Oh how well we slept last night. We didn't move at all, which was a luxury after the last few days. Not that I don't like moving, but it felt good everyone was sleeping. Louis and I are going to the marina to reserve a place. In fact, we made a reservation for 2 days through their website, but since we don't have an answer (we should have done it before) and we want to see the possibilities of staying longer, we go to meet Vanessa in the offices.
We decide to take at least until the departure of Max and Andrea. Then, just in case, we ask if there would be room until January. There is no place. There is a regatta in September or October so they need marina berths. While she does the check-in procedures, I look at other ports in La Gomera and El Hierro. We could go north of El Hierro, she tells us that when we are planning to go in a few days, there will be a lot of wind, so much that we will surely get there in less than 2 hours. Yeah! I can't wait;) No, but it will take what it takes to get the boat secured. On the other hand, when I come to reserve a place I do not see this port in the marinas and when we passed a few days ago, it was empty. Maybe there is a reason. In the meantime, Vanessa sees that we are trying to find another place and she says that she is trying to do a little miracle just for us. She asks if we could come back in September or October, that she would then have room until January, but our schedule won't allow. She continues the registration procedure. She tells us while laughing that we may not have yet seen La Gomera but that we can say that the offices of the marina are beautiful and that we, by now, know them well, because it is a bit long, but this doesn't matter to us and we laugh with her. She finds us someone for our engine and explains to us what to see on the island according to her. This is obviously not wasted time. Then she tells us that someone left this morning for Gran Canaria to do repairs on his boat and that he will be gone at least 6 months. Brilliant, his colleague tells us that we could take his dock, but that we have to decide now because tomorrow someone may take it. We look at each other. Ok, this will make us stress less, not having to look for a place before the end of our vacation. It’s a lot more expensive but we are in love with the place. People are super competent, helpful and friendly. There are quite a few services. The concrete docks are clean and quiet. The water is clear and you can see the fish from the docks. It is very safe as it is fenced in with gates. We will be fine here. While we are at it, we also reserve the car for a few days.
What a productive morning! Thank you, our Vanessa from the marina offices!
We have lunch during Raymond's break then we change docks for the more permanent one. Raymond picks me up in a Zodiac to bring me to the other dock. His colleague is there. I see Soleau 1 coming. Louis warned me, as well as Raymond, that we would be going to the dock backwards, stern first, to be on the port side. He approaches the dock, pass near the anchor of another docked boat, Raymond is worried about how close Louis is coming in. I tell Louis because Raymond speaks only in Spanish but he managed to make himself understood. Louis doesn't even flinch. He passes close but with no stress. He moves backwards like a champ. I hear the two employees talking to each other and I understand that they say that Louis is good. Andrea will confirm that they were in deed impressed with Louis as she is much more fluent and was listening to the same conversation. Nice to hear from two people who see sailors every day that Louis is a good captain. We of course know it, but it's always pleasant to hear.
We then pick up the car and head towards Agulo (photo 2) via Hermigua (photo 1).
We then go to the visitor center where we learn about the 2012 national park fire and about whistling shepherds who talk to each by distance simply through whistling. We look at a recording of a shepherd that we see whistling in a valley and saying:
“Did you see a black goat »
“Did you lose one!”
“No it was Domingo who lost a black one?”
“I found one that is with my herd”
"Ok I'll let him know"
It is extraordinary that two people so far from each other can whistle and find a lost goat. They also say that there are a lot of rats and rabbits that were introduced into the island and that as they have few predators, have become a serious so problem with the crops.
We also stop at the Abrante viewpoint. It's closed so we can't go on a glass walkway to see thousands of feet under our feet, but, as it's a small glass walkway, we don't miss much. On the other hand, the view is superb: the earth here is red. And we confirm that it's a place to see because a dozen tourist jeeps soon also stop here. When leaving the place, they let us take the road home first. How nice. We however take a wrong turn on the road and that's good because when we come back on the right path, all the vehicles have already passed or are about to pass. It's good because they drive quite fast and we want to see the view, we're not in a hurry like those tourists who only have a few hours to see as much as possible before taking the ferry back to Tenerife (we saw their truck in the evening going back on the huge boat).
We can't wait to eat. We therefore continue the path and we stop at the Mirador de Vallehermoso which is spectacular.
Very happy to be stopped for a few minutes. We continue to La Laguna center? Which is a place to do several outdoor activities. We mainly go there to eat. We park and as we approach the buildings, we see all the people and the tourist jeeps having a drink or a beer outside. We hope the restaurant is not full, but there is still room for us, since they are outside. Still, it's pretty full inside. The food is good and the servers are smiling and kind. They even whistle like the shepherds we saw in the film when saying the names of the dishes. A good family restaurant in nature. WE love!
We stop at a last lookout and then head back to the boat. Andy inflates the dinghy to go to the nearby beach and we go swimming for 15 min (it feels great). 15-20 min one way and 15-20 min back with, in addition, a boat in the way on the way back, which slowed us down a bit. A dinghy with an electric motor is slower than a big motor boat. So we are polite and let them pass. There were also waves and wind which slowed us down a bit, but we are not in a hurry, we are on vacation.
We relax in the evening, we eat our remaining hamburgers and salad. Another beautiful day!
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