European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 11, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Canary islands getting away from it  a a a Ltd a Quot i Ltd driving on Gomera s mountainous roads can be slow and dangerous. 10 stripes Magazine August 11, 1994 Penelope Powrie and her 5-year-old daughter Isabel sit outside a cafe in san Sebastian. Continued from Page 9 where a Freak of nature awaits. Viewed Only by the sea los organs is a Cliff composed of hundreds of tall Basalt columns that look like the pipes of a musical Organ. In the North Are a few towns Worth visiting if a rental car is at hand. The most noteworthy Are Agulo and Hermi Gua the second largest City on the Island. Every morning Farmers in this Region set Bunches of bananas outside their Homes for pickup. Another interesting sight is the women who walk along the winding roads carrying milk containers on their Heads. Hermi Gua is yet another sad example of the Island s diminishing population which has plummeted from 10,000 to about 2,000. Quot that used to be a very Rich Village Quot said Penelope Powrie a scottish woman who resides in Gomera. Quot the rest of the populace Are thrown around Quot the Island. The town of Chi pude just outside Gar Jonay National Park is Home to Dona Rufina a 55-year-old Pomeran woman known throughout the archipelago for her handmade pottery. Rufina is now schooling her granddaughter on the Fine Points of the Trade that has been passed Down from generation to generation. Rufina shapes her wares without the use of a Potter s wheel. The result is a somewhat uneven but interesting Keepsake that usually runs about $20. The Park is a Keepsake As Well. Gar Jonay National Park constitutes about 10 percent of the Island s land mass. Because of the Trade winds and the Park s Altitude Gar Jonay is often shrouded in fog. The Park is famous for its wild laurels abundance of flowering shrubs and plants and 30-foot-High Heather Trees. The misty air is filled with the spicy Aroma of Laurel and Pine Trees. The highest Point on Gomera is Gar Jonay Peak which is 4,832 feet. The Mountain is an easy climb especially if it is approached from the main Park Road that skirts by the Peak. The Best time to hike to the Summit is shortly before Daybreak when the air is sometimes not so foggy. Mount teide on the Island of Tenerife Spain s highest Mountain is visible from the top. Situated in the valleys that fan out from the Park Are Small towns that hold perhaps the Island s most unusual gift to Mankind. Years ago the Island people who live in the mountains devised a unique whistling language known As Silbo. The whistling sounds vary in pitch and rhythm and carry so Well that a skilled practitioner can be understood two Miles away. The reason for the extended reach is that shepherds and fishermen the primary practitioners needed to communicate across Steep Gorges to their family friends and neighbors. Quot it s dying out because we have telephones faxes everything but they Are starting to teach it again in school Quot Powrie said of the whistling language. Silbo Quot can be heard three to four Kilometres away and a message can be taken around the Island in 20 minutes Quot she added. Powrie tells an amusing tale of when a British broadcasting corp. Reporter came to Gomera. Powrie and her husband took the reporter to an Island elder who knows the whistling language. To demonstrate it the elder whistled to a Shepherd Friend across a Gorge telling the Man that a bbl reporter was with him and that he wanted to Tell the Story of this unique language. The Man whistled Back Quot who in the hell is the bbl Quot