I WAS not surprised to read a genetic study of the present day inhabitants of the Canary Islands, revealed that the natives of La Gomera — our second home for over 30 years — retain more of the aboriginal DNA that the inhabitants of the other islands.

SPAIN: WALKING IN LA GOMERA, CANARY ISLANDS

THIS morning, dawdling knee-deep in the water at the edge of the port beach at Valle Gran Rey on the Canary Island of La Gomera, I remembered standing in the same spot many years ago with a skinny boy, now a giant of 30 years, and looking at a big manta ray lying in the sand at our feet.