Xmas Cruise 2018 - La Gomera Page

Up at 06:40, as the muster time was 08:15, this being a half-day, as the Driver wants to leave for Madiera at 13:30, which does not seem enough time. We went on a bus tour all round this fairly small but precipitous island, stopping at many viewpoints.

There is a café (owned by Fred Olsen) near the top (previous snap). At about the highest point, the trees were actually heathers.

Heather forest

Covered in lichen...

...or moss

El Cercado

We stopped at a village, El Cercado at about 10:30 for a lot of ethnic food, including the juice of the local pines they are not allowed to call honey now but is very sweet. Ken put it on potatoes, feta cheese, Spanish omelette & hard bread, all of which worked.

The locals used to communicate in a whistling language from various points &we visited one of them with a chapel.

A volcanic core mesa

Whistling Station chapel

Mesa other side

At one point, there was a splendid view of Teide.

Volcanic features abounded. The North has plenty of water from the Trade Wind clouds but the South is much drier & the locals had a hard job scraping a living from steep terraces.