New plans for Casa Maria yet again

I took the above photo of Casa Maria when it was first put up for sale a few years ago.

Legendary Casa Maria and its popular bar, restaurant and rustic guest house which has remained closed since it was put on the market a few years ago could finally be saved and given a new lease of life.

The building at the popular sunset meeting point sadly was deteriorating rapidly with parts of a balcony facing the sea collapsing onto the coast road and ugly security fencing protecting passers-by from crumbling masonry.

Various attempts to buy the building were made and there even were plans to turn the landmark into a McDonalds fast food outlet (see here...), but as often with any plans in La Gomera, none came to fruition.

Then in 2021 I reported that the authorities had decided to bring an additional police force, the Policia Canaria, to Valle Gran Rey to deal with all the homeless and hippies there and that Casa Maria would become their station. Well, the new police officers are there now, but not in Casa Maria.

Now it has transpired that the proliferation of police, not having much else to do in the small town, have created a large number of ''homeless'', i.e. hippies who have been evicted from the rocks and bushes under which they rest and sleep in a ''major clean-up operation''. Some of them don't have the means to travel onwards to a more welcoming place or to rent a place to stay in La Gomera. Prices for accommodation have risen considerably in recent years and with mostly full occupancy at peak times beds are hard to find even for many well-heeled tourists. Some hippies are not short of funds, though, but prefer to sleep under the stars by choice. I once met a raggedly looking 'cave-dweller' who was flashing his gold credit card around the shops, but giving all he bought away to his needy hippie friends. 

Most of the evicted hippies though have no other choice but to find another bush, rock, crevice or cave where to unroll their yoga mats and sleeping bags from whence the police will then eventually make them move on once again. Thus a vicious circle has developed which is dividing the community with some saying that the hippies do no harm and started all the tourism industry in La Gomera by adding to the island's special charm, while others see hippies as untidy and scaring off the increasingly posh and elderly tourists.

The local administration, the Ayuntamiento de Valle Gran Rey, has now been forced to come to the rescue of the homeless to defuse the situation, and will lease the Casa Maria building for an initial five years. The ayuntamiento will carry out emergency repairs first to make the building safe and will then carry out basic refurbishment to temporarily house homeless hippies.

This is a stroke of genius by the local politicians as Casa Maria and its bar and restaurant is exactly the place where hippies came to as the first tourists in the 1960s, when there was no proper road, no electricity, and no tourism at all. They were most welcome then, sitting outside Casa Maria playing their guitars and drums. If they needed food, running water and a bed, Maria offered it all to them for a few Pesetas that could easily be earned in a few hours busking.

The beach is just across the road where the same music still fills the air at sunset every day during the busy winter season since then, and long may it last...

As everything takes quite some time in La Gomera, the temporary ''homeless hippie hostel'' is not expected to be ready and filled with happy hippies once again until April 1st next year.

Sunset gathering at Playa Maria, named of course after Maria of Casa Maria

New police station to be opened in former 'Bar Maria'

Canarian police in action near 'Bar Maria' on their recent stint in Valle Gran Rey (image: Ayuntamiento V.G.R.)

After several years on the property market, the legendary landmark hostelry 'Bar Maria', aka 'Bar Las Journadas' and 'Casa Maria', remains unsold (see previous post) and the building is beginning to deteriorate. For many years a popular meeting spot for locals and visitors with its bar, restaurant and basic tourist accommodation, the site occupies a strategic location on the beachfront in La Playa, Valle Gran Rey. 

Recently La Gomera's Spanish Guardia Civil police force received support from the Canarian police when ten officers of the latter were sent to Valle Gran Rey to help enforce the multitude of measures and restrictions imposed due to coronavirus fears. This police force had not been seen in the municipality previously, but their presence had been requested by the local administration (Ayuntamiento) recently.

However, these officers had to withdraw to their base in Tenerife after about a week due to insufficient space at the Guardia Civil station and lack of suitable accommodation. They are however returning for the Easter holidays, as tougher restrictions and nightly curfews are now in force. Last time they made their presence widely felt, controlling and checking such important matters as the wearing and correct fitting of face coverings by tourists and locals out for a stroll along the beachfront.

New police station 

It has just been confirmed that an agreement has been reached with the help of the Ayuntamiento between the owners of 'Bar Maria' and the Policia Canaria to house about a dozen officers for a longer period there. The Canarian police will  have use of the premises initially for a period of three years and will adapt the building to their needs.

The former dining room will become the main office where a counter with protective glass screens as well as a waiting area will be sectioned-off to accommodate interaction with the public. The separate bar area with its historic huge wooden fridge will become the ''officers mess and recreation area'' while the small commercial kitchen behind it will just need a clean-up. There is plenty of basic accommodation overhead suitable for police officers. Two of the smallest and most basic former guest rooms will be turned into temporary holding cells for apprehended offenders. Initially there is no major redevelopment planned and all alterations will be carried out so they can be changed back if and when the officers leave.

However, it has been disclosed that the Canarian government (under whose control the Policia Canaria is and who provide the funding) has secured an option to purchase the premises as ''the building's two levels of roof terraces (azoteas) offer sweeping views over wide areas of Valle Gran Rey and its coastline, making it ideal for police surveillance work and this may remain needed in the future''.

Local police trained to deal with heart attacks

...before the ambulance arrives. (Archive image)

'The Canary Islander' recently reported:

''In La Gomera, there are many tourists who visit the island with serious health conditions, and island residents could also have health problems, but this island tourist destination has experienced increased incidents of heart attacks or emergency situations when an individual’s heart stops beating for various reasons. The 112-emergency service reacts very quickly by sending ambulances with trained medical staff, but often local police can be at the scene of a health incident more quickly. People who experience heart attacks on holiday are more likely to survive if they receive medical help quickly.

Therefore, the local police in San Sebastian de La Gomera has just received updated training sessions on the use of semi-automatic defibrillators and cardiorespiratory resuscitation methods that should be carried out in emergency situations. Also, cardio respiratory resuscitation equipment is now carried in all patrol cars.

The local police have portable defibrillators that mean that they can move these easily and use them in a wide range of situations. These new defibrillators are in addition to those already installed at three municipal sports centres. In addition, four out of six municipalities in La Gomera have semi-automatic defibrillators in public spaces. So faster responses by local police for emergency health incidents when waiting for ambulances and trained medical experts to arrive.''

More details of dramatic rescue

The rescued  thanking their rescuers (Image: gomeranoticias.com)

More details have emerged of the dramatic rescue in the EL Rejo valley (see previous post). The two ladies are actually 23 years old and both are students from mainland Spain living in Tenerife. The had followed GPS instructions on their mobile phones when in the upper region of the El Rejo valley thinking their phones were showing them a shortcut to the main road through the valley after they had left the hiking path and became lost. One of them then slid about 20 metres down a steep incline and just managed to cling onto the branches of a tree above a vertical drop of 150 metres. The other girl tried to help her friend but ended up in a similar position above the gorge, also clinging to a tree. 

They had already called the emergency services on 112 at around 5 pm saying that they had left the path through the valley and were lost. They then tried to get to the main road before dark using the GPS service on their phones which subsequently lead them into their precarious trap. It was night by then and weather conditions were said to be adverse with high humidity and cold gusty winds, and they were beginning to suffer from exposure. 

A police helicopter from Tenerife set down three specially trained agents of the mountain police unit in the area in the early hours of the morning in 'very difficult conditions' who finally managed to locate the victims still clinging to the branches of trees above the gorge at around 04:20 am. At first light the rescuers began the laborious task of bringing the two ladies down the vertical drop of 150 metres to the bottom of the ravine in several stages with the aid of ropes and harnesses and from there a provisional path had been prepared to bring them to the waiting ambulance on the road where they arrived shaken but uninjured later that morning. Yesterday they visited the police headquarters in Santa Cruz de Tenerife to thank their rescuers.

Trapped hikers rescued with difficulty

Part of the El Rejo valley (Archive)

Two young tourists were brought to safety unharmed yesterday morning after an extended and difficult rescue operation in the northern fringes of La Gomera's national park. The two 22 year old ladies had become lost in the 'El Rejo' valley in the municipality of Hermigua the previous night at dusk and subsequently fell or slid down the mountainside into a position from where they couldn't find a way out. Luckily the remote location has mobile phone cover and they could call for help. The emergency services arrived and managed to locate the trapped hikers, but found they couldn't reach the victims due to the rough and dangerous terrain and lack of light. The stuck girls had to spend the night in their uncomfortable position, but food, etc., was dropped to them and mobile phone communication was maintained at all times. A special mountain unit of the Spanish police was sent from Tenerife and with the help of the local services as well as the national park's forestry department a provisional path had to be constructed to reach the stricken hikers at first light yesterday, and finally the laborious task of bringing them to safety succeeded.  The two victims were said to be unharmed but shaken by their ordeal.
SEE: UPDATE WITH MORE DETAILS