La Gomera, Canary Islands
Today we explored our second island in the archipelago of the Canary Islands. La Gomera is a smaller island than La Palma, about half the land area, and about one quarter of the population. Like La Palma it is volcanic in origin and there are significant changes in climate and vegetation as one leaves the hot coastal belt and climbs into the cooler and damper interior.
One group set off to explore the interior this morning, hiking through the forests of the Parque Nacional Garajonay, a Unesco World Heritage Site for the Laurasilva forest found here. We hiked to the Alto de Garajonay and enjoyed the views from the peak at 1,487 metres on a rare cloudless day.
Meanwhile, the rest of our group made a circular tour of the island stopping at a number of points of interest. The highlight for some was an impromptu demonstration of Silbo – the local whistling language. This developed in order to communicate across the valleys and ravines of this rugged landscape – the whistles would carry up to two miles - before the development of a road network (now funded by the European Union) and cell phones. At one stage, it was feared that this unusual and traditional means of communication was in danger of being forgotten, but its future is assured as it has recently become compulsory in schools on the island.
At the end of the day, we left the small harbour and turned to the south towards the next island group in our Atlantic odyssey. Cape Verde is 800 miles and two days at sea away. A chance to reflect on what we have seen so far, to catch up with journals, and prepare for a new and very different group of islands.
Today we explored our second island in the archipelago of the Canary Islands. La Gomera is a smaller island than La Palma, about half the land area, and about one quarter of the population. Like La Palma it is volcanic in origin and there are significant changes in climate and vegetation as one leaves the hot coastal belt and climbs into the cooler and damper interior.
One group set off to explore the interior this morning, hiking through the forests of the Parque Nacional Garajonay, a Unesco World Heritage Site for the Laurasilva forest found here. We hiked to the Alto de Garajonay and enjoyed the views from the peak at 1,487 metres on a rare cloudless day.
Meanwhile, the rest of our group made a circular tour of the island stopping at a number of points of interest. The highlight for some was an impromptu demonstration of Silbo – the local whistling language. This developed in order to communicate across the valleys and ravines of this rugged landscape – the whistles would carry up to two miles - before the development of a road network (now funded by the European Union) and cell phones. At one stage, it was feared that this unusual and traditional means of communication was in danger of being forgotten, but its future is assured as it has recently become compulsory in schools on the island.
At the end of the day, we left the small harbour and turned to the south towards the next island group in our Atlantic odyssey. Cape Verde is 800 miles and two days at sea away. A chance to reflect on what we have seen so far, to catch up with journals, and prepare for a new and very different group of islands.
