As we wanted to be in La Gomera for Christmas, we stayed only 5 days in Tenerife. Monday, December 22, we sailed across the channel to La Gomera. We left the marina on Tenerife at sunrise, sailing southwest along its eastern coastline on a broad reach with winds ENE at 15 to 20 knots. On our sail we had an unobstructed view of El Teide. Once pass Tenerife�s southern coastline and into open waters, the winds became NNW at 15 knots and seas 3 to 6 feet, forcing us to use the engine to point higher into the wind in order to make our destination by nightfall. Just as the sun was setting we arrived at the marina in San Sebastian de La Gomera, a small town on the island�s east coast. In all, we had traveled 64 nautical miles that day.
La Gomera, the third smallest island in the Canaries, was a rugged island, definitely an unspoiled gem of natural beauty. Geologically, it was one of the oldest volcanic islands in the Canaries. Almost circular in shape, water erosion through time had created almost fifty canyons on the island, all radiating outward toward the sea from the island�s center, Mt. Garajonay, at 4879 feet.
We spent 13 days on the island before pushing off across the Atlantic. While in La Gomera we rented a car. Much of our drive took us along mountainous winding roads, and from many of the viewpoints majestic El Teide could be seen across the channel on Tenerife. Along our drive, we saw beautiful mountainous scenery, impressive volcanic domes, and hillsides dotted with farming terraces. We arrived back in San Sebastian at dusk. |
