Summertime, cool glass of wine…

Oh when will we see and hear this again ?

Impromptu music session at the bus station bar in Valle Gran Rey in November 2018.

Actually there is enough space between the participants to satisfy the current distancing rules...

Another great lazy Sunday afternoon...

...at the bus station bar yesterday. Lots of musicians, singers, locals and visitors came and went. An Irish whistle player made my day by giving me his version of 'Tom Billie's' directly into the left ear over a cup of coffee. There was even a mad Irishman with a Spanish pirate's hat playing a banana-shaped shaker! The anchorman once again was Dave (see photo) who's sadly leaving La Gomera soon, but with the promise to stay a bit longer on his next visit...

Lunchtime ska on Sunday

Popular ska band SKAZZ from Ireland will be playing again on the terrace of the bar in the bus station in Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera tomorrow Sunday Feb.8th 2015 from about 12 noon. It is a free event, but please throw some cash into the hat. If last Sunday is anything to go by (see image below) this will be a fantastic gig, and rumour has it that once again this will be followed by a session with lots of different musicians until sunset. 

Top spots to watch sunsets - Part 2

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.

Part of the panorama at the bus station bar

Today I want to give you some impressions of one of my favourite places for watching the sun go down. It is the bar and terrace at the bus station near the petrol station across the bridge in La Calera. The Bar Estacion de Guaguas as it is called in Canarian Spanish, because the Spanish word for bus, which is autobus, isn't used in the Canary Islands where a bus is called a guagua instead. The small bar and its large inviting terrace are on an elevated site offering spectacular views over banana plantations all across the bay and over to El Hierro island and the sunsets can be enjoyed taking in the full panorama.

The bus station bar is popular with locals and visitors all day on their travels in and out of the valley, with people waiting for the buses, and with hikers on their way up or down the mountains. Ramiro, the friendly host has a wide variety of drinks on offer, including some genuine Irish whiskeys, and supplies snacks and ice creams. As he is fond of live music, musicians are welcome to play a few tunes and local regulars sometimes have a lively session and sing-song, called a parranda. There's even two guitars and an Irish bodhran hanging on the wall waiting to be used...

 

Sunsets don't come much better

Valle Gran Rey could be called 'The Sunset Capital Of The Canary Islands', but that may be just local pride. I've seen many an Atlantic sunset in the West of Ireland and sunsets over the rest of the world's oceans. They all have one thing in common: There's always he odd one that takes your breath away and makes even the most stressed and hurried and cynical people stop in their tracks just to ...waaaaaatch. The good ones tend to last for much longer than the rest and no camera will ever do justice to them. In Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera sunsets have become a focal point for all, almost a ritual, often with drummers, fire jugglers, musicians and dancers - but more about that another time. Today I'll just give you a few photos of a rare, long lasting sundown which I took last night while munching a tasty cosmopolitan falafel.

...and please do find out more about the monument man Hautacuperche with his broken bowl, 'The Last of the Independents' as Rory Gallagher sang in a different context.

The island of El Hierro in the background  

Hautacuperche

There are many bars and restaurants that offer vantage seats for viewing. Photo was taken from the
'Bar Estacion de Guaguas' (Bus Station Bar) near the only petrol station (La Calera) just a week ago

Hautacuperche last night. There are several bars, restaurants and the Hotel Gran Rey within 100 yds.