This is my travel story I wrote in November 2016 about the week hike at La Gomera. My daily job leaves me not much opportunity (energy) to write my blog. I feel pretty frustrated about that, but i am working on that point. In my Christmas holiday I have sort out the pictures belonging to this blog and I have prepared following hikes for the coming holidays in 2017, so…..I will be back.
La Gomera at the end of October 2016.
I planned to hike around this Canarian Island next to Tenerife in my Autumn holiday. Because of the flight- and boatscedule we could walk 6 days at the most. This plan was not realistic anymore at the day of departure. I didn’t practice substantially after The Rockies, 7 weeks ago. The 20 kms every day with a rucksack with 14kilo’s was nothing we were looking forward to anymore, also because one of the stops, La Dama, didn’t have a hotel at all. And what to do then? We also didn’t book any hotel in advance in the other stops.
So we decided to take the hirecar with us, it was included in the flightprice anyway..

It turned out to be a totally different trip then I expected. What is new🙄?
Will life and travelling ever be as smooth as my expectations? I was on the correct plane, that was a pleasant start for a change.

We arrived at Tenerife, got our (very ugly) Fiat Panda and holiday began (never could have imagined that I would ever have any emotion for a car, but this one is really 🤑😝)
I knew I had badly prepared this trip and we immediatly were confrontated with that fact. We had to spend one night at Tenerife because we were just too late for the last boat to La Gomera. Hotel after hotel was fully booked, we drove around for hours along the crazy boulevard full with busses loaded with tourists .
First advice: book a flight who arrives hours before the last boat to La Gomera!
We found one after 2 hours, dinner included. 10 minutes later we ended up in this kinda basement (vreetzaal cq gaarkeuken) with food in big bowles already all day I guess. Well, no problem! We were hungry and full of optimism.

Next morning with the boat to our Island. We already had changed our hikingplan before arriving. We didn’t leave the car behind but decided to find a bed first. No 6 days hiking around the Island anymore but dayhikes from any nice hotel we could find. That was an enormous change of plans but easily taken. In a way I didn’t feel comfortable at all knowing I was not trained and not knowing if there would be a place to sleep after 20 heavy kilometres.
We found an apartment in Playa de Santiago, it was attractive due to its beach location with the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. But already 4pm, so a short dayhike for the first day, 8 km in 2,5 hour. This was really about lowering my expectations.

We had only 5 dayhikes left.

Next day we drove at 7 by car to Imada for the first big dayhike. It was still dark when we started and we saw an ashtonishing sunrise there.

From Imada to Benchijigua, the Rock de Agando all day in our sight. Well sight🤔🤔….a lot of clouds is what we saw most of the day. The rain during the day made slippery stones everywhere, I had to be very carefull all the time. Impossible to just walk and look around. It was tough for me. We hiked 14,5 km in 8,5 hours.

People may think I exagerate, but I had rain at Mallorca, while it never rains in May normally, 12°C at Mallorca in March while it is normally at least 20°C, clouds and rain in May in the South of Spain, the first time in 20 years…and I can go on…
Really, go with me and you are ensured of some extraordinary weather for that time of the year! Here in La Gomera rain is falling this week for the first time this year. So better celebrate!

 

Back to the hikingstory. My little La Gomera hikingdream splashed gently apart. Same shit happened as during the Pyrenees, left knee gave up again. It started to stitch and slowly it developed in too much pain at the well known same spot, an inflamed tendon again I think. The hike was too steep up and down the whole 14kms. It was beautiful and I loved it, but knee didn’t agree.
My father got at his 85th a new knee and will walk better again soon then I do now at 53. What a bummer!
So our already changed plan changed again.
In a way I could accept it much better than when it happened before Canada, easy explainable..I’m not in training yet for my next big trip (i better should!!) …so in stead of walking I would try to enjoy the holiday in another way. No further plans are being destroyed right now, only this week.

Next morning we drove to La Dama, I dropped Gérard at this very poor desolate spot. He was being forced to experience his first solohike.

I drove from La Dama to our next hotel La Concha in Val Gran Rey. On the way I stopped every km to practice photography.
Banana’s everywhere!
The sun was shining between the clouds and I felt driving in “my car” on my own a bit freedom again. I missed it to be on my own, with my own thoughts and my own rythm, to give respons to every personal impuls. I need much time to wander around in my own brains and everything what is stored there. So I enjoyed this day very much. At the hotel was a bright sun shining on my sunbed and I layed down to relax and wait for my compagnion. My knee could not take the steep stairs here without pain, so nothing else to do then rest🙄.

Gérard finished his hike with great satisfaction, I was truly glad to see him again.

At the beach we enjoyed the sunset and dinner and decided to leave in the morning to Valllehermoso where I would try to hike a less heavy route with him on the way.
In Arure it started to rain and we bravely started our hike. It turned out to become the most heavy rainshower in years on this Island. And we both were very suspicious about my very very expensive waterproofs because we felt both too wet inside. This couldn’t be sweat! We turned around after 4 kms…it was no joy at all. When we came back at the car we turned out to be soaked wet under our jackets, both waterproofs were not waterproof anymore at áll! I washed them after Canada with this special soap for wáterproofs. It sucked! Gérards phone did not survive this waterfall and phone stayed dead the rest of the week. The hike was also not very special, but that was maybe effected by the rain. After changing clothes we drove to our next stop. At this moments you are very happy with a car!
In Vallehermoso we arrived both pretty depressed. It was the most beautiful hotel we stayed but I couldn’t enjoy it very much. Gérard tried to get connection first with everything he didn’t want to miss. My föhn did the best she could but phone was drowned (verdronken) definitely.

We decided to drive around to get some touristfeelings. Well, we ate nice fresh fish, a dorade this time, and of course we drank enough wine to feel happy again.
Next day we left to Hermigua and I dropped Gérard halfway. I must admit that I “needed” it to be on my own for a while to sort things out. I could not easily find a way to stay motivated.
What if I could never make hikitrips again because of the risk of a failing knee?
What if I never would enjoy it thát much to be on a hikingtrip
with somebody? I discovered being on my own only for a year now and it looks I miss it already during my first hikingtrip after Canada.

Bút…bút..as easy depressions come, they also go. Arriving in Hermigua was great! Sun, nice hotel, beautiful cartrip, lots of photoshoots…I was back in the happyzone again. Finding Gérard without phone was a bit of a problem, but after a few hours we found eachother. I therefor discovered the whole environment by car looking for him and Gérard had done some more substantial kms, both satisfied and excited to see eachother again.
We found a very good restaurant (there is not many choice here) and we planned a long last hike together around Hermigua for the next day. Because it was the last hikeday I could force my knee, if needed, painkillers would bring me home.

We left Hermigua fridaymorning with a cloudless sky after a whole evening and night with rain. It became the hottest bleu-est sunniest day of the week. Each 6 kilo on the back and 8 hours later tremendously happy back at the start.
Hiking here is every step watching out where to put your feet, 2km per hour is the max speed for me.
I felt as relaxed, excited and satisfied as I always feel after a day of sporty activity.
It was the best last day!

And so glad we did not stay at this camping!
Saturday was a travelday. First the boat to Tenerife and because we had a pause of 5 hours we decided to drive into National Parc La Teide.

The top is 3710m high. A spectaculair ride through all types of vulcanic landscape. Beautiful!!

We saw this La Teide summit all week from La Gomera pointing out above the clouds and now we were driving there. Is also was a perfect hót sunny last Canarian day. I said goodbey to the Canarian Islands, i think for ever… It was nice to be here, I am glad I saw La Gomera from every side, but there is so much more to experience out there that I cannot afford to go twice to the same spot anymore😊! ….Too old for that.
I have been on Fuerta Ventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife and La Gomera now, that is enough vulcanicity!
I will have to work on the knee before I can head off again.