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Friday, July 13, 2007
Direct Gatwick to La Gomera flights
Far be it for me to suggest that you miss Tenerife out all together on the way, but the neighbouring island of La Gomera is very much worth visiting and, from November you'll be able to do just that, when Cadogan Holidays begins Gatwick to La Gomera flights, which avoids the 20-minute catamaran transfers from Tenerife.
Astraeus describes La Gomera as "nature in its purest form: leafy woodlands, rugged ravines, cliffs of impossible shapes and villages that have conserved their most ancient traditions so as to offer you a different kind of holiday".
This is certainly true, but, while it's bad enough that people come to Tenerife and never see what's outside of their hotel, let alone the resort, to do that in La Gomera would be a sin. It's an immensely beautiful place and, since the island is only about 15 miles in diameter, is just begging to be explored.
Every village has it's speciality, but I think the gofio from the mill in Alajero is the best on the islands. The pottery in Chipude is notable for it's simple beauty and there's a bar at Las Rosas that sells an unique pan de queso (bread with herbs and chunks of goats' cheese in it) that you really must sample, to name just three things that stuck out in my mind.
In Guanche times, Travelotica tell us, "it was customary, particularly in La Gomera, for the guest in a Gomeran household to be offered use of the wife - a facet of local culture that many conquistadors eagerly embraced."
Around September 6th is a good time to go to San Sebastian in La Gomera, as that's when they hold week-long festivities to celebrate the anniversary of waving Christopher Columbus off on some important journey.
The date of Columbus departure could have been earlier, but he dallied around for a month partaking in some of that ancient local culture!
These days, I think you'll have to be content with touring the island's beautiful small towns and villages and visiting the Garajonay National Park, but I'm sure you'll also want to hang around once you get there.
You can read more about the island of La Gomera's ample attractions in this article, West Canaries Tourism Guide - San Sebastian de la Gomera
