La Gomera
A different view
Imagine a holiday with nature all around you, a rooster waking you up in the morning followed by a beautiful hike in one of the most biodiverse national parks of Europe, just 15 minutes away from your stay (by car)!
Planning your holiday from home can sometimes be a bit challenging if you want more, than just seeing the touristic atractions of a place. When we are organizing our holiday, we are always looking for local experiences, cultural activities and interesting projects that we can visit or learn from.
Change your perspective
Literally changing your perspective while visiting, is one way of seeing things differently. Take your camera and go on an adventure! Even though you might not be into photography, it is still a great opportunity.
For sure I am not talking about taking selfies, although having a nice picture of yourself is always nice. Take your camera and play with your lens. Go up close to native plants, take beautiful panorama picture, and look for a possible viewpoint that you can hike up to.
Most important: Stand still for a moment and observe what is happening around you, you might be surprised by the amount of movement around you.
A different viewpoint
Instead of visiting by car el Roque de Agando you can visit another viewpoint named “Nuestra Señora de las Nieves” and go for a beautiful hike. As you can see in the picture above, you have a completely different view of this beautiful rock formation. While being there you can play with the echo that rolls down the ravine in great length or just enjoy the complete silence surrounding this area.
Find a local and ask your host
Having trouble finding the gems of La Gomera? As a great way to start, you can visit Soy Eco Turista. All these companies/freelancers are certified by CETS (Carta Europea de Turismo Sostenible) and are experts on sustainable tourism.
Why is it so important to support the local community?
At the same time, we started noticing the impact of Covid-19 on the island. The employment rates are very low due to the absence of tourism, since it is the main income of the island, and many people are starting to work as freelancers to make ends meet.
The majority, just like us, do not have the capacity to hire personnel for marketing and ad campaigns and are focused for 90% on their work even though nowadays an internet presence is mandatory for your business.
Organizing your holiday around the idea of a more conscient way of traveling by visiting local markets, staying at a Vivienda Vacional, or helping for 1 day at a local project can actually change a lot!
Most starting freelancers life of small incomes and every booking/reservation counts. A “small” income of €200 will change their entire financial picture for that month and you are actually helping this person through some very stressful times.
Recently the cabildo of la Gomera has created a new website where you can find all local businesses and buy your crafts online. In case you missed something during your trip, now is your chance!
These experts have a lot of passion for what they are doing, they love to show you around, tell you old folk stories and they even might show you their social circle! Their passion and love for what they are doing is incredible and inspiring on a personal level. Most of the freelancers or small companies that we know started working in their area because of the love that they have for their work and do not consider their work as “work” in the traditional way. For sure they will go the extra mile for you.
Out of experience, we have forged many friendships during our travels and even more here at Be Conscious Travels. Every time we have guests we see this as a new opportunity to learn and meet new possible friends, show them the importance of sustainable tourism on the island