La Gomera to La Palma and Santa Cruz

All the Canary Islands have had their own distinctive character and the most westerly of them has been no less different than the others. Of course we have only had a chance to visit the capital city Santa Cruz so far but it has a very different feel to the others. It is visibly wealthier than any of the others including Las Palmas and Tenerife. In fact, it feels to us much more like mainland Spain and Galicia in particular. This is in part due to the architecture but also the fact that it is cloudier. I don't think however that it will rain as much as it did on us in La Coruna in 2011 when we had as much rain as you would expect in south west England.

The passage across from San Sebastian on La Gomera was also enjoyable though long day sails are very tiring. We eventually tied up a bit after nine in the evening which made for nearly thirteen hours sailing. We were treated to yet another dramatic sunset though. Entry to the harbour is a bit of fun as you have to get clearance to enter just like big ships when still two miles out. You then find your way past the cruise ship, ferry and container docks into the head of the harbour. The marina itself is fairly soulless and there is a bit of noise and smell from the commercial docks. More intrusive is the smell of cooking fat from the McDonalds though. Why do they always stink?

Here are the obligatory snaps:

The old houses here have very distinctive balconies which are also very photogenic.

We are due to leave here tomorrow to go round to a harbour on the west coast called Tazacorte – the marina is supposed to be cheaper than here though we really like hit here so may blow the expense and come back before finally leaving.

Talking of leaving, this will be our last stop in Europe and also we need to be ready for some much longer passages. We are therefore drawing up lists of last minute jobs that should have been done ages ago. One of the more exciting things has been to get a Barbados courtesy flag. We don't have any others for the Caribbean but we have read that there is a woman in the Mindelo market who will make them up for us very cheaply. We are starting to feel excited but also a bit apprehensive at being on the threshold of a major new step in the cruise.

While wandering along the waterfront, we got a good view of La Gomera:

Then, later on we saw this rather bored man watching a brass band in the main square of town: