are too elevated and  constricted, forming an obstacle course that forces pedestrians onto the narrow road. Prams and wheelchairs can't be navigated at all on the pavements and the general state of the infrastructures is one of decay and disorganisation while all the other towns on La Gomera have had a facelift in recent years. 
Plans for the future

At a recent meeting in a local hotel plans for a major overhaul of the town centre were unveiled with the promise of a solid injection of funds, which were said to be available immediately so that work could begin very soon. Residents and business owners will be consulted and can make further proposals for amendments. On the plans it all looked very attractive, showing a pedestrianised road  with very nice level paving, street furniture, lighting, trees, shrubs and flowers. This is planned for phase one which will maintain car access for residents to the existing central car park, which will later be turned into a green town park when more car parking on the nearby vacant harbour plot will have been created. This huge area easily accommodated all the vehicles of the 5.000 evacuees during the fire last year. 
Restricted traffic of delivery vehicles and residents,etc., will continue to be allowed in the town's central road except for a short stretch of road now connecting the banana co-op's building and the harbour, which will become more like a plaza. In all the pedestrianised and traffic-calmed  areas bars and restaurants will be able to place seating outside of their premises  and this will add to the flair of the area. 
Further plans include the creation of another green area around where the bunker-like disused water tank now stands . The fishing harbour area, the fisherman's co-op building and the main access road from the roundabout will all get a revamp at another stage of the development which incorporates new buildings for ticket offices, etc and the fisherman's bar and public toilets.
Laudable initiative
Additionally there is a campaign by politicians to get the authorities to finish the extended outer harbour and to allocate funds for 2014 to tidy up the existing harbour facilities, so that it can accommodate smaller cruise ships and lose its disused and neglected image. The reality now is that the new harbour is silting-up because it lacks the final protective extension and it had to be dredged once already, having lost up to 10ft depth in places at the south-eastern side of the new pier.
All the new plans are very laudable and the final result will be worth the little bit of disruption and noise during the construction period which is said to take only about one year for completion of the first phase. Now is the time to invest to create jobs and plan for the future. Vueltas port is on the trade wind route to the Americas as navigated by Columbus and La Gomera's by-name is La Isla Columbina.
Plenty of sea room for all types

All what's missing now to give Vueltas the standing it deserves and to bring back the bustling life it had at the end of the last century are more positive news that ferries re-connect the harbour and that the badly needed but hotly discussed marina will soon become a reality. I know of several yacht owners who would gladly move their fine boats for longer periods to a safe marina in Valle Gran Rey. Having moored friends' yachts here, let me tell you that currently it isn't very comfortable, to put it mildly, and for all the trouble you have to pay almost the same harbour dues as for a luxury marina with all amenities not too far away. Present conditions might suit the 'hippie boats' but are not to the liking of serious sailors, as they prefer to have a shower and and a power connection before or after spending a long time at sea. For longer stays there simply isn't a safe berth when there's a swell running and even when the skipper has rented an apartment with harbour view he has to be almost constantly on watch even in mildly poor weather. A marina would remedy all that and it would provide a lot of new employment while giving existing business more income. I know many local fishermen who'd prefer the comforts of a safe pontoon berth, too, but for others it presents a threat to to their accustomed routine. There's enough sea room here for both types of sailors. 
The formerly envisaged protected artificial beach from the roundabout to the new pier is another vision that now has been almost forgotten, but it would certainly pay off if it was installed. The natural beach is often overcrowded and some don't like the smell of fish and diesel from the fishing boats, no matter how clear and clean the water is at times.
I meet first-time visitors to this town almost daily and they can see the potential for pulchritude, whereas sadly some long-time resident blow-ins pine for the romantic rural past and detest any change. The latter  tend to forget that their places of origin have since moved with the times, too, and that they themselves have contributed to many changes here.
For my part I definitely couldn't care less about the politics, but I just love bustling ports with the smell of fish and a whiff of the whole wide world which hangs about harbours.
I rest my case.
UPDATE with plans: Vueltas village: The plans

Vueltas port in Valle Gran Rey: The finishing of the outer harbour and a marina are long overdue as well