Mist is the main character in this forest. On La Gomera, one of the smallest of the Canary Islands, the trade winds blow clouds against the mountains in the centre of the island, and the trees comb the moisture out of the air so effectively that a damp forest stays damp all year. The Garajonay National Park, which covers the high ground at around 1,400 metres, is one of the best remaining stands of laurisilva, a type of subtropical cloud forest that once covered much of southern Europe before the ice ages. Moss hangs from the branches, lichen covers the trunks, and the light has a green, underwater quality. UNESCO listed the park in 1986.
Garajonay takes its name from a legend. Gara, the daughter of the lord of one island district, fell in love with Jonay, a young man from Tenerife, whose island is visible across the water on a clear day. Their families forbade the match, and the lovers, so the story goes, died together on a skewer of cedar wood at the highest point. The summit, at 1,487 metres, is the island's highest, and you can walk to it from the road in a few minutes.
Riding on La Gomera is spectacular and demanding. The island is a rounded volcanic cone cut by deep ravines called barrancos, and the roads descend into them in long hairpin sequences and climb out the other side. Surfaces are generally good but narrow, and tour buses on the main road make blind corners something to respect. On the high ground the weather changes in minutes, from sun to dense fog and drizzle, so carry waterproofs even if the forecast is good. In 2012 a large fire burned part of the park, which has since been regenerating.
For fuel, San Sebastián de La Gomera, the capital, thirteen kilometres away, has the main stations, and a few villages such as Vallehermosa have pumps. The local food is simple and good, with a honey made from palm sap, goat cheese, potatoes with a red spicy sauce called mojo, and a whistled language called Silbo Gomero that islanders used for centuries to talk across the ravines, which UNESCO has also recognised.