Historical image is oldest known

                                       

Above is the oldest known photograph of Valle Gran Rey in La Gomera's southwest. It was taken by French photographer Charles Alluaud in 1883 and shows La Merica mountain and the then tiny settlement of La Calera at its foot. Now La Calera is home to the administration of the municipal district of Valle Gran Rey, but when above image was taken the village of Arure, high up in the mountains to the north, was still the ''capital'' of the municipality. There's no sign yet of any infrastructure nor major agriculture. The lower valley then was still very thinly populated and looks like a barren wasteland as the large tomato and banana plantations were created in later years with soil brought from the fertile areas further up in the mountains. 

The tomatoes have now gone again and the banana plantations are receding more and more. A lot more houses and apartment blocks have grown since, though. The image was probably taken from the Vueltas or Charco del Conde area and was shown at a recent exhibition of La Gomera photographs following a competition, organised by the island's government. Below is a photo I took in more recent times, but from a different location. The 1883 view angle is now obstructed by buildings, so I doctored mine a bit it to make it look older:

Drought leads to water rationing in capital

Parched terraced farm land in La Gomera's north

The severe drought which is affecting the Canary Islands has now begun to affect the drinking water supply even on La Gomera, which normally has an abundant supply of spring water. Recently the council of the capital San Sebastian de La Gomera introduced emergency measures to ensure a sufficient supply to the taps of the town. Water in specific districts will be cut off in rotation at night from 11pm until 7am when supplies have fallen, in a measure to allow the supply to be maintained everywhere during the day. It is generally prohibited to use drinking water to wash cars, water gardens, etc. Public green areas will be irrigated with recycled and purified waste water. The town has already installed pressure-reducing valves in many locations to conserve water and is continuing to repair any leaking pipes.

Rainfall has been below average in the Canary Islands for four consecutive years now and the situation is grave, particularly for agriculture. In October and November of this year only 25% of the average amount of precipitation for this period fell in the Canaries. Crops have failed or couldn't be sown, fruit trees died and many irrigation-water reservoirs are completely empty. The low humidity, unseasonal heat and lack of rain have also led to a proliferation of pests and plant diseases. The beekeepers of La Gomera report that honey production is down to just 40% of normal because of the drought, and many wild bees are literally dying of hunger while beekeepers are having to feed their bees with sugared water.

Tourists and visitors hardly notice anything abnormal, except for the less green countryside, as the taps and showers still run. I don't want to sound alarmist, but I would appeal to all to please use La Gomera's water sparingly and help conserve what's left of the island's precious resource. Unlike the other Canary islands we don't have desalination plants to supply the tourism infrastructure on La Gomera, and even if some rain may fall soon it will take a lot of rain over a longer period of time to percolate deeply to feed the springs and to return the water deposits to normal levels.

Severe drought

Percentage of available water: Less than 10% of La Gomera's average. (Muy seco = very dry)

We're entering the last week of November and the severe drought in the Canary Islands continues. Most water reservoirs and tanks are empty and agriculture is badly affected. Many farmers are desperately waiting for rain to be able to plant crops in the currently barren and parched fields. While the wells that supply drinking water on La Gomera still produce a good volume of water, even the soil in the forest of the national park is too dry for this time of the year. So please use water sparingly, even if it does rain as predicted this weekend (see 'Weather' on sidebar).

La Gomera's water reservoirs now 70% full

The recent rains have helped to raise water levels in La Gomera's reservoirs which now have reached 70% of combined total capacity. Some of the water reservoirs are even completely full and overflowing. All these water storage facilities are exclusivly used for irrigation in agriculture. La Gomera's drinking water comes entirely from tapped wells and natural underground deposits and is of excellent quality.