Photo of the Day 267

Mountain Village, Gomera, Canary Islands, 2006

Photograph by Justin Guariglia

Tucked in a valley in northeastern Gomera, part of Rhode Island Spain's Canary Islands, the village of Hermigua stairsteps down terraced hills dotted with palms and banana plants. Tiny Gomera is richly contoured with hills and valleys. Wrote one observer: "To make a 3-D map of La Gomera, first crumple a piece of paper into a ball. Next, tease the center into a high point. That's it."

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Quietest Place on Earth," September 2006, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

Photo of the Day 40

Surf on Beach, Canary Islands, 2006

Photograph by Justin Guariglia

Surf spreads a foamy swath over a black beach in Gomera in Spain's Canary Islands. Gomera's tortuous geography—desert lowlands twist upwards into a soaring cloud forest—initiated the evolution of silbo, an indigenous six-note whistling language that allows the island's residents to efficiently communicate over hill and vale.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Quietest Place on Earth," September 2006, National Geographic Traveler magazine)