Sleepy tranquility, a place to hire a car

The ship docked, but I had had a ring side seat watching the island come into view. Slowly rising from the sea, steep cliffs gave way to inlets and caves which appeared deserted. The mists of morning were still rising but the sky was leaden and although we were in the Canaries, the day did not look promising.

So we berthed alongside and after the obligatory wait to clear customs, we were given the all clear to disembark. I couldn't wait. The town nestled into the valley between two sets of imposing hills and I was intrigued by it. There really wasn't enough of it to get lost in so I wandered and it was glorious.

The tower illustrated in the magnet is called Torre del Conde, and was one of the first buildings I saw. Sitting in  its own small garden, it was really interesting and the ironwork, impressive. It dates back to the 1400s and is the remnants of a fortress, which, I presume, was created to fight off pirates.

I wanted to see it all and we were only stopping until about 16:00 so I had a shorter day than usual; I had to be back at the latest 15:30 and that would be pushing it as that's when the gangway is lifted.

So, cardigan on, camera out, I headed into the town square....via the beach because I just had to have a paddle. I wish I had longer, this is an island I would hire a car. Google told me of a day trip to see the island and it looked fabulous.

• Parque Natural Majona; a rugged natural park featuring forests, rivers and endangered animals.
• Torre del Conde; 14the century fortress tower
• Archaelogical museum of La Gomera
• Roque de Agando; 4,100 ft volcanic rock jutting out of the jungle, with nature trails around its base
• Garajonay National Park; wildlife rich, anchient laurel forest nature reserve with nature trails and a visitors centre
• Playa Valle Gran Rey; a beautiful beach on which to chill out

Sadly, I was too early to hire a car, I didn't have my driving license with me and the tour would have been too long for our stop....never mind.

So I waited in the town square with a cup of coffee and watched as the market set up and opened, the buskers came out to serenade the tourists and examples of the specialised whistling which allowed people to whistle conversations from one hill top to another was explained by people dressed in full Canarian costume.

I may not have made the tour of the island, but I had a wonderful morning and afternoon in San Sebastian, looking around the market, the back streets and of course the small fishing port.