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Today everybody woke up quite early, so we could get ready and go and pick up the hire car, we wanted to get the hire car so we could go and see more of La Gomera.
But first of all I had to go to the bakery on my own to get some bread rolls for our dinner and when i got there i had to speak some Spanish and the lady behind the counter did understand me.we went to the bakery because we thought we could have a picnic whilst we were planning on being out for most of the day. When I got back to the boat Jo and I started to make the sandwiches which had various different combinations for all of us.
We then set off on our journey in the car going higher and higher up the hills until we were higher than the clouds and we got up to 900 meters, there were not much straight roads either they were all extremely bendy and it was as if we were in a computer game. But I thought there were some good views of mount Teide on Tenerife from in the car driving along the road.
I think that La Gomera is much nicer than Tenerife because it is much greener and has more plants, also when you look up the hill sides you can see lots of the terraces from where they used to farm and you could see that there had been a lot of work been put in so that the island could grow its own food.
We then reached Playa Santiago where we drove around and found the marina, we had a quick look around and then got back in the car to go and find the beach were we planned on staying for the rest of the day.
After driving around for a while going up and down the roads we got to the beach Playa del Medio and by the time we got there it was boiling hot, so we went and found a place with some shade underneath some of the cliffs and we settled in nicely.
We each took it in turn to go snorkelling as we didn’t take much kit with us, I went in first in the sea and I was shortly joined by Dad, then Dad got out and Sean got in, we both then got out and Jo went in.
We found that the water wasn’t very clear close to the beach and that you had to swim further out and when you did you could see the sea bed and it must have been at least fifteen meters deep, there was also a few different fish swimming about as well and Jo saw a Cuttle fish which has a skirt like fin which makes it look like a hover craft skimming along the bottom of the sea bed
After we all dried off we just lounged around on the beach for a while reading our books.
We then got back in to the car and headed back to the boat so we all could get showered and changed and on the way back there were more spectacular views of the sea and Tenerife.
Sean and I are going to make the tea tonight to give the usual chef (Dad) a break after he has been driving us around most of the day. We are planning on making spaghetti carbonara, but spaghetti and pesto for Jo.
Alex Penney
After having some breakfast Sean, Dad and I went out of the marina gates in the tender to go and do some snorkelling we found an ideal spot just near a headland so we jumped off over the side and went in the water, we saw quite a few colourful fish swimming around us and I even saw a bigger fish eating one of the littler fish. After about forty minutes we decided to get out of the water and go back to the boat and when we got back to Invincible, we looked through the fish book which we have and we found out that some of the fish which we saw were cuckoo wrasse.
Sean and I then went for a walk around the town to try and find the super market and we were successful after a bit of walking about through the streets, whilst we were there we had to pick up some beers for the carpenters as we had to go back again and kindly ask for another piece because the first piece of wood he gave us was too small.
We then came back and had some dinner we had some mushroom spaghetti which is one of my favourite foods and we even had dessert and that was pineapple rings with condensed milk which was the first time that me and Sean had tried it and it was a treat that Dad used to have when he was a boy and he thought that we should try it and we were very impressed by it and that was before we set off on our massive walk to get to the top of the steep hill behind the marina to go to Parador hotel so we could get some of the best views of mount Tiede on Tenerife, the Parador is set in some beautiful gardens right on top of the cliff which overlooked most of the town.
The reason why we climbed all the way up the hill to the Parador was because Dad had realised that is where the Anne Hammick cover shot from the Atlantic islands book was taken so he wanted to go up and retake it for himself, but our picture did turn out a little differently as the palm tree had grown and wasn’t in the picture.
We then stopped of in the bar for some drinks before we went back down the hill to the cave bar were we had one more drink and it was as if we were regulars because the barman remembered our drinks and served them us straight away.
We walked around for a while trying to find somewhere to eat but there were not many restaurants they were all more like cafes, but we did find somewhere after a while it was like a traditional Spanish restaurant it had a courtyard with a tree growing in the middle of it and it used palm leaves to cover the roof for some shade.
For starters me and Dad each had one of the Gomerian specialities of cheese and spicy peppers which is called almogrote and Sean and Jo had garlic bread, for main meals I had tuna with Canarian Potatoes, Sean had Chicken and Dad and Jo each had a pizza, we even managed dessert as we wanted to try another Gomerian speciality which was a milk pudding with honey called leche asada however they had run out so we couldn’t try it so instead we tried the flan but that still was not as good as the one Jo had made the previous night for us all.
When we headed back to the boat we had a game of cards, which gets very competitive between us all to see who can win which Dad did and after a while of playing cards we all decided to call it a night and go to bed.
Alex Penney
The morning started with a well deserved lie in for us all. Jo went to the marina office to check us all in while Kevin made some breakfast. Today we planned to explore the town, we set off and soon found the main street which is full of beautiful shops, restaurants and quite strangely their was a few car manufactures including Mercedes Benz which is strange for a small island.
Next we came across a church called our lady of assumption where Christopher Columbus was thought to of said his last mass before he left la Gomera for his Atlantic crossing where he discovered America. The next find was a small carpentry business where Kevin needed some ply wood to replace the seat on the tender as it had broken, we went in and Kevin explained what he needed and the man who was German cut and gave him the wood for nothing which was really nice of him. Their was a lovely view near the carpentry which over looked the valley.
On our way back we discovered a lovely park with a fort in the centre, we headed and learned that it was built in 1450 by the first count of Gomera, Herman peraza it once contained treasures brought back by the conquistadors but now is used for antique maps and local artefacts map with extra island.
We headed back to the boat for some dinner, first Kevin checked the to see if the seat fitted but it was 50mm too short so he decided to send Alex back tomorrow. Later I and Alex decided to walk to a beach close by called playade la cueve which has a lovely view over the sea of mount Tiede; we did an hour of snorkelling then headed back. We settled down for our dinner, Kevin had made some brushetta for starters which went down a treat, main was Canarian potatoes with ribs and Jo made a flan for desert which was the first time I had eaten it, it was delicious. After our dinner I and Alex got some bread each and fed the fish in the marina, there are hundreds of mullet fish and a few more other different breeds after that we relaxed. We was all sat out side on the boat chatting till late then decided to watch a DVD, apocalipto directed by Mel Gibson, which was a good choice as it was set at the same time as Christopher Columbus was around and showed him discovering America at the end, by the time the film had finished it was 12.30am so we all retired to bed.
Sean Penney
Upon receiving the boat and setting off from La Rochelle, we have had a few snagging problems, nothing serious and with a new boat we expected a few snagging problems, what has amazed us is the response from our dealer (M.I. Cats) and the Fountaine Pajot support team, who have been fantastic.
The Furuno electronics have an intermittent fault, which seems to be well know and reported by other owners, we have already had a visit from the Furuno agent in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, and confirmed as we thought that the Furuno unit was at fault, he did a thorough check of the installation and was more than happy with it.
The cockpit shower head had a very minor leak, so minor it has taken until now to identify it. I had ritual of every other day of sponging out the starboard engine bay, which amounted to a cup full of fresh water, not causing any problems just very irritating. The leak has now been fixed with a replacement part being supplied by our dealer.
The coach roof rubbing strip started to have a groove, which only after a relative short time would obviously not last long. A new coach roof rubbing strip has been supplied by our dealer, which is now fitted and is amazing, this is a vast improvement over the standard item.
On furling the genoa the furling line was catching the coach house roof and if left unchecked would have started to make a groove into the roof, a genoa furling plate has been supplied, again by our dealer, which also fits perfectly and also looks the part, brilliant!
Our journey down to the Canaries demonstrated that we needed pan holders, we requested the help from our dealer who promptly ordered and delivered them to us. The pan holders fit and work a treat, we will be trying these out in earnest when we set off for the Cape Verdes in September, and it will be a big help whilst under passage.
After a number of mosquito bites, we have decided to fit the optional extra fly screens, again with the help of our dealer (M.I. Cats) The Fly screens also fit and work, we recommend these items to anyone who has the Goiot hatches/port holes a quality piece of kit.
The heads tap/shower unit has an intermittent minor leak, which would result in a small amount of fresh water in the starboard bilge, another one of those irritating hunts for the suspect, which turned out to be the main body of the tap/shower unit. The unit has two flexi hoses, which run into the mixing unit, and the leak is coming from that location, a replacement body has been sent out from Fountaine Pajot via our dealer.
We would both like to take this opportunity in thanking our dealer M.I. Cats who have supported us with our minor problems, a big thank you for everything you have done for us, we are absolutely delighted with the support we have received from the M.I. Cats team with particular reference to Karen and Fountaine Pajot support team of course. We have absolutely no regrets in our choice of manufacturer & dealer and would not hesitate to recommend both companies.
Getting rid of these small snags is extremely pleasing, we are very proud of the boat and want to keep the boat looking and performing at its best. The boat is attracting lots of attention were ever we go, with no end of people taking photographs.
The only problem now being an engineer, I quite like doing the boat jobs, which are now fast running out, I suppose I will just have to content myself with the sailing, diving and fishing!
