We have arrived in San Sebastion, the capital of La Gomera. It seems a pleasant, almost colonial town. A tower from the 16th century remains from when the Spanish vanquished the native African population.

As a leisurely introduction we decided on a fairly short walk along the coastal headlands to the west, the nature of the walking on this Island was soon revealed as we switch-backed above the coast. The recently improved mule path was rough black Basalt, lined by cacti and small Dragon trees, which had just finished flowering.Crossing a few barrancos we descended to the deserted beach at Guancha. The little beach hut was unoccupied and we ignored the the trail to the shore as the waves were too high for swimming. Instead we extended the walk inland up to a col overlooking the next bay backed by a fertile valley and a few houses whose only access is by boat. The surrounding landscape exhibited some classic volcanic features, notably vents and dykes.The return involved more climbing than we had anticipated, we should have realised. There was a grandstand view of the ferries manoeuvering  into the port with Mt. Teide in the background. A swim from the town’s black beach completed the afternoon, water temperature about 19 degrees. This brief introduction had us excited about our future excursions.

Catch of the day – BONITO  – in a mother/daughter restaurant.