British tourist dies and 14 injured in bus crash

A coach carrying the driver and 27 British tourists being transferred from their holiday accommodation in Playa de Santiago to the ferry in San Sebastian de La Gomera crashed yesterday just about 4 kms from its destination and only a few hundred yards above the location of another fatal bus crash in May last year.

One British tourist died in yesterday's crash, three are in a serious condition and a further 11 suffered minor injuries. The three most seriously injured have been transferred by helicopter to the university hospital in Tenerife, the others are being treated in La Gomera's hospital. It has been confirmed that the most seriously injured victim is the driver who remains in a critical condition.

The crash happened at around 1 pm and it has been reported that the Guardia Civil police suspect a brake failure on the steep serpentine mountain road which has lots of sharp bends and that the driver's actions prevented a much worse outcome, but further investigations are ongoing. The British Foreign Office is supporting the victims and their families while all victims are receiving psychological support provided by local authorities.

(images from official Canary Islands government 112 emergencies X account)

Will the Pope visit La Gomera this year ?

The historic Iglesia de la Asuncion, the main church in La Gomera's capital
 

As has been widely reported, Pope Leo XIV  will visit the Canary Islands this year during his first official trip to Spain. While the visit's details are yet to be confirmed the visit will include Barcelona and Madrid as well as making history as the first time a reigning pope visits the Canarian archipelago. He might want to follow in the footsteps of many dignitaries and royalty with a visit to La Gomera for a bit of peace and serenity, where Catholicism is still widely practised.We shall see what the Holy See will decide for the papal visit.

The Number One Bus

Linea 1 bus at platform number 1 in Valle Gran Rey's bus station (''Estacion de Guaguas'' at the bridge in La Calera), connecting the capital San Sebastian de La Gomera with the south-west and the mountain villages of Chipude, La Hayas and El Cercado. The 65 kms long journey with over 40 bus stops (depending on demand), costs just 5 €uros  and takes less than two hours. There are several stops in the national park and the bus also goes to the island's hospital. Please note that there is only the relevant bus station's departure time given and that you have to signal the bus to stop anywhere else. You also must ring the bell (the red button marked STOP) aboard just before your destination, but stops are not generally announced. Also worth noting is that a bus or coach is not called ''autobus'' as it is in Spain, but only known as a ''guagua'' (pronounced ''gwa-gwa'') in the Canary Islands. The routes, timetables and fares for the public bus company Guaguagomera can be found HERE...

Fatal bus crash on mountain road

Image source: diariodeavisos

A major accident on the GM-2 main road about 3 km outside San Sebastián de La Gomera yesterday morning left a 73-year-old woman dead and 11 other people injured, some seriously, when a public transport bus with 20 people on board overturned.

The crash happened at around 8:30am, when the bus veered off the road and tumbled down a slope. The authorities stated that the vehicle was operating the regular route between Alajeró in La Gomera's south and the capital San Sebastián de La Gomera when it left one part of the roadway and overturned onto a lower part of the same mountain road near and below the large statue of Christ overlooking the capital.

Scene of the accident seen from the upper part of the road. Image source: diariodeavisos

The alarm was raised at 8:42am, initiating a major emergency response involving ambulances, a rescue helicopter, police, civil defence, etc. According to the Canary Islands’ Emergency Coordination Centre (CECOES), all those injured were taken to Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe hospital, but one critically injured was later transferred by helicopter to Tenerife's main hospital.

The cause of the accident is being investigated by a team of specialists from Tenerife.

Despite La Gomera's winding and often precipitous roads such accidents are thankfully very rare, but in January 2018 another bus crashed and overturned (click to read post).

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):

This strange video is a must see and a great laugh

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.

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 ?

No prizes for spotting the many more ridiculous errors in the video and the disjointed imagery. The voiceover and pronunciation are hilarious, too.

This video was obviously generated using artificial intelligence (AI) and confirms my reasons for always calling same artificial ignorance. 

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....

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.

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...

Unusual series of earthquakes

The latest tremor (above, red star marks epicentre) occurred late at night on the first of November 2023, again 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: IGN)

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.

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.

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.

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 Garajonay national park 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. 

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...

The lighthouse of La Gomera

La Gomera's lighthouse Faro San Cristobal, situated 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.

New 4* hotel under construction set to open this year

Image taken from the hotel's website (see below)

 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.

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 restaurants and bars, including to quote the developers: '' Guro Show Bar - A creative and unforgettable programme awaits at the Guro! Get ready for the most original nightlife ''. 

'Bancal Hotel & Spa' intends to open at the end of this year and already presents its own impressive website in English, Spanish and German. 

The developers behind the venture, Corporacion Arca, introduce themselves with '' We are a corporate group that is not afraid to invest, with a collective conscience that includes you and everyone...''. They describe the facility under construction as follows:

 '' Located on a bluff (sic, yeah 'bluff' also means 'cliff' or 'promontory', but let's just hope that  their choice of word wasn't a Freudian slip - Ed.) 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.

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.

Facilities:

276 rooms with terrace

3 pools (2 of them infinity) and 2 children’s pools

Nudist area

5 bars

4 restaurants

Garden

Natural forest

Wellness area with gym, in/outdoor directed activities area, water, treatments and hair styling area

Club Store Event Rooms

Covered parking

Electric vehicle charging points

On-site ecological estate...''

The developers intend to plant acres of gardens and orchards, including a large proprietary organic farm, all irrigated with treated waste water from the hotel. 

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 the town's scarce water supply. But more about water another time...

The Lomo de Clavo construction site near San Sebastian de La Gomera (Image: gomeraverde.es)

Irish break record crossing Atlantic from La Gomera

The winning Irish team on arrival in Antigua (Image: Atlantic Campaigns)

This winter's Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge (click here to see previous posts about the race) has been won by an 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.  

The 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 rowing under the team name, 'Row Hard or Go Home', and set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands on 12 December 2022.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.

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 two other Irish teams, a 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.

Another Irishman, Gavan Hennigan from Galway, had previously set a record in 2017 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.

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''.

La Gomera to generate 70% of its energy from wind

Parts for the new wind turbines arriving in the port of San Sebastian de La Gomera last month (Image: gomeranoticias.com)

Finally the planned construction of wind tubines in La Gomera is going ahead and the arrival last month of the first large parts for the wind turbines heralds the end for the ageing and very smelly diesel generator driven power station in the island's capital San Sebastian de La Gomera.

The new large windmills will be constructed in three wind parks in the mountains above the capital, one of them near 'El Camello'. This desolate spot once had indeed camel stables, then it housed a discotheque and nightclub, and after that had closed down refugees from Africa were housed there in container homes.

The three wind parks, once completed, will generate up to seven megawatts of electricity and should cover 70% of the island's 10MW average demand.

The plan to generate all of La Gomera's electricity from renewable sources was drawn up in 2019 and the arrival of the first segments of the windmills was hailed as a historic moment by the authorities.

The aim is to become 100% self sufficient in electricity generation and the next step in the island government's plan is the construction of solar photovoltaic parks to augment wind energy and to provide stability of the grid. Some of the diesel generators will probably remain on stand-by.

The new windmills will hopefully be a lot more reliable and sturdy than the only two previous turbines near Epina that never worked very well. One of them even got blown down in a storm a few years ago (more here...).

Earth tremor in La Gomera

There has been a minor earthquake of magnitude 2.1 registered on Tuesday morning, Aug. 3rd 2021, at 03:17 am. The tremor occurred at a depth of 14 kilometres and W-NW of the island's capital San Sebastian de La Gomera at latitude 28.0996, longitude -17.1381. The event was not felt by anyone, but comes as a bit of a surprise because La Gomera is considered volcanically dead, while all neighbouring islands are still active.

 

Bus travels in record time...

 ...from Valle Gran Rey in La Gomera's south-west across the mountains and through the national park to the island's capital San Sebastian de La Gomera. A journey that normally takes about 100 minutes was done in less than nine minutes (!) by this Mesa coach, as the video below shows. Caution: Better have a bucket handy just in case your stomach isn't up to what you're about to see:

Music shop in La Gomera

The island of La Gomera now has got a music shop again after the last one closed down more than a decade ago. The new venture called MusiGomera is located in the capital San Sebastian de La Gomera very close to the historic main church and offers a wide variety of musical instruments from percussion to ukuleles and also sells accessories and amplification.

So stop ordering through the internet and support this important service for musicians.

(Ed. a few years later the music shop sadly is gone)

Free reggae concert on the capital's beach

Jazz concert in San Sebastian de La Gomera

A free concert of jazz music tomorrow on the main square of La Gomera's capital 

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:

Film castings in La Gomera again

La Gomera's island government through their La Gomera Film Commission has announced castings for extras and secondary actresses for the shooting of a Neflix series here in spring. The first casting will take place in the visitors centre near the beach in the island's capital on the 4th of February 2019 and the following day in the tourist office in La Playa, Valle Gran Rey. See poster above for the times. They're looking for women of all ages over 18 and for girls  between 8 and 12 years old. All applicants must bring copies of their Spanish DNI, or their foreigners registration number (NIE), their social security number and a document showing that they have a bank account. Selected budding film stars will be paid and the work which is handled here by Sur-Film is insured. More information can be had by contacting above email address. 

This time males need not apply. The above image was taken during the casting for Ron Howard's 'In The Heart Of The Sea' in 2013 when I was very lucky to get a lot of work as a double.