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canaries
la gomera
history
THINGS TO DO COLUMBUS Those on the trail of Christopher Columbus will know that La Gomera was his final stop before making his inaugural Atlantic crossing. As such, there is the obligatory museum in San Sebastián dedicated to the explorer (as well as a chapel that may have heard his prayer), though it doesn’t compare with the excellent museum in Gran Canaria. There is also a well outside Custom House, from which Columbus is meant to have drawn water with which to baptise the New World; and Casa de Colón, where he is alleged to have lodged. These buildings have been destroyed and rebuilt many times in the ensuing five centuries, so don’t look too closely for provenance.
To make the most of a visit to La Gomera, take a tour around the island, visiting some of its small towns and hamlets, fruit plantations and Forestara vineyards. One town at the top of list will be Agulo, which is the island’s smallest, but also its best preserved and most picturesque. It lies on a natural platform with fabulous views over the ocean and Teide, on neighbouring Tenerife.