Scorchio! La Gomera - the island that mass tourism forgot

No piles of Christmas prezzies & January sales for me -  I'd rather have a 'Winter Warmer'.

This is becoming an annual trip, I can see it.  6 degrees at home, drive half an hour to Bournemouth, take my belt & shoes off, put my make-up in a clear plastic bag, read for four hours and land in 26 degrees wearing winter clothing - strange. 

This time a different place on the island of La Gomera (which is the size of the Isle of Wight but sunny and hot!)  - Playa de Santiago in the south.  It is the sunniest and warmest place on the island. We didn't have the amazing sunsets that we had in Valle Gran Rey last year, which is on the west of the island, but the views of Mount Tiede on Tenerife more than made up for it.  Needless to say lots of Sangria, Mojo, warm bread and Tapas was enjoyed in the sun.  Hard to believe it was only a week ago.....

I LOVE La Gomera......

and relaaaaax.......

Our apartment was just over the road from the beach, which never had more than a dozen people on it!

Looking down on to the roof terrace of our apartment.  Unfortunately, the pool wasn't heated and the sea was warmer so it remained empty all week.

Sarah on said roof terrace.  Nice pot of tea dear.

The one and only down side to La Gomera is that unless you want a tepid shower you either have to have one in the evening or get up very early as the water is heated using solar panels.  Or just go smelly.

We quickly found our favourite bar/cafe where we enjoyed our latest discovery 'Barraquito'.  It comprises of :

Espresso coffee

Condensed milk

Liqueur 43 which is made from 43 different citrus fruits and Mediterranean spices

Frothy milk

Lemon peel

Dusted with cinnamon

It comes in a glass so you can see all the layers.  Delicious!  It is particular to The Canaries.  I did have a picture of it but the picture of me is sooooo bad you will just have to imagine it.

Our favourite quirky cafe/bar - 'La Chalana'

It is right on the beach and very rustic, laid back and chilled - it felt almost Jamaican

Not a bad view either 

New sunglasses bought for 9 Euros in a tiny shop

Some Spanish ladies coming back from church

Walk towards Alajero up our side of the mountain 

Phew, quite a climb

You can just see Mount Tiede poking up out of the clouds

Sigh....

We made a pact that we would swim in the sea every day.  We weren't even deterred by the Portuguese Man of War that wanted to swim with us on the last day - although we didn't stay in very long!  We had to swim wearing our sandals because the large stones on the beach hurt your feet. Note to self - buy jelly shoes. 

English woman bathing

Lots of interesting people to see on our walks

The dogs are rarely on leads.  This one was so cute so I took a sneaky picture of this Spanish guy.

But I was rumbled!  Ha ha, very funny.

We found this lovely beach garden behind the beautiful jewellery studio - now I could live here.

The (posh) Hotel Jardin Tecina is located on the top of the cliffs overlooking the beach.  We tried to sneak in the hotel lift that is built in to the rock so we could go up and see how the other half spend their holiday. You know, the cool looking people who haven't got horrendous heat rash and make up sliding down their faces!

We found the lift at the end of this path but you needed a card to get in - no fun.

It was a lovely walk though

I adore the massive palm trees

This was a walk (up the opposite side of the valley to our apartment) to take a look at the posh hotel and golf course!

Banana plantations.  Bananas thrive on volcanic soil

Getting higher

We discovered even more coves and beaches when we reached the top

The views over the golf course are amazing

I can't find out what this strange flower is called

Sumptuous Bougainvillea

The men in Playa de Santiago like their small dogs

The Spanish are such a loud race, constantly shouting over the street to each other, slapping each other on the back and waving their arms about.  It made me realise how quiet and reserved the English and Germans were!

Playing dominoes

We explored in to the valley one day

Rather hot

This was on yet another walk that we discovered by having a nose down a dead end road 

Aloe Vera 

Oh, the deadwood stage is a rollin' on over the plains......

We sat in the shade of this little building and chatted to a German couple from Bremen about the bad weather we all have.

Looking back towards Playa de Santiago

This lady was carrying her loofah to the beach

Every afternoon we would take our picnic and our yoga mats that we had bought at the local supermarket.  No bar codes, bliss!  And cigarettes on a carousel in the middle of the shop instead of in a cupboard!  Then we would sit on the beach to people watch and read.  Oh, here's a tip.  If you ever go to this shop - don't buy the chocolate hobnobs.  They were soggy, covered in bloom and 6 months out of date!  Suddenly, I'm not so hungry. 

Is this the same man I saw with the bike?

Does someone live in here?

The last night - 

We sat outside a bar and enjoyed a couple of German beers and a meal in the warm and tried not to think about going back home to the cold.

You can see the panic in her eyes......

One day I will live somewhere warm where you can go out without a mac, brolly, jumper and vest. But for now, I've just got to crank the heating up and watch 'Place In The Sun'.  Where's the remote.....