La Gomera 3.0
It was another pleasant morning when we woke and we were to explore the southern and eastern parts of the Island.
We went for a coffee at the nearby café having had a light breakfast. I was wearing an Arc 2019 (the Atlantic shirt) tee-shirt and when I sat down a man said did you do the Arc in 2019 and I said yes. He said we did it too and we swapped stories. He had done it on a Catamaran and he asked what I was doing now and I told him. We got chatting and he was from Berlin and when I asked him where his boat was he said it was in France being repaired. He then relayed the story of last year when he was sailing in Croatia that he saw storm clouds ahead and told his wife and crew to shut hatches and doors as it was going to rain. He put the second reef (making it smaller) in the mainsail. The rain came and the wind went up to 35 kts so he turned on his radar to see where they were in the rainstorm and the wind then declined to 16 kts but he saw that they were in the middle of the storm. Then suddenly the wind really increased and then there was a crack and the mast broke over to the starboard side and the Catamaran overturned and he was thrown free into the water. His wife and children were inside and they escaped using the emergency hatches. They were rescued shortly after and the boat was saved. He said that the repairers said for that to have happened the wind must have been about 100kts. They survived and what a tale.
Mark and I set off in the car chatting about this for some time. We drove up the same road initially with the fantastic views and it is a well-built road. The issue is that most of the time you are in third gear and there are lots of hairpin bends which meander up the ravines. Cleverly they have put lots of viewpoints so you can stop to take pictures of the amazing landscapes. As per the day before the cloud and mo
mist began to appear the higher we went and then we were into clear rain and the forest dripping with moisture. We continued on the road past Laguna Grande, that we had stopped at the day before and then we arrived at a stopping point where we planned to do a walk. However, it would not have been enjoyable in the rain, so we carried on.
We eventually came to the road to Valle Gran Rey (Valley of the Great King). This was a steep ravine and became very green with terraces and lots of Palm trees with houses perched on the steep slopes. It was not only dramatic but beautiful and you wondered how people existed. It was a fertile ravine and the road ultimately led to the town of its name with a suitably named beach Playa de Ingles. We got out and walled around. It had quite an arty feel with ceramic shops and art galleries and hiking type shops. We wandered round to the port and there was no marina and quite a few boats anchored off. There was a small beach near the port where a number of people were snorkelling and a sign which indicated that there were different types of Manta Rays. We did not have our swimming gear with us or we would have gone in. It was too early for lunch, so we headed on back up the ravine and then headed off east on B roads.
This was different from the main roads and was cross country as it were passing through little villages and green barren countryside. We came to one village and stopped for lunch where we had some nice dishes There were pictures on the walls on the family from years ago when life would have been very hard.
We continued on and went down another dramatic ravine to Playa di Santiago which was a small town on the coast with a black sandy beach, a port and a few restaurants. You could feel the pace of life her was slow and there was not a lot going on. We decided to head back to San Sebastian and had to climb up the ravine to join the main road back.
We returned the hire car and went in search of a proper ice cream. It had been another great day and we had seen a good bit of the Island. This Island is stunning and with such variety. In travelling around you see four seasons in one day with temperatures ranging from about 12-30 depending on where you go. The roads which are well made provide great views and such variety. If you have not been here, you should. It does not feel too busy or touristy.
We move on tomorrow to La Palma another small Island to the Northwest.