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La Gomera round in January, GR 131 and 132, day 2-5

ValleHermoso, view from the GR131/132

From Hermigua to Villahermosa

It is a big change to stay in a simple place in Hermigua on the "playa" instead of a Parador. Their is basically one street, a single place to stay with simple appartments and only 2 bars. The beach is not developed and taken up by banana trees. It is very windy with occasional heavy rain and the air is humid and salty, temperature 21 Celsius.  In the morning the two bars are closed so we walk to Agulo without a breakfast, about one hour. We only see a few school kids on the street waiting for the school bus.

On the East side of the main street running parallel to the ocean, there is a useful information map with the GR131 and 132 marked in red. Day trips are marked in yellow. I sketch the routes carefully on my map fighting the fierce wind. Especially in large villages I pay attention to the start of the routes as signs are often missing.

 The GR132 route of yesterday along the forest road to Hermigua marked by the red and white signs is shown to join the GR131 South of Las Cassetas instead. We probably took an existing, alternative route. The map route leads across the main E-W mountain range near the long road tunnel and is shorter for the main village of Hermigua inland, saving some two hours.

From Hermigua the trail leads along the coast and straight up to Agulo

Agulo

but at the bottom ascend below Agulo the long staircase up is totally overgrown  and we need to climb and scramble on terraces to reach it.

Having cafe latte and a bocadillo con queso in the local bar, heavy rain comes down. This morning we saw  local rain shower over the ocean in the far distance and were expecting rain. The rain lasts for only 15 minutes.

The trail continues parallel to the coast and joins the high-way at the exit  of a road tunnel. From here we need to ascend some 600 m to  the Centro de Visitantea, East of Las Rosas, which has a botanical garden and national parks information, one of only two on the island. Going up, we meet trail workers clearing off weeds on the trail. On top of the hill, wet red earth changes to mud that sticks to the hiking boots.

The trail map is displayed at the parks information center but not for sale. From Hermigua on the Playa to here it took 3 hours net walking time as you have to go up 800 m. This is a great lunch-spot as it has a bar and shop. So far, local rain showers in the distance did not hit us.

From the parks information center to Vallehermoso is another easy 3 hours, going down from 800 to 300 m. The area is very scenic but during the afternoon the clouds get darker. It only rains higher up, especially on the crest of the island at 1300 m in the far distance which we will cross tomorrow.

Vallehermoso at 300 m is entered in style by a high ridge walk overlooking the village


Vallehermoso, view from the GR131, note the paved donkey trail.

and finally a 300 m steep descent along an ancient, paved donkey trail, from the times before the roads were build, a few hundred years ago.

Hotel Tamahuche North of the church is a good choice, only 73 Euros including a real German breakfast, my first good muesli in days. Some rooms are big, similar to a  Parador.

Tonight it rained, only 16 Celsius. Hopefully tomorrow it will clear up when we cross the highest mountain range on the island at 1300 m.

Net walking time today 6 hours. Temperature 12 Celsius at 800 m.

From Vallehermoso to Chipule,  across the mountain range

Today we will climb up from 300 m to 1300 m altitude and we may be in the clouds, with or without rain. It is dry this morning but dark clouds predict rain later in the day. The five day weather forecast is displayed in a glass  box at the entrance of the hotel. Today it will be very windy and rainy. There is a  storm warning. Tomorrow and the day after it will be nice, partially cloudy.

The start of the route is confusing as here the GR131 and 132 split. A sign with the GR131 on the main square points to a one day alternative loop to San Pedro. A road sign points to a second Garbato (or Garbata) towards El Tion and the yellow sign near the exit of yesterday is a high day trip. The first sign of the GR131 is past a grey hotel we saw yesterday when entering the village but in between there are no marks or signs, and those visible lead to the main square following the GR132. Here the continuation of the GR132 is lost but it starts on the main highway to Epina and Arure.

At 10 AM we are finally on track and see that the 1300 m high pass is in the clouds. Doesn’t look like it will be a nice day as the afternoon tends to get worse.


GR131 south of Vallehermoso along the road, 1300 m high ridge is in the clouds. Forest road and trail right of the rocky ridge.

At the turn-off to the forest road at Chapines we get the first 15 minute of heavy rain shower. The forest road stops soon


View from the forest road to Vallehermoso, Yesterdays route of the GR131 near the ridge on the right.

and we follow the trail near the ridge to the next forest road climbing slowly to 900 m with a view at the parallel road in the valley to Garbato, an easier but less scenic route.

The trail is little used, with steep slippery sides, very wet by the recent rains and partially overgrown of which the thorns and cactus trees are a bit annoying. I am now certain that the itches in my legs at night are caused by cactus needles.

At the forest road there are several signs, one coming up from the road we saw below back to Vallehermoso and this route is preferred you want to avoid the poor trail we just took.

Forest road with may signs.

We see something red coming down from the pass in the distance. Could be Beate, we do expect to meet her again. It is a young German couple dressed in full Gore-Tex, coming from Los Hayas. They report heavy wind and some rain near the pass 400 m higher up.

Another hour to the pass and the wind is howling going up with occasional rain. Finally past the pass, going down we loose the strong wind but now heavy rain comes down close to Los Hayas. This is our target for lunch.

We pass a happy British couple, "hello, have a nice day",  and three very unhappy teenagers not dressed for rain so they are soaking wet. In Los Hayes there is a howling storm, no visibility, with intermittent rain and luckily we quickly find the only restaurant as it has a large sign. There is no one on the streets to ask and the village looks like a ghost town. Four hours to get here from Vallehermoso.

The old lady of the restaurant which is simple but authentic, is very kind and gives us the local dish, some kind of warm paste made  of corn flower. Very healthy but I cannot recommend it.

A retired Swedish couple is sheltering and will take the bus back to Valle Gran Rey instead of walking down.

An older British couple stumbles inside being very wet. We met them this morning at breakfast and they plan to walk back to Vallehermoso so they quickly leave at 2.45 PM after they found out it took us 4 hours to get here. They started in Igualero being dropped off by a taxi some 4 or 5 hours ago. I recommend to do not take the poor ridge trail go down to the back road to Vallehermoso where they could also get a ride.

It clears up and at 3.15 PM so we are on our way again. The clothes are still damp as they did not dry in the cold restaurant, only 14 Celsius inside. They also have rooms, the old lady insisted we should stay. The rooms may be very simple.

The storm has passes over and it is clears up. Chipule is a leisurely walk of 1.5 hours, with views at the deep canyon to Valle Gran Rey with steep rock walls of some 800 m. The hills above 1000 m are in the clouds.

 

900 m deep canyon to Valle Gran Rey

Arriving in Chipule looking for hotel Sonia we get another heavy rain shower and have trouble finding the hotel. We should have followed the GR131 going up the hill through the old village as it leads to the town "plaza" with the hotel. The main road does a large  loop as we will find out tomorrow. We get very wet in the remaining 5 minutes to reach the hotel.

The young girl behind the bar of the hotel tells us firmly "stop" at the entrance, to take off our wet clothes and muddy boots. She wears a thick sweater but is still cold from standing behind the bar as it is only 16 Celsius inside. Our room is even colder, 14 Celsius. Around the electric radiator in the room it is warmer but it is too small to heat up the room. 

A group of 13 Germans have their suitcases in the corridor. At 7 PM the rain finally stops but no Germans appear. At 9 PM the suitcases are gone but we never see them, not even at breakfast.

The hotel is fairly new and has many rooms but being the only large hotel in the central area of the highlands, it gets booked quickly by walking groups.

We again meet the young, and slow talking Canadian couple who also stayed in the Parador in San Sebastian three nights ago where they talked about the difference of living in a city or village in a tone such, very complaining, that I decided to leave the lounge and look for a quiet place or a better conversation to do some reading.

Net walking time today 5.5 hours. Temperature at 1300 m 8 Celsius, 2 hours of rain.

From Chipule to Playa Santiago.

Today could be a long walk as the distance is long and we will descent from a 1000 m altitude at Chipule through Igualero at 1300 m to Playa Santiago on the coast.

We leave at 9.30 AM, "bright and early" for the first time and go down again to the road where we thought we left the trail. The trail next to the road doesn't look very inviting as it is wet and will join the road anyway in Pavon, according to the map, I think. We follow the road and after less than a 1 km and an obvious hairpin in the main road we reach the center of the village again with our hotel and there are plenty of red and white GR131 signs.

10 AM, a good start of the morning, so far just a warming up after a walk in circles. The red and white trail signs we saw before seem to join the GR132 3 km North of Gerian and takes you to Valle Gran Rey (SW, 3-4 hours) or La Dama (SE, 4-5 hours).

Outside Chipule we have a nice view at the mountain of Fortaleza, a fort like mountain with vertical rock walls. A side trail leads to the top.

The next valley, the Barranco de Erque, is panoramic, wide and 900 m deep. The trail remains wide sitting on the steep cliff, not a good place for those with fear of heights.

Barranco de Erque, 900 m deep. View from near Iguala.

We reach Iguala in an easy two hours and follow the road towards Alajero to take the shortcut down to Imada at 850 m which we reach at 2 PM. 3.5 hours net walking so far. We cannot resist the capucino, one of the benefits of walking in inhabited areas.

We can already see the deep canyon to El Rumbazo that takes us from 850 m to 200m altitude in the far distance. This is suppose to be a marked yellow trail but you should carefully watch the cairns and not step over an obvious blocked path that quickly detoriates by overgrowth of stingy cactus as it is a dead end to a 400 m vertical cliff.

Dead end, well marked, do not enter

Going down into the main canyon trail, the path is well carved out up on the near vertical cliffs.

Deep canyon to Guarimiar and El Rumbazo, trail on the edge of cliff on the middle/top right.

After joining a fallace, a water canal, the trail goes down into the valley and joins the road at Guarimiar. Now you could take the trail or road to  El Rumbazo which has a shop (knock on the door when closed) and terrace but no bar.

The two-lane tarmac road  from Taco to Playa Santiago is only one hour and is quiet as it is a dead-end but lined with gravel industry with noisy machines.

Playa Santiago is small and  has two town centers split by banana plantages, again a little developed town and authentic. Most apartments, hotels and restaurants are near the harbour. Just 50 Euros for a one bedroom apartment.

Total net walking time today is 7 hours.

Playa Santiago, the harbour with the West town.

From Playa Santiago to SS

We finally are on our way to San Sebastian at 10 AM which is again an hour late. 

Trail signs in Playa Santiago.

 

We are unsure what to expect on this last day as the distance is large and in the final stretch we have to go up and down the coast three times.

The trail is easy, going up steadily to Seima at 500 m which we reach at 1 PM. We meet several walkers this morning, 5 in total which is a lot, who are dropped off at the highway and walk back to Playa Santiago, a 3-4 hour trip mostly going down. The farming areas consist of numerous terraces which are covered by short grass and are rocky in places. The old farm houses are all abandoned tens of years ago and there is very little cattle, we saw only 10 cows.

Teide volcano of Tenerife above the dry grass land between Playa Santiago and San Sebastian. Photograph taken with a zoom lens to enhance the size of the volcano.

Down to Playa del Cabrito is 1.5 hours, the last part 200 m steep down. Playa del Cabrito looks like a holiday resort from a distance. Going down the steep 200 m to Playa del Cabrito we meet a group of 10 German girls, slowly walking up, heavy breathing.

They must be staying at the resort. Ruud asks one of the girls, "Where are you going?" She replies, "Up, and You". Ruud responds with, "Down". Interesting conversation.

The resort consists of various bungalows with a central restaurant and most guests are Germans. There is no access road and visitors come by small boat from San Sebastian. They advertise painting classes and the place is dominated by women of various ages. The place was set up several years ago by a German as a hippy colony but he went broke. Now it is a commercial resort but the bungalows look very basic. We have a few drinks and quickly leave at 4 PM as it is unclear how long it will take to San Sebastian with three hills of 100 to 150 m to cross.

The trail goes steeply up the hill starting in the barranco some 500 m from the coast indicated by a wooden sign and you should stay on the East side of the stone river dyke else you will make a large detour like us.

Half-way up the hill we meet two German carpenters in traditional dress wearing high hats on their 3 year apprentice tour. They are obliged not to set foot in their home town in that period and get experience far away. They carry their traditional curled stick made in one piece and all their wood carving tools. They hope to get work in the resort. They estimate it is 3-4 hours to San Sebastian but they remark that they are slow in their carpenter dress.

On top of the hill, at 4.30 PM, we meet an English couple that took the rough short cut 500 m down into the valley East of Seima, the same route as us, but bypassing the resort. They regretted it as the trail was poor and very steep. With perhaps up to 2 hours to go,  we recommend to get going as it gets dark at 6.30 PM.

Playa de la Guanche has a single house of a fisherman. He is said to rent out places to sleep and sells water visible from the large stash outside. A few persons seem to keep an eye on us when we approach but they are bird watchers observing the gulls on the cliffs. So far it took only one hour from the resort to get here but in a high pace.

The next two hills turns out to be easy, a wide trail, only 100 m up. Only another hour to San Sebastian. From the last hill overlooking the harbour, you also have a view at the Teide Volcano of Tenerife.

The final descend into San Sebastian is disappointing. First, the diesel exhaust of the power station pollutes the air already higher up, and near the end you enter an industrial area instead of the beach boulevard. A dry barranco takes us finally to the boulevard.

There is an old trail starting at the boulevard joining the official trail but the start requires a 4 m rock climb and parts of the trail are gone. It is not used anymore.

On the boulevard we meet Beate watching a Spanish Jeu de Boules game. I give her the www.vanzeeland.com web site address to view the La Gomera pictures, including the three pictures I took from her on the first day.

Net walking time today 6.5 hours.

San Sebastian.

San Sebastian harbour with Teide volcano on Tenerife.

You are visitor # Countersince January, 2006.