For a about a week, I worked remotely on the island of La Gomera at a little place in a barranco called La Mangita. I had a little apartment to myself with views over the valley, mountains, trees and the cliffs from my balcony. To maximise my daylight hours, I woke up at sunrise and worked in the evenings. My bed was right next to the window so I could wake up without an alarm and check if it was time to get up yet – a super-easy way to get up in the mornings! I did some morning reading and journaling with a cup of coffee or herbal tea for a few hours. I got into the habit of making up some healthy-looking fruit salad or tapas kind of thing for brunch. There were no shops nearby so I brought a few things with me and got some fruit from the communal fruit basket. I took it really easy and lay around in the sun and did daily yoga before starting work. I’ve recently heard someone say: Your life is only as good as your routine. And as much as I love spontaneous chaos, I can say for sure that slow sunny mornings as a regular thing are magical and make me feel more in touch with the aliveness of life.
The taxi to San Sebastian (for shops) costs about €10, so I only went there once (I was also trying to purposefully isolate myself as well) and instead opted for a meal at a nearby restaurant. It was about a kilometre away, and a nice scenic walk too. The restaurant is in a tiny town called El Atajo and you can order your meal (and beer) from the bar. The food was delicious, traditional and very good value for money. As a result I actually ordered more than I could eat, and when I got back to La Mangita, I just fell asleep :/
Just opposite my accommodation there was this traditional goats cheese farm that you could smell sometimes. I went over to see what the deal is, and couldn’t find anyone at first. Just as I was about to leave a man came out from a house and showed me where they keep the cheese, sold by the wheel: €11 per kilo. Not being able to eat a kilo of cheese on my own, I gave up the chance to indulge in the local fare and made a mental note to stop over here another time!
