On the second half of a long hike that began with an ascent up the Barranco de Ruiz, we passed through the charming village of San Juan de la Rambla, before continuing along the coastline back to our car. Along the way, we stopped for lunch at an amazing local spot.
We had enjoyed our initial hours of exploring Candelaria, but we really fell for the town during the second half of our day. After a coffee in the immense Plaza Patrona de Canarias, we walked up into the town’s elevated historic quarter, saw some artisans craft clay pots, and discovered what might be our favorite restaurant on Tenerife.
One month after arriving in a new place, with a third of our journey under our belts and two thirds left to look forward to, we like to take stock of our initial impressions. Overall, Tenerife had been exceeding our expectations, and we were very pleased with our decision to come here. Here are some highlights from one month on La Gomera and Tenerife!
La Orotava is located midway up the valley, overlooking the coastal town of Puerto de la Cruz. Because it’s not right on the ocean, it manages to largely avoid tourism — Europeans visit Tenerife for the beach, and not much else. The elevated position also provides the town with an amazing view, and abundant access to water. There are gardens everywhere in Orotava; in yards, parks, plazas… even the weeds blossom with exuberance.
Generally, any whale-watching trip comes with a massive disclaimer: there’s no guarantee that you’re going to see whales. But the guys from Third Element were either recklessly confident, or the sightings between La Gomera and Tenerife are just that dependable, because they said we’d “definitely” spot some pilot whales, along with bottlenose dolphins.
A town with a name like Vallehermoso ("Beautiful Valley") best be able to deliver the goods. We'd already spent the better part of a week on an isla hermosa, so…
Near the lovely little town of Agulo is one La Gomera's most popular tourist destinations: the Mirador Abrante. We ended up visiting the place four times, but not necessarily because…
With a population of just 20,000, and a diameter of approximately twenty kilometers, the circular island of La Gomera is the sixth-biggest of the seven Canary Islands. Far less known than its siblings Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, what La Gomera lacks in fame, it makes up for with its spectacular hiking … which is precisely the reason Jürgen and I decided to spend our first week here.
