La Gomera

Since end of last week we are at San Sebastian Marina, La Gomera. We had a long day sail from Puerto de Mogán, Gran Canarias, experiencing two acceleration zones, with x-beam winds gusts of 40 knots. Good news was that the seas didn’t build corresponding waves so the sail was fast but not very uncomfortable with 30 degree healing at times but no breaking waves. La Gomera is a very different treat comparing to Gran Canarias. Small village atmosphere, all people you meet greet you, very few non Spanish tourists (at least here in San Sebastian).  Beaches here are made from volcanic sand, i.e. black sand and visibility in the water has not been very good as compared to Puerto Mogán. The island is definitely of volcanic origin with the highest peak of close to 1500 meters but due to topology, all roads go through a hub at the center of the island, meaning driving to a sea town, 10 nm from our marina takes close to two hours. Yesterday we took such a bus ride to Valle Gran Rey. We are both used to sheer heights, but this trip was something extraordinary. Roads very narrow, standard length bus, driving on roads that would be rated bicycle standard in northern Europe – wow! Anyway, a fantastic treat costing us 5 Euro each, and memory for life. Driving around Grand Madeira two months ago, we thought Madeira was a Europe record of greenhouse feeling. Yesterday´s bus trip crossing part of “Parque Nacional Garajonay” raised the bar. The luscious, intense greenery consists of a variety of trees and plants, which grow there because of the high percentage of humidity and mist together with a constant temp all year round. The National Park is an ecological treasure which was declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. Valle Gran Rey turned out to be a nice village with a lot of German tourists and permanent residents.
Yesterday we met with Richard, the owner of  a British flagged daycruiser rigged with game fish equipment. Richard was very happy and explained the two flags at the top of the fishing gear rods, one white and one red, both with Blue Marlin logos. Yesterday they caught a 550 pound (250 kg) Blue Marlin. The red flag indicated they were able to release the big fish alive after one hour fight, which by the way is law in the Canaries from a certain size/weight. Just before this huge catch they had a much larger Blue Marlin on the hook, estimated to 1000 pounds or more, that slipped away in the end. Richard explained these huge fish can become very dangerous as they can jump in to the boat and with a couple of hundred kilos of muscles. We were offered to join him next week, just sharing the fuel costs. We would love to but if we do, there is a risk we have to stay one more week due to stronger winds and swell coming in the next couple of days.

Harbour overview

Mirador / Parador La Gomera. Teide, the 3700 m high peak of Tenerife visible in the horizon to the left

Village built on steep hills

Our mooring at San Sebastian, La Gomera

Playa Albolos

Valle Gran Rey

Valle Gran Rey

In case anyone can tell us what this fruit is – you will be our guest blogger 🙂