LA GOMERA (E)  DIARY  3

               From Diary 2.
1/11 2025. Day 5. I shift a bit around in my plan, and head across the island, to visit "the big city" of

I manages to avoid making photos all the way up to the top, and down the laurel-forest on the north-western side. Then the road is aligned with mountain peaks and miradors. It is fantastic in the morning sun, and I have numerous identical photos to proof. First stop at Mirador de Tajaque, then Morro del Agando followed by Los Roques.

Down in the drier areas, Mirador de El Sombrero display mainly mountain.
As the road approached the sea, huge mountain sides in a desert area, are covered in numerous man-made terraces. Now, they are barren or at best home to a few succulents.

I park at the edge of San Sebastian de la Gomera, at the dry river, and find the central square, with the huge weeping fig trees, providing shade.
This is the tourist area, with cafes and souvenirs, but without any charm. I do the shopping streets and a few domestic ones, and even visit a church. Many shops are closed, despite it is the first Saturday in the month. Even the city market is almost empty.

The domestic house continues on the surrounding hills - I don’t. in the center are old buildings, some are abandoned sheets, other are three stories with wooden balconies. The oldest building might be the tiny Torre del Conde from 1447, found on a green lane.

The harbour have a lot of dinghies and ships, but no life, except from a few small fishes in the clear, blue water. I try to find the charming part part of the city, then stock lunch, and head off, same way I came; bye GM-2.

Just before is starting to get green, Mirador Degollada de Peraza offers not only a great view, but kind of familiar by now.
The road leads through Parque Nacional de Garajonay, with bush- and forest vegetation.

Only by hiking, you can reach Roque de Agando and its views. And it is sure worth the effort. It is through the low forest, and quite some succulents have found shelter here, growing to huge sizes.

A minor road leads deep into Parque Nacional de Garajonay. It is sealed with natural flat rocks, and it goes click-clack. It terminates at a three building settlement; El Cedro. I find a trail, and explore the fertile valley. Here are a lot of invasive plants, and some familiar native.

Back on GM-2, Mirador de la Laja make me stop. Yet another great view, but also a quite little succulent; Monanthes pallens, I’ve only seen once before.
That was the list sight of the 6. AND 2. I better head straight home.

Then again, the little mountain road I followed to Arguamul also leads to Tazo, down towards the sea. It is a tiny settlement, which use to be important. The surrounding hillsides are covered in terraces, but here is not a sole.

I find what I thought to be a hiking trail, but I actually manages to follow it to an amassing landscape, all the way home. Coffee and sun on the porch, a bit of work, dinner in the last sunbeams. But I forget to check the sunset, once again.
The highlights from Day 5. The lot; Day 5.

2. Day 6. I have quite some sights, but the first five are within Valle Gran Ray, on the south-western coast. It is yet another great drive, but bye familiar roads, and I actually manage to limit the amount of photos.
I pick up a German in El Retamal, heading for the Sunday market in Valle Gran Ray. It is mainly Germans, selling a mix of real nice small art and self-made jewellery along with a few, which they have bought. It is a bit early, and I find my next site at the edge of the town.

The town is scattered over a large area with tiny fields with cabbage, avocadoes, bananas, papayas and alike. The more rough parts give room for nature in between.
I start walking, and end up at Punta de la Calera, a little tourist trap. It is based along La Playa, a black sand beach, and it’s promenade. It is actually cosy, in it’s own low-key way.

I follow the beach to La Puntilla, another beach, which is vacant - with the exception of a large bronze statue: Hautacuperche, a freedom fighter from 1488.
A loop into the tiny central town. It is fairly new, containing cafes, tourist shops and little else. But still kind of nice.

The next stop is at Vueltas, with the port. It is through a slightly older part of town, and a few shops are open, offering massively overpriced stuff for the few tourists. I still haven’t figured out, where the native buy their clothes. It is not here, where the prices have an extra diget. But I find where the tourists dump their used cloth, and settle for a nicely folded T-shirt for now.

The harbour is a giant concrete thing, with some small vessels and dinghies. The water is blue, crystal clear and teaming with fishes.
I loop back, but make a coffee stop - the first on this tour. The now fully opened art market, which by now is well visited, but I settle for a few photos.

Up through the huge and fertile - or irrigated valley. A lunch and photo stop in El Retamal, with mountains, settlement, terraces and the distant sea. In El Raso, the little CV-18 leads through the dry hills. But here are tiny, scattered oasis with palms. Else, the Opuntias dominate.

In iny but fertile Las Hayas, the road just touch the forest, the turn downwards again. Through Chipude with a religious procession, then I connect with CV-17.
Where the villages are surrounded with some vine fields, the endless mountain slopes are covered in manmade stone walls. It is many square kilometres, which now are abandoned.

Just before I reach the little La Dama, is a serious banana industry. It was a real long detour into the mountains and back down, bring me to La Rajita, another port village - a bit further east along the coast. It is just to se the area, which feels so abandoned, as the buildings are a mess, and I’m alone.

I had hoped to find a more colourful limpet, but here are not even a single sea-snail, in the crystal clear water. All I see, is a large parasitic wasp, who try to get a free ride with me - and fails.

I try to connect with Arguayoda bye a little trail, but have been washed away by the now dry river. Then it is home bye the small villages, forest and dry coastal plane, on which I live. I have found a real good shortcut on a gravel road; kind of a straight line, compared with the wrinkled horseshoe the sealed road forms.   The highlights from Day 6. The lot from Day 6.

               And then into the next page; Diary 4.