Video of day of traditional music and dance

Above a video with scenes from yesterdays romeria, the day of folk music and dance in the capital San Sebastian de La Gomera's streets where the attendance broke all records and even some journalists from abroad were reporting the event.

Folk in the streets of San Sebastian de La Gomera

From noon today there will be folk music and a general party feeling
in the streets and in the main square of San Sebastian de La Gomera.
This colourful 'romeria' is held in honour of the town's patron saint.
The festivities in the capital will continue until January 24th, 2016.

New mobile mast for mobiles

A mobile mast for mobile 'phones

The van-mounted mast 

The currently very poor mobile 'phone reception in many parts of Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera, is set to improve substantially soon when a newly erected mobile mast will have been calibrated and switched on. The temporary unit supplied by Spanish multinational company Movistar was stationed and fenced off at the roundabout by the sea in the harbour village of Vueltas not far from where the final permanent mast is to be erected soon in the outer harbour from where it will reach as far as La Playa in the west.

Reception had been very poor after an initial total blackout in June 2014 when the ancillary infrastructure at the large mast in La Calera was sabotaged once again because of its strongly-felt radiation and damage was such that it could not be repaired. 

Storm Alex now first hurricane of 2016

Enhanced satellite image (above) of of the first hurricane of 2016, named Alex and of category 1. Alex is also the first January hurricane since 1955 and the unusual location of its formation in the far eastern Atlantic near the Canary Islands and the Azores in relatively cool waters of 20-22ºC make this an exceptional weather event.
Alex’s unusual life as a January hurricane will be a short one. The system is already accelerating northward ahead of a strong upper-level trough, and by late Friday it should be a powerful post-tropical low racing toward Greenland. 

The rare storm was about 900 miles W-NW of the Canary Islands at the time of writing, but it will not affect us much at all. Only with a bit of luck we might get some rain, but hardly any wind at all. A very different and potentially very dangerous scenario for the Azores, though - see latest NHC bulletin below:

HURRICANE ALEX ADVISORY NUMBER   4
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL       AL012016
1100 AM AST THU JAN 14 2016
...ALEX BECOMES A HURRICANE...
...HURRICANE WARNING ISSUED FOR THE AZORES...
SUMMARY OF 1100 AM AST...1500 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...31.5N 28.4W
ABOUT 490 MI...790 KM S OF FAIAL ISLAND IN THE CENTRAL AZORES
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...85 MPH...140 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 20 DEGREES AT 20 MPH...31 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...981 MB...28.97 INCHES
WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:
The Azores Meteorological Service has issued a Hurricane Warning
for the islands of Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Graciosa, and Terceira in
the central Azores, and a Tropical Storm Warning for the islands
of Sao Miguel and Santa Maria in the eastern Azores.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for...
* Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Graciosa, and Terceira in the central
Azores
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...
* Sao Miguel and Santa Maria in the eastern Azores
For storm information specific to your area, please monitor
products issued by your national meteorological service.

DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Alex was located
near latitude 31.5 North, longitude 28.4 West. Alex is moving toward
the north-northeast near 20 mph (31 km/h) and a turn toward the
north with an increase in forward speed is expected over the next
day or two.  On the forecast track, the center of Alex will move
near or over portions of the Azores Friday morning.
Maximum sustained winds are near 85 mph (140 km/h) with higher
gusts.  Little change in strength is forecast through Friday.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the
center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 150 miles
(240 km).
The estimated minimum central pressure is 981 mb (28.97 inches).

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
WIND:  Tropical-storm-force winds are expected to begin over
portions of the Azores tonight.  Hurricane conditions are expected
to spread over the central Azores by early Friday.
Wind speeds atop and on the windward sides of hills and mountains
are often up to 30 percent stronger than the near-surface
winds indicated in this advisory, and in some elevated locations
could be even greater.

RAINFALL:  Alex is expected to produce total rain accumulations of
3 to 5 inches over the Azores through Friday, with possible
isolated maximum amounts of 7 inches.  These rains could produce
life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.

STORM SURGE:  A dangerous storm surge is expected to produce
significant coastal flooding near and to the east of the center of
Alex.  Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and
destructive waves.

Subtropical storm Alex to miss Canary Islands

A rare subtropical storm has formed about 850 miles west of the Canary Islands and about the same distance south of the Azores. While the latter islands are likely to feel the full brunt of the storm to hurricane force winds and heavy rain later today and tomorrow, the Canary Island remain under the influence of dry air from North Africa and relatively high pressure. Locals here would have preferred if the system would bring some badly needed rain to the Canaries as the winter so far has been much too dry, but it now looks unlikely that the system will bring much precipitation, if any. Anyway, the good news is that the winds here will remain light to moderate.
UPDATE: Storm Alex now first hurricane of 2016

Here's an extract from the bulletin of the NHC in Florida:

BULLETIN
SUBTROPICAL STORM ALEX ADVISORY NUMBER   3
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL  

...ALEX CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN...
...EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE AZORES TONIGHT AND FRIDAY...

SUMMARY OF 500 AM AST...0900 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...30.1N 29.3W
ABOUT 560 MI...905 KM SSW OF THE AZORES
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...70 MPH...110 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 20 DEGREES AT 18 MPH...30 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...984 MB...29.06 INCHES

DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
At 500 AM AST (0900 UTC), the center of Subtropical Storm Alex was
located near latitude 30.1 North, longitude 29.3 West. The storm is
moving toward the north-northeast near 18 mph (30 km/h).  A turn
toward the north with an increase in forward speed is expected by
this afternoon.  On the forecast track, the center of Alex will move
through the central Azores late tonight or early Friday.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 70 mph (110 km/h)
with higher gusts.  Some fluctuations in strength are possible
during the next 48 hours. Alex is expected to move through the
Azores with storm-force winds Thursday night and Friday...

The forecast track of STS Alex

Construction of terminal progressing

The construction of the new passenger terminal building in the port of Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera is making good progress. The terminal will cost nearly 400.000 Euros and should be finished by summer. I have been asked several times if the construction of this building would point to the reopening of the ferry line between Valle Gran Rey and San Sebastian de La Gomera (etc.), but sadly this is not the case. The terminal building is a separate entity even if it should facilitate passengers in case of a re-establishment of the ferry connection. There is still no news concerning the ferry line and personally I am a bit pessimistic about the prospects at this stage. 

The terminal is a step in the right direction, however, and it is also intended to make the now mostly empty exterior harbour more attractive to the increasingly popular cruise ship and yacht traffic. Visiting yachts have to pay the same harbour dues here as in other ports in the Canaries, but do not find the same facilities included.

In any case Vueltas and Valle Gran Rey will finally receive the first (and badly needed) public toilets. Below you can see what the finished project should look like:

Goliath and David

The 100.000 ton 2800 passenger cruise ship Mein Schiff 4 and the three-masted sail training barque Picton Castle in the harbour of San Sebastian de La Gomera on Saturday morning. The latter was leaving La Gomera for Dakar in Senegal after a longer stay in La Gomera while the brand new cruise ship was on her fortnightly 11hr call.

Minor brushfire rapidly put out

Fire brigade at work in Macayo yesterday (Image © gomeratoday)

A small fire in brush and undergrowth in the Macayo area of Vallehermoso in La Gomera's northwest was reported yesterday at 1:50pm and a unit of the fire brigade was dispatched to the location immediately. The fire was declared as completely extinguished at ten past four in the afternoon. The fire brigade praised the rapid intervention of locals living nearby who fought the fire until their arrival, resulting in very small a burnt area of only about 100 square metres.

This time of the year such fires are a rare occurrence and there had even been some fog and light drizzle in the area in the morning.

No need to go to the beach...

...as you can get a much deeper tan in this La Gomera restaurant. The food there is pretty good, too.

Sailing by...

...the banana plantations of La Gomera's southwest last night was this Swedish yacht, the 130 ft long 'Alva', built in 1939 and of 286 gross tonnage. Today she's in the port of Vueltas.

Three kings - three concerts

Casa La Familia is just a couple of hundred yards down the coast road (and then up a bit on left) from La Playa towards the statue in Valle Gran Rey . The last band on poster comes from Sweden.

Main Christmas Presents and Fiesta Jan. 6th

Fiesta in Los Reyes, El Guro, Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera

In Spain and some Latin American countries,the 6th of January is called El Día de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings). It marks the day when the Three Kings or Magi, as related in the second chapter of the gospel of Matthew, arrived to worship and bring their gifts to the baby Jesus after following a star in the sky.  In Spanish tradition on January 6th (Epiphany) the kings  Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar (representing Arabia, the Orient, and Africa) arrived on horse, camel and elephant, bringing respectively gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. Children (and many adults) polish and leave their shoes ready for the Kings' presents before they go to bed on the eve of January 6. The next morning presents will appear under their shoes as the kings  take the role of Santa Claus here . Most towns in Spain arrange colorful parades representing the arrival of the Reyes Magos to town a day or two before, so children can see them on their camels or carriages and hand them letters listing their wishes.  Wine, snacks, fruit and milk are left for the Kings and their camels. In Spain, children typically receive presents on this day, rather than on Christmas, though this tradition has changed a bit in recent years, and children now receive presents on both days.

Ermita de Los Reyes in El Guro, Valle Gran Rey

The Ramo

V.alle Gran Rey's oldest church is in El Guro and dedicated to Los Reyes. Every year the Fiesta de Los Reyes in honour of them takes  place on the national holiday Jan. 6th when the 'Ramo' is made this morning at the cultural centre in La Calera. From there the procession to the chapel of Los Reyes starts at midday, led by the 'ramo' which is an artfully bound bouquet of fruit and vegetables of considerable weight. All is a noisy affair with loud firecrackers being shot into the air along the way. A traditional dance is being performed by many worshippers during the processions, accompanied by ancient chants and the 'chacarras y tambores'. The 'chacarras' are a locally made very large type of castanets, of which there is a 'male' and a 'female', the 'female' having a slightly higher pitch. The 'tambores' are Gomera's unique goat-skinned drums. After arrival there's a mass in the chapel in El Guro followed by folklore and several salsa bands and dancing until early morning.

Tomorrow, January 7th, is a local holiday in Valle Gran Rey and afternoon mass at 'Los Reyes'  will be followed by Canarian folklore and a party outside the chapel.

Finally, this year there will be additional activities and entertainment for children in La Playa's Plaza San Pedro in V.G.R. on Sat Jan. 9th from 5pm.

Carry a spare leg...

...and a spare wheel when you travel to La Gomera. German camper van with two unusual 'spares' spotted parked at a beach in La Gomera yesterday. But who knows,  maybe the hula hoop cut someone's leg off... ?

Magical forest

Images taken yesterday when out walking in La Gomera's magical forest in the Garajonay national park .

Happy New Year !

Some tips for New Year's Eve

Spanish guitarist Ulises, one of the
musicians who will be playing at
the Cacatua bar  on New Year's Eve

There's plenty of entertainment to welcome the new year on La Gomera during 'Noche Vieja' (literally 'old night', i.e. New Year's Eve). The main fiestas will be in the larger towns' squares and in Valle Gran Rey it is the turn of the Plaza San Pedro in La Playa with two bands playing until 6am. In the capital the town's main square will fill up for the music around midnight.

Usually people ring in the new year with 12 grapes, one for every month of the coming year and a glass of cava (Spanish champagne) at midnight, often after a meal in a restaurant. Most restaurants will have special set menus which should include the grapes and a glass of bubbly. But do book early as they will fill to capacity.

There will be many open private and public parties and live music gigs in Valle Gran Rey, e.g. in the Cacatua the beer garden there''ll be live music and in its upper bar a DJ. It's situated in the harbour village of Vueltas, generally the most lively area at night. There's always a surprise in store at the now famous and best music venue of VGR, the Casa La Familia, a social club complete with camp fire and an alternative bohemian flair, which you'll find a bit hidden just off the main  road along the beach in La Playa. There's many more options all over Valle Gran Rey and I'm sure you'll be able to find them as you will hear them.
Some parties only get really going after midnight and continue until the early hours of the 1st of January, so make sure you have a good siesta-nap during the day before you go out...

Another UK newspaper features La Gomera

Large UK daily The Mirror published a nice feature about La Gomera written by Jaqui Thake in its travel section just a few days ago. I've posted most of it below and hope you can spot the few forgivable errors the author made:

''Island paradise of La Gomera is worth so much more than just a whistle-stop tour

Tall order: Dizzy diners look over the sea to Tenerife

''I have received a few whistles in my day – albeit many years ago – but never one as shrill and censorious as this. At the time I was driving in a pitch-black tunnel through a mountain in La Gomera. Loosely translated it meant: “For heaven’s sake, put your bleeping lights on!”

Whistling, as I will explain later, is a very important part of the island’s culture, but right then it only added to my stress

Of course, I would have put the blinking lights on, had I been able to find the switch. But I’d only been in the unfamiliar hire car for a short while and I was still trying to get to grips with driving on the wrong side of the road while negotiating continuous hairpin bends on precipitous mountain roads edged with sheer vertical plunges.

Hubby Tom was no help ­whatsoever. I could feel his fear as he sat rigidly hanging on for dear life – with both hands – to the handle above the door. Through tight, terrified lips he whined about how I should have left him on his sunbed...

Driving around this unique and fascinating island in the Canaries can only be described as ear-popping, heart-stopping and jaw-dropping. 

If you’re looking for discos, drinking orgies, fast-food outlets, tattoo parlours and bright lights (OK, I could have done with some in the tunnel) then La Gomera is not for you.

Scenic: The picturesque town of Agulo

There are no McDonald’s, there’s not even a single traffic light. But there are some of the most stunningly arresting views you’ll see anywhere. Craggy volcanic mountains, dense forests and black sandy beaches all paint a dramatic picture.

Even Tom had to admit it was worth the “discomfort” of my driving to experience this raw and wild adventure

We were told that La Gomera – which as the crow flies measures a mere 15 miles across (although it climbs to nearly 5,000ft) – has as many as 400 microclimates. I’m pretty sure we encountered all 400.

One minute we were driving through blazing sunshine, the next we would be shrouded in mist. Further up, or down, the road we’d be rocked by a furious wind or a sudden burst of torrential rain.

But it all added to the excitement. And only intensified the exhilaration of reaching probably the most sensational viewpoint on the island – from the Mirador de Abrante restaurant. Here we were given the best table in the house, right next to the overhanging glass balcony from which you can look literally straight down on to the cute town of Agulo, 1,300ft below, and across the sea to La Gomera’s big brother, Tenerife.

Height-phobic Tom sat with his back against the wall, refusing to budge any closer to the glass. He muttered something about already being on enough of a high holidaying with me. But it was a beautiful clear day so when he plucked up courage to open his eyes, he was rewarded with an outstanding view of Tenerife’s imposing volcano Teide.

But he shuddered as I followed a large group of “well-eaten” (as the locals put it) German tourists out on to the balcony as they gleefully jumped up and down on the glass floor.

However, he was compensated with a tasty traditional lunch of cress soup, fresh fish and an egg custard desert, plus delicious local wine. All the while we felt as if we were flying – along with the paragliders swooping and soaring as they jumped off a nearby cliff.

During lunch we learned more about the island’s ancient ­communication through whistling. This extraordinary language, called the Silbo Gomera, was developed centuries ago to cope with the difficult geography. ­Whistling carries much further than shouting. It can be heard up to two miles away.

Unspoiled: La Gomera is unlike any of the other Canary Islands

It almost died out some years ago, but since 1999 has been a compulsory subject in school, and has even merited the protection of UNESCO. Nowadays almost all the island’s 22,000 population understand it and many still practise it, particularly during festivities and ceremonies.

It’s very sophisticated, as demonstrated by our two waiters. One was sent outside while the other whistled to him: “Come back in and retrieve the pen from the pocket of the wimp in the checked shirt cowering against the wall.” Which he duly did.

The language is also very useful to express tunnel road rage.

Back on the road, we roamed all over the island. We were based for the first three days on the east coast in the main tourist area of Valle Gran Rey before making our way back to the capital, San Sebastian, for the last two days.

Our travels took us through the lush national park full botanical wonders, and north to Agulo where we stopped for a delicious tapas lunch at Restaurante La Vieja Escula. 

Another day we headed south to Playa de Santiago for lunch at the posh Hotel Jardin Tecina – beyond scrumptious.

Romantic Tom was upset that we didn’t have time to enjoy the hotel’s special dining experience in a real cave set in a hill. It’s so private dinner is delivered by basket on a cable. The cave is well furnished – it even has a huge bed. One wonders why, as you can’t stay overnight…

To further ensure we went home looking “well eaten”, we can recommend the delicious meal of fresh tuna, Canarian potatoes and salad served at sea while whale-watching aboard the Tina.

It was thrilling enough to see around a dozen Pilot whales and several Bottlenose dolphins. But we were totally overwhelmed when a pod of around 200 exuberant Atlantic spotted dolphins chose to leap around our boat.

If only I could whistle, it would be a piercing one in appreciation of all that La Gomera has to offer. We had a blast. ''    (www.mirror.co.uk)

Spanish April Fool's Day December 28th

If you should be in a Spanish-speaking country today don't believe everything you're being told or read in the paper. As our April Fools' Day is little known in Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America the rough equivalent is El Día de los Santos Inocentes and is observed on Dec. 28th each year in much the same way as our April Fools' Day.

In its origins, the day had a sort of gallows humor. The Day of the Innocents observes the day when, according to the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible, King Herod ordered the baby boys under 2 years old in Bethlehem to be killed because he was afraid that the baby Jesus born there would become a rival. As it turned out, though, the baby Jesus had been taken away to Egypt by Mary and Joseph. So the "joke" was on Herod, and thus followed the tradition of tricking friends on that day.

La Gomera - not so far from the Sahara

Damien Enright, a former resident and connoiseur of La Gomera, reported the following in the Irish Examiner just before Christmas:

'' Robed figure resembled character from nativity scene

All that was missing was the camel. The half-lit scene of the large man wearing full Palestinian-style head-dress and robes standing by a stable beside a remote road in La Gomera, Canary Islands, the clear cobalt sky and a single star behind him, could have been a tableau for a Christmas night at Bethlehem, and the man one of the three kings.

He certainly looked authentic, a real Arab. The stable, supported by rough-hewn posts and roofed with broken terracotta tiles, could have been a stable 2000 years ago.

As my pal and I drove past, I wondered what a man in full Arab dress was doing in in the proverbial middle-of-nowhere, on this island that where there are almost no Arab immigrants whatsoever, and whose last north African visitation was the Mountain Berbers, the Guanches, who arrived on the islands, then unpopulated, around the 10th century.

The sudden glow of a cigarette tip convinced me that he was a local, probably having a quiet smoke before heading off to take part in some fiesta or other. He’s not an Arab, I said to my pal as we drove past. Oh yes, said my pal, he most certainly is. He’s from what was once Spanish Sahara. He and two dozen others are here to work in the banana plantations at La Dama.

They have little contact with the Gomero people, except at work. Almost all are single men, but there are three or four families — lucky for La Dama, because their children keep the local primary school open; otherwise the village would no longer have sufficient children to warrant a school. The area of Spanish Sahara, bounded by the Atlantic ocean to the west and the ocean of sand stretching from the Mauritanian border to the Red Sea to the east, was 266,000sq km. Ireland is 84,400sq km.

Its population, Desert Berbers called Sahrawis, wandered the oases of the vast territory, trading in camels, or lived in coastal villages, where they fished. They were uneasy with Spanish colonial rule, which lasted from 1884 to 1975, when Spain ceased to govern at the behest of the UN de-colonisation initiative. It was the last of Spain’s extensive colonies, which once stretched from the Americas to the Philippines.

I recall, when I lived in Ibiza in the early 1960s, the locals complaining that their sons were posted to Spanish Sahara’s dusty, no-horse town of Al Aaiún for their two-year compulsory military service while young men from the neighbouring island Majorca got postings on mainland Spain. Ibiza had been on the anti-Franco Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, and was still suffering for its allegiance.

When Spain gave up its colony, Morocco and Mauritania laid claim.

Meanwhile, a Sahrawi guerilla force known as Polisario attempted to create an independent state. They blocked Mauritanian occupation, but were defeated by Morocco in the Western Sahara War in 1975. The Moroccans built a berm, a sand wall running the length of what is now the western border of The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Polisario). It is economically useless and heavily mined, The Sahrawis fled to Algeria where 150,000 have lived in camps at Tindouf, and 25,000 in Mauritania, longer than almost any other refugees worldwide. The camps are largely self-governing.

Polisario’s socialist policy heavily emphasises modernisation through education, the emancipation of women and suppression of tribalism. Sahrawi women played a major part in pre-refugee life and now in camp administration. Western Sahara remains a disputed territory where the UN recognises neither Moroccan nor Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic sovereignty.

It is strangely apt that Berbers should find work in the Canary Islands where the pre-Spanish, indigenous settlers were Berber Guanches — and, especially, that they should come to La Gomera where Guanche DNA is found in 60% of the local people, double or triple that of the other islands.

The Guanches maintained no contact with home. Local names, however, and surviving phrases of their obsolete language reveal the connection; there is, for example, a town called Gomera in Libya. Once a Berber town, it might since have become Arabic and Muslim.

The Guanches were not Muslims; they worshipped gods of sun, moon and rain. Possibly they fled to the islands before the onslaught of Islam spreading across north Africa in the 6th and 7th centuries. They fell off the world’s edge and found paradise....'' (Damien Enright, Irish Examiner)

Swimmer bitten by shark

The tooth marks of the shark in the swimmer's arm. Image published on Twitter by the victim: @ojedathies

A 38-year-old doctor from Madrid on holidays with family on Gran Canaria had an unpleasant Christmas surprise when she was bitten in her lower arm by a shark while swimming only 20 yards out from a cliff near the beach at Arinaga, just south of the island's airport on Christmas Day.

Arinaga, Gran Canaria

The experienced hobby diver is a fellow of the European Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons and appeared unruffled by the ordeal. She smilingly declared that after hitting the shark hard with the arm that was not in the predator's mouth, ''the beast'' finally let go. The shark then vanished into the depths of the sea. The victim also stated that afterwards she was disappointed that it didn't return so she could have had a better look at the animal which she described as large and about 1,7 metres long. Immediately after the attack she attended the local health centre where she received a number of stitches in her arm and a course of antibiotics. She also said she was lucky that no tendons were severed.

Meanwhile biologists and other experts have issued statements that shark attacks in the waters around the Canary Islands are extremely rare and at most occur of once every 50 years and that Arinaga remains ''one of the best locations for swimming and diving''. From the victim's description and the corresponding bite marks the scientists conclude that the animal in question was probably a Silky shark (Carcharhinus Falciformis), one of the most abundant sharks in the seas between 40ºN-40ºS and highly migratory.

In Novermber 2013 a fisherman was bitten by a shark 22 miles off the coast of La Gomera after he had accidentally caught the animal.