Setting off on a new venture with excitement.
Waiting in Tenerife for the party ferry.
We arrive in La Gomera by ferry. The runway of the island's airport is too short for international flights, which helps explain the absence of tourist hordes - yet the ferry ride is a delight in itself.
We were on the viewing deck as the boat began its approach and we got an amazing first glimpse of the scale of the island's landmass. Ringed by volcanic cliffs rippled with sandstone strata of vivid aubergines and golds, it rises from the ocean to a height of almost 1500 metres: an inscrutable primeval mountain. The port of San Sebastian, where the ferry docks, is - to be honest - a bit of a let-down - a hotchpotch of industrial buildings and hillside sprawl of functional housing (albeit in ice-cream colours).
Very soon though our coach takes us on an extraordinary switchback journey over mountain passes, ravines and valleys to the fishing village of Playa de Santiago, La Gomera's sunniest spot, and our villa set high above the town at El Balcon de Santa Ana, with mesmerising views across to Tenerife's Mount Teide, the highest peak in all of Spain. (Perhaps strangely, Gomeros regard Mount Teide as part of "their" island. "It's because we see it nearly all the time". For people on Tenerife itself, it's shrouded in mist more often than not.) Our "new home" an haven of tranquillity - flower- filled and drenched in birdsong. But who is in our pool?
It's Alun, Gemma and Emmie. Despite the fact that we left Bristol Airport at 6 a.m. and they left Bournemouth airport at 11.00 a.m. they have beaten us. They managed to catch the fast ferry.
The next morning we begin this latest visit lapping up the luxury of breakfasting among palm trees when the grandchildren suddenly appear and immediately take the plunge into the beautifully warm pool. This is pretty much where they remain for the next two weeks. Except when they visit the main pool and it's bar for its ready supplies of ice cream and slushies. After breakfast they couldn't wait to join the enthusiastic Kids Club team for a fun packed morning of tennis, (I loved going to watch because the courts are perched on terraces backing on to the cliffs, the most glorious setting for the game I've ever seen, infinity tennis!), crazy golf, arts and crafts, and pizza making.
Treasure hunt to find the terrapins....
And great fun in the big pool with the inflatable.
And the Hamster Ball
More fun and games in our pool too for the daily enthusiastic bout of water volleyball.
Mike and Gemma decided to jog along the cliff-hugging path that skirts the front of El Balcon each morning. It is breath-taking in every sense and Mike said it must rank among the most spectacular early morning jogs he has ever done. Unfortunately, Alun, Gemma and Emmie could only stay for one week due to work commitments, so Mike then opted for the steep path down to the town to the Bakers and then jogged back up with the chocolate croissants. I only walked it but going down is bad, coming back worse. King of the Mountain. Caroline did Pilates/Yoga. The most exercise I did was Tai Chi and very nice it was too - repairing afterwards to our gorgeous sea-view garden with a glass of cava.
Whilst Mike and Emmie do gymnastics
Then in the evening we walked down to the Shearwater Bar.
Also little ones that have a hidden (or not so) talent have the chance to perform in the HPB's Got Talent show. We watched super-cute performances but best of all (in my opinion) was Chloe and Jamie's Baby Shark performance.
Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo x 3 Baby shark (Chloe sang the words and Jamie the doo, doos.)
But then to everyone's surprise they altered the words to:-
HPB doo doo doo doo, etc.
Holiday " " "
Summertime " "
Talent Show " "
It's the Best " "
And all the performers received a magnificent glass HPB's Got Talent Trophy. So proud of them.
Afterwards, we danced the night away - toddlers who have barely begun to walk, children, teenagers, parents and grandparents - all doing the Macarena.
The quizmaster (yes gregarious guests have the chance to shine at the music quiz)/keyboard player Valentin also does excellent tours of La Gomera. http://www.vsvtours.com). La Gomera is shaped like a giant fruit squeezer, with steep valleys radiating from the centre. So glad he was driving. We left our villa and followed the road towards Alajero, passing the airport of La Gomera, to our first stop at Laguna Grande in the island's astonishing Garajonay National Park. The drive is a cracker - another roller-coaster ride, this time through deep ravines tiered with palm trees and almost lunar expanses of rocky plateau.
Over 12 million years ago a series of oceanic rifts allowed molten rock to vent on to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. As they piled higher and higher a series of islands formed off the North African coast. Today they form Spain's Canary Islands. One of the last islands to emerge from the ocean was La Gomera rising 5,000 feet above sea level. During the Ice Age, while much of Europe froze, heavy rains lashed the island and powerful rivers carved out deep ravines, forming a dramatic landscape. With the passing of the years the island became drier, creating semi-desert conditions around the lower slopes while high up in the mountains laurel cloud forests thrived, and still do today, with many microclimates lying between the two extremes. The Garajonay National Park - too glorious to bypass, no matter how many times you've visited La Gomera - is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and lies in the centre of the island around its highest peak. This densely wooden region is almost always shrouded in mists and clouds as it was on the day we visited.
The climate at sea level is an easy, year round 20 - 27 C, but the routes inland are vertiginous, the rise in altitude abrupt, and at an average of one degree cooler per 100m elevation, it is easy to lose 14 degrees as you climb into the mountains. Be prepared and pack your shorts and jumpers!
There was a lovely little play area so the children could run around and warm up. Also a circle of stones, the story goes that at night, in the middle of the forest (now a children's play area) on full moon nights all the witches on the island used to meet to dance and make pacts with the devil!!
We then wandered along a trail through the forest of laurel and heather trees. It felt quite surreal, as moss-covered branches stretched out into the mists each dripping with the water that condensed on them from the clouds. Lush green ferns covered the forest floor, vivid green in the streams of sunlight that occasionally broke through the mists. It's mysterious, beautiful and rather creepy at times but I can see why this National Park is a great draw for the hikers in their Bill'n'Ben hats.
Millions of years ago laurel forests once covered much of Southern Europe but now they exist only on a handful of islands in the Atlantic. The Laurissilva forest is not green from rain, as the dry semi-deserts on the Canary Islands testify. Instead, it catches the moist carried with the trade winds, which eternally blows from the humid north, touches the Canaries and then crosses the Atlantic towards the Caribbean. In the morning, the mountains on the North side of Gomera are often covered in fog. The fog condenses on the trees, and seeps into the ground, where porous volcanic rocks in the deep of the island act as a large sponge, and stores the water. This water keeps the forest eternally green, is the source for all the streams on La Gomera, and supplies the drinking water.
Our helter-skelter ride continued to the Mirador del Abrante in the north of the Island. Do make the effort to visit this restaurant you will not be disappointed. Very generous in that they allowed us on their dramatic glass balcony towering thousands of feet over the edge even though we did not buy anything. (It was only 11 a.m.). We could only marvel at the engineering skills needed to build it. The location is very special with superb views (when the clouds clear) of the village of Agulo and the ocean way below.
We then visited the village of Agulo and the viewing platform can be seen way up overhanging the cliffs. It's a long way up!!
Agulo is one of the oldest towns in La Gomera. It is a picturesque town facing the ocean, with beautiful cobbled, narrow streets, white-washed colonial houses with ochre roofs. and stunning views to the neighbouring island of Tenerife and its impressive volcano, El Teide. Thanks to its pretty characteristics, Agulo is known as the bon-bon of La Gomera. How Valentin squeezed his mini bus through the narrow streets I do not know!!
Hermigua is a stunning part of La Gomera. It might be the most damp and often grey area but don't let that stop you venturing into this part of the island. Because of the Hermigua's microclimate it is very green and an extremely attractive tropical/sub tropical valley. Hermigua was the base of many of La Gomera's early inhabitants. As you look up and around the valley you can see examples of how the early inhabitants have built what feels like miles and miles of dry stone terraces all the way down the mountains for all their food to be grown all over the hills of this damp part of the island. Imagine what it was like in the old days. It's amazing what they managed to do on the side of a mountain. Higgledy-piggledy yes, but that was for practical reasons. Those builders used every stone available - from big to small, flat to curved. These terraces were used to irrigate the crops. Over the years everything from sugar cane, grapes for wine, bananas to tomatoes and much more have been grown on this land. Canary Wharf in London takes its name from the sea trade with the Canary Islands. Back when steam was king, the Canaries were strategically important for passage from Britain to the Americas, being the last fuelling port before sailing on across the Atlantic. A constant supply of good-quality coal was needed to power ships on the final leg of their journey, and coal from the collieries of the UK was brought over in ships to be stored. Bringing coal from the UK was all well and good, but returning empty ships made no business sense so the boats returned taking local produce. Bananas had been grown in the Canaries since around the 16th Century and were mainly used for animal feed or fertiliser until this point. Bananas were considered exotic in the UK at that time, but steadily became commonplace in the British diet as the banana boats became more frequent. Tomatoes had a similar destiny. Considered bad for the health in the islands, they were increasingly cultivated due to their appreciation abroad.
All this talk of food, it was time to stop for lunch at Café and Bar Pedro in Hermigua. We shared delicious tapas on a terrace area outside with great views of the hills around and the banana trees lining the valley floor all the way to the sea shore. The view alone is worth the visit.
We continued on our journey, stopping next at Roque de Agando. This giant stone, 1,246 metres high, is an old volcanic vent exposed to millions of years of erosion.
We then decided it was time to head back to our Villa for a refreshing swim. An excellent day out.
I felt light years away from the chaos and brashness associated with the Canary Islands' more obvious tourist destinations. Bathed in sunshine and silence, with only sea, sky and nature for company, I could have been in a different century. I don't think we encountered a single traffic light on our drive into the northwest of the island, the landscape had seemed at times near-biblical in its stillness. And the rituals of rural life playing out along the wayside were as though from another era.
The next day we walked down into Playa de Santiago and had lunch on the beach at La Chalana. The fish is always delicious and the calamari is arguably some of the best in the world (not forgetting Chapman's Peak Hotel in Cape Town). It's cheap, yards from the sea and quirky.
Great beach to collect rocks, paint and then hide.
The children also spotted our villa in the distance.
We also enjoyed being treated to a delicious dinner en famille at La Cuevita next to the Marina. The inside of the restaurant is a Cave!
Tasca Enyesque takes tapas to a new level. Fabulous food and service. The waiters advise against more than one plate each. Exceptional value on a side street. Exelente.
Caroline and Mike decided to have a romantic meal for two without the children at The Cave for Two at Hotel Jardin-Tecina. Apparently it was amazing, really unique. Once shown to the cave all their meals and drinks were delivered by a basket and pulley system. No disturbance except the waves crashing on the nearby shore of Playa de Santiago. A wonderful meal in romantic surroundings.
But some of the best meals were cooked on the bar-be-que. Thanks guys.
The only trouble was the holiday flew by all too quickly. Back to the reality of real life, still there's always another holiday to look forward to.
We watched dolphins in La Gomera from our garden and they playfully accompanied us on our return ferry trip to Tenerife, the grandchildren squealing with delight at having spotted them displaying their acrobatic skills and leaping metres into the air as we approached Las Christanos. Suddenly everyone is transported directly back to their childhood, clapping hands and gasping with delight!
We are already plotting a return to El Balcon.
