Portray of the Destination
If we go back five years ago we will find that there was no airport in La Gomera and that the arrival to the island was quite difficult. Nevertheless, this situation provided the Island the condition of untouched paradise. When tourism became an ideal economical source for the agricultural economy of the archipelago, La Gomera turned into a different and natural place for tourists and later on, other aspects appeared that made the archipelago fit that profile.
Unlike other neighbouring islands, in La Gomera there were no volcanic eruptions in the past and, because of this, the forest known as Laurisilva, dominant in the Tertiary Period, prevailed immaculate in the most remote spots of the Island.
The main city is, undoubtedly, the capital San Sebastián de La Gomera and it also inherits a great part of the history of the island. On the coastal area, there are some small beaches that do not constitute the main attraction of the island but, nevertheless, they hold the nautical, sports and recreational activities. The most famous one is Santiago. On the contrary, Valle Gran Rey offers a gentle, interesting and attractive landscape. It is a pastoral spot with a small port and a numerous population scattered throughout the valley dotted with fields of crop.
We would like to thank the “Patronato de Turismo de La Gomera” for the information and pictures provided.
Visit:
www.gomera-island.com
Geography
Just like the rest of the archipelago, the relief of La Gomera is rugged and steep. In fact, some towns of the inland are hard to reach since the landscape is entrapped in a dense system of gorges of radial shape.
Near the deserted Saharan coast, throughout the wild summits of the Canary Island of La Gomera, appears one of the most particular and distinctive forests of Spain, the Garajonay National Park was declared in 1986 a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and it occupies the central area of the Island with a minimum altitude of 650 metres (2,132 feet) and a maximum altitude of 1,487 metres (4,878 feet. The amazing subsistence of these marvellous and mysterious forests is possible due to a cover of fogs that emerges from the Ocean attaching itself to the insular summits and giving them humidity and freshness. This park is the last survivor of the ancestral subtropical forests that inhabited the Mediterranean area millions of years ago.
Map
Climate
In general, La Gomera has a nice weather with a great amount of rainfall of irregular distribution. In the coastal area there is almost no rainfall but in the inland, the valleys accumulate the muggy winds that come from the sea and the rainfall is higher. The average temperature ranges from 18ºC to 22º C (64.4ºF - 71.6ºF).
One of the most particular characteristics of the island is its division: in the north there are trade winds that create a great climatic stability and in the south there appears the leeward side of the island with slightly higher temperatures and less humidity.
When to go
Although the average temperature of 20ºC (68ºF) remains steady almost all year and there are no great climatic changes there is a rainy season that goes from November to March and it is not advisable to visit the island during this time.
History
The hard island geography imposed an isolation that was difficult to overcome. The first Europeans that reached the Island were the Castilians who found it divided into four areas, one for each great valley: Hermigua, San Sebastián, Arure and Vallehermoso. Although some groups were conquered there were some who resisted the invasions leading to a series of battles that ended in 1445 when peace triumphed on the territory. Nevertheless, four decades after the battles, there appeared some indigenous uprising that never thrived.
At that time, the arriving of Christopher Columbus in his first journey towards the Americas marked the history of the Island forever. A year later, the Admiral stopped again in La Gomera but this time as the captain of an amazing fleet of seventeen ships. The crops sowed on the Island were the base of the first Hispanic plantations in the New World.
However, many decades of the 17th Century went by and there were still scarce population on the inland due to the wild and impenetrable landscape. Later on, a small group of landowners submitted the population into the most hard life conditions provoking an almost continuous emigration. The situation changed with the proclamation of the Second Republic, in 1931. Nonetheless, the economic conditions became deplorable again and many citizens of the Island decided to move out to distant destinations. Better times came in the 60’s when the improvements on internal and external connections facilitated the arrival of tourism generating a general recovery of the standard of living and reducing considerably the emigrations.
Traditions
There are several celebrations throughout the year in La Gomera. One of the most important ones are the Columbus Celebrations held in the first week of September honouring the stop of Christopher Columbus in the Island, in 1492, a few days before the discovery of the Americas. Since 1960, the Villa de San Sebastian is the epicentre of a celebration with several activities such as conferences or concerts.
On the religious side there appears the Celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe that takes place every five years. In this particular day, the citizens make a pilgrimage up to Puntallana where they take out of the temple the image of the saint and carry it in a procession up to San Sebastián. In October, the virgin “travels” along the island and after this, she returns to her hermitage.
The most particular feature on the island is the “Silbo Gomero”. The first chroniclers that came into the island noticed a very particular whistling of the local people used to communicate in the distance. When the sound was tossed along the rugged geography it multiplied itself and turned out to be quite efficient. The whistling became an important point of the cultural identity of the Island. It is taught at primary schools and it is also a main part of a very popular celebration.
Gastronomy
The cusine of La Gomera is simple but tasty. It is mainly based on seafood and different elements produced in the area. Among the most important dishes we can find the Potaje de Berros (a kind of thick soup with watercress) and the unique Goat Cheese that is considered to be the best in the world in its type.
This cheese is precisely the main ingredient of another dish: the Almagrote where the goat cheese is combined with butter, garlic, tomato, oil, pepper and salt. This is a spicy paste to spread on bread or to eat with potatoes. This crop came from America and it has become a main ingredient to several different dishes prepared on the Island.
One of the main native products is the “Miel de Palma”. It is a syrup boiled and thickened in order to become the base of a great tradition of deserts. It is also used to go with drinks, cheeses and toasted cornmeal.
Basic Dictionary
YES: si. NO: no. HELLO: hola. GOOD BYE: adios. GOOD MORNING: buenos días. GOOD AFTERNOON: buenas tardes. GOOD NIGHT: buenas noches. PLEASE: por favor. SORRY: lo siento. THANK YOU: gracias. DOCTOR: médico. PHARMACY: farmacia. NUMBERS: 1: un. 2: dos. 3: tres. 4: cuatro. 5: cinco. 6: seis. 7: siete. 8: ocho. 9: nueve. 10: diez. 11: once. 12: doce. 13: trece. 14: catorce. 15: quince. 16: dieciséis. 17: diecisiete. 18: dieciocho. 19: diecinueve. 20: veinte. 21: veintiuno. 22: veintidós. 30: treinta. 40: cuarenta. 50: cincuenta. 60: sesenta. 70: setenta. 80: ochenta. 90: noventa. 100: cien. 1000: mil. DAYS OF THE WEEK: MONDAY: lunes. TUESDAY: martes. WEDNESDAY: miércoles. THURSDAY: jueves. FRIDAY: viernes. SATURDAY: sábado. SUNDAY: domingo. COMMON WORDS: BIG/SMALL: grande/pequeño. HOT/COLD: caliente/frío. OPEN/CLOSED: abierto/cerrado. GOOD/BAD: bueno/malo. NEW/OLD: nuevo/viejo. PUSH/PULL: empujar/tirar. ENTRANCE/EXIT: entrada/salida. LADIES/GENTLEMEN: señoras/señores. FAR/NEAR: lejos/cerca. LEFT/RIGHT: izquierda/derecha. TAXI: taxi. BUS: autobús. MEALS: BREAKFAST: desayuno. LUNCH: comida. DINNER: cena. MENU: menú. WINES: vinos. DESSERT: postre. THE BILL: la cuenta. COMMON SENTENCES: DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?: ¿Habla inglés?. I DON'T UNDERSTAND: no entiendo. WHERE IS IT?: ¿donde está? HOW MUCH IS IT: ¿Cuánto es? WHAT TIME IS IT: ¿Qué hora es? COULD YOU HELP ME: ¿Puede ayudarme?
Currency
The official currency is the Euro. There are bank notes of 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 y 5 Euros. Also coins of and 2 Euros and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents.
Currency Exchange
1 EUR (Euro) = $ 1.20 (United States Dollar)
1 EUR (Euro) = 0.66 GBP (British Pound Sterling)
Prices
In comparison with other countries within the European Union and perhaps due to its high tourist vocation, Spain is one of the cheapest countries when it comes to travel. Obviously, prices vary depending on seasons being summer the peak season. It is important to point out that since the Canary Islands are isolated and separated from the rest of Spain some articles may be more expensive due to transportation costs.
Useful Info
Official nameLa Gomera
CountrySpain
Time Zone0 GMT
Official LanguageSpanish
Surface area369 square kilometres (142 sq. mi)
Population19,098 citizens
Political RegimeConstitutional Monarchy
Public holidays
January 1st: New Year; January 6th: Three Wise Men Celebration; March-April: Easter; May 1st: Labour Day; May 15th: St. Isidore's day; August 15th: Virgin’s Assumption Day; October 12th: National Celebration of Spain; November 1st: All Saints Day; December 6th: Day of the Spanish Constitution; December 8th: Day of the Immaculate Conception and December 25th: Christmas.
Religion
Just like the rest of Spain, La Gomera is mostly Catholic and the holiday calendar of the city is a true proof of this. Moreover, these Catholic celebrations are held with profound faith and devotion.
Religion90% Catholic, 8% Muslim, 2% Jews
Arrival / Departure
If you want to reach La Gomera you can only do it by air or sea. If you travel by sea there are several ferry lines that unite the island with the rest of the archipelago and that also reach the capital city, San Sebastian and other places like Valle Gran Rey. If you do it by air you must reach the facilities of the local airport in order to find air services, domestic flights and tourist charters to travel along the islands.
Safety
Just like in the rest of Spain, the security is a high priority for the authorities in charge of tourism. In La Gomera you may walk around unworried since it is a safe destination with low robbery rate. You must only take the common precautions such as looking after your purse, wallet and other personal objects.
Visa
European Union tourists do not need visa to enter Spain. Neither those citizens of the United States, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and the rest of the Latin American countries, though a return ticket must be bought. Travelers from Australia, Anguilla, Bermuda, Canada, Cyprus, South Korea, Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Israel, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Saint Helena, Singapore and Turk & Caicos do not either need visa provided that they do not stay more than 90 days in Spain.
Clothing
Since there are almost no climatic changes being 20ºC (68ºF) the average temperature, warm clothing is unnecessary except during the nights because of the sea breeze or if you choose to climb up a mountain.
Electricity
Electricity in La Gomera is 220V; 50Hz. Sockets take two round plugs.
Radio and Television
In terms of Radio, the main one is Radio Nacional de España.
TV Channesl: TV1, TV2, Antena 3, Telecinco, Cuatro.
Telephone
The Spanish phone code is 34 and La Gomera belongs to the province of Santa Cruz Tenerife which phone code is 922. In order to make international phone calls you must dial 00 plus the international code of the country you are calling to plus the local phone number. If you wish to make phone calls within Spain you do not need to use a special code. The most important mobile service providers are Amena (website:
www.amena.com); Movistar-Telefónica Mobiles (website:
www.movistar.tsm.es) and Vodaphone (website: www.vodafone.es).
It is common to find phone booths along the streets and they work with normal coins or phone cards that can be bought in places called “locutorios”. In these places you will find several phone booths in which you can make phone calls without using coins or cards and paying when you finish your call. Besides, you will also find several different services such as sending and receiving fax and Internet.
Police112, 922-870-326
Ambulance112
Fire Brigade112
Tourist health care services112
Newspapers and Magazines
The most popular ones are: Canarias 7, Diario de Avisos and El Día.
Postal Service
The postal service in Spain is efficient: letters within Europe should take no more than 3 to 5 days to be delivered. A registered letter should cost a minimum of 2.5 Euros. The post offices are opened from 8.30AM to 8:30PM on weekdays and from 8:30AM to 1PM on Saturdays. In San Sebastián, the capital city of the Island, there is one post office on El Medio 60, (Tel.: 922-871-081) and there are also offices in Valle Gran Rey (Urbanización La Palomera s/n. Tel.: 922-805-730). If you want to find other offices visit
www.correos.es or call 902-197-197.
Health Care Services
In general, the Spanish Health care system is good. There are no warnings in the matter. Particularly in the Canaries it has been reached an extremely efficient level of hospital quality under the supervision of the Local Service of Health.
Airport
The airport is located in the southern side of the island, in the municipality of Alajeró, 21 miles away from San Sebastián de la Gomera. It was built in 1999 making it the most modern of the whole archipelago. In order to reach the airport you must take the road TF-713 which is the one that joins the capital city of the island with Playa de Santiago. If you choose this road you will find two bus lines that unite the air terminal with the whole island. The tickets for this buses range from 3 to 5 Euros. (Tel.: 922-895-022).
Public Transport
There are no trains or subways but there is one bus service that links the main municipalities. The same connections are used by the taxi service. In addition to these, we can also find sea transportations that join the main ports of the Island and the rest of the archipelago.
Railway Bus
There is only one bus service that links up the entire island and it is, actually, the only means of public transport that joins the whole territory. (Tel.: 922 14 11 01)
Car
La Gomera has no highways to connect the main municipalities and towns of the island because of the rugged territory. Travellers must have extreme precaution when moving along the island since most of the roads are placed on winding mountains.
Car Rentals
The main car rentals in the Columbus Island are:
Avis (Ruiz de Padrón 14, San Sebastián, Tel./Fax: 922-871-045
www.avis.es)
Hertz (Located in the Port, San Sebastián, Tel. 922-870-461, Fax: 922-141-911
www.hertz.com).
Ship
Sea transport is the most important one to/from the island as it connects it to the rest of the archipelago. There are three shipping companies that offer connection among the Canaries. These companies are:
Fred Olsen (Polígono Industrial Añaza s/n, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Tel.: 922-628-200, 902-100-107, Fax: 922-628-232.
reservas@fredolsen.es,
www.fredolsen.esNaviera Armas (Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Dársena Comercial, Los Llanos s/n. Tel.: 922-534-050, 922-534-052.
www.navieraarmas.com)
Garajonay Express (Villa Gran Rey: Muelle de Vueltas s/n. Tel.: 922-807-024, Fax: 922-807-031. Playa Santiago: Muelle de Playa Santiago s/n. Tel.: 922-895-925. San Sebastián de La Gomera: Estación Marítima de San Sebastián. Tel.: 922-872-118.
www.garajonayexpress.com).
Destination Tourism Office in Spain Spanish embassy in the destination Taking pictures
There are no restrictions regarding the taking of pictures.
See climate
www.worldweather.orgCurrency converterwww.xe.com/uccA dinnerFrom 20 Euros.
A coffee1 Euro.
The BusFrom 1 Euro.
The taxi1.02 Euros when the meter starts running plus 0.38 – 0.78 Euro per Km.
