Whales and Vistas in La Gomera

Sadie Williams
Jun 12, 2019
3 min read

As of last weekend, I have made it to all eight Canary Islands (including tiny La Graciosa up north). La Gomera was my last trip, which is ironic since it is actually the closest one to me, the island I have the best view of from my house.

Even though I can see La Gomera from my front door and it's my closest neighbor, there are no direct flights or boats there from El Hierro. So, I had to fly through Tenerife (flying directly over La Gomera on the way :D), but there were some beautiful views en route.

I met up with some other Fulbrighters in La Gomera and we enjoyed the long drive through the mountains to our AirBNB in one of the main cities, Valle Gran Rey. All roads seem to lead through the national park near the center of the island, featuring stunning views of Teide (the tallest peak in Spain that I have now climbed twice!), lots of green forests, and tall cliffs.

Valle Gran Rey is a beautiful little town (although still bigger than anything we have on El Hierro) with towering rocky cliffs, a lovely little port, palm trees, and lots of little shops and restaurants. Our AirBNB was very difficult to find, but it did come with a poolside view that was stunning!

We spent our first full day driving up to the national park in the middle of the island, Garajonay. It is always great to be among nature and above the clouds, and the park had fantastic views of the nearby island of Tenerife. We also saw a forest that is recovering from a fire a few years ago, and it was interesting to see the sprouts and flowers starting to come back among the burnt trees.

I Spy El Hierro! At the top of the national park, we were able to see Tenerife, La Palma, and my little home of El Hierro. Finding El Hierro was definitely a game of I Spy; it sort of looks like a cloud in the distance, which is funny because La Gomera is so clear from El Hierro.

Driving through the park, we happened upon this neat Silbo sculpture, a monument to the traditional whistle language people used to communicate (since the whistles echo off the tall cliffs). We also met up with the Fulbright grantee on La Gomera and had a very yummy dinner of fish, risotto, cheese, croquetas, and wine!

One thing I really wanted to do on La Gomera was see some whales, so we all went on a whale watch our second day there. It was a great time! Beautiful ocean views on a nice small boat and we saw all sorts of animals--bottlenose dolphins, pilot whales, and even a sunfish! We even got to jump off the boat and snorkel!

It was hard to photograph most of the animals, but it was a fantastic morning! The pod of dolphins were so playful, jumping and flipping out of the water! :D