Part 8

The Rua da Imperatriz Dona Amelia (p. 24) is continued by the *_Estrada Monumental_, a road which affords delightful views. It leads from the _Ponte Monumental_ (Pl. A, 3), a bridge across the Ribeiro Secco, past a number of sugar-cane plantations and vineyards, and, leaving the shore, proceeds to the S.W. above the ocean-cave of _Forja_ and the rocky islets of _Forja_ and _Gorgolho_. It then crosses the S. slope of the _Pico da Ponta da Cruz_ (863 ft.; *View), an old crater, near the promontory of that name (p. 21), and skirts the beautiful, but not very safe bathing-beach of _Praia Formosa_. Farther to the W., in full view of the bold central range backing the Gran Curral (see below), we cross the lower bridge of the _Ribeira dos Soccorridos_ and an old lava-stream to (5½ M.) =Camara de Lobos= (which may be reached by motor-cab, p. 22), a strikingly picturesque fishing-village (pop. 6200) at the E. base of the almost perpendicular *_Cabo Girão_, with a small natural harbour (_Bahia_). The best wine in the island is yielded by the slopes in the vicinity. Route to the _Gran Curral_ by _Jardim da Serra_, see p. 26.

The EXCURSION TO THE GRAN CURRAL, on horseback or by litter (p. 20), takes nearly a whole day. We start early and take provisions with us. From the W. suburb (p. 24) we follow the Rua das Maravilhas and the Caminho de Santo Antonio (Pl. A, 1, 2), between garden-walls and vineyards, to the N.W. to the finely situated village of (2 M.) _Santo Antonio_ (985 ft.; bullock-car from Funchal 800 rs.). We descend thence to the N.W. into the side-valley of the _Ribeira do Vasco Gil_, with its pine-woods and rich pastures, and soon obtain a view towards the W., extending to the Cabo Girão (see above) and the Pico da Cruz (p. 26). We next ascend the steep side-valley of the _Ribeira da Lapa_ to the (11 M.) _Serrado Saddle_ (Eira do Serrado; about 2900 ft.), on the N.E. margin of the _Pico Serrado_ (see below). From the top of the pass we have a grand view into the great and well-watered basin of the *=Gran Curral=, or _Curral das Freiras_ (‘nuns’ valley’; once a pasture belonging to the convent of Santa Clara), enclosed by the lofty rocks of the central mountains. Far below us, above the rock-strewn bed of the _Ribeira dos Soccorridos_, we descry the village of _Livramento_ (2018 ft.), with its little church and cypress-shaded churchyard.

Those who do not care to face the rugged descent to Livramento, and the steep clamber thence to the Bocca dos Namorados (p. 26), should now ascend the *=Pico Serrado= (3347 ft.; ‘sawn-off peak’), whence we survey the mountain-range from the _Pico de Santo Antonio_ (5725 ft.) and _Pico Cidrão_ (5551 ft.) to the _Pico Ruivo_ (p. 27), the _Pico Canario_ (5500 ft.), and the _Pico Grande_ (p. 26).

Longer, but still grander, is the excursion to the W. margin of the Gran Curral. From the Estrada Monumental (see above) we turn to the N.W. past the _Quinta Nazareh_, nestling amidst araucarias, to the (2 M.) village of _São Martinho_ (765 ft.; bullock-car from Funchal 800 rs.), situated among several old craters; we then cross, to the W., the ravine of the Ribeira dos Soccorridos by the upper bridge and mount in zigzags to the (7 M.) village of _Estreito_ (1510 ft.). Our route now ascends to the N. to the (8½ M.) *_Bocca dos Namorados_ (3445 ft.), with its beautiful chestnut-wood, where we enjoy a superb view of the Gran Curral, and skirts the W. margin of the _Pico dos Bodes_ (3718 ft.) to the (10 M.) _Cova da Cevada_, a basin affording a similar view. We next follow the top of the hill to the N.W., between the Gran Curral and the E. side-valleys of the _Ribeira Brava_ (see below), to (13 M.) the *_Bocca dos Corregos_ (4466 ft.), a narrow ridge at the foot of the perpendicular rocks of the _Pico Grande_ or _Rocha Alta_ (5420 ft.). An interesting return-route is afforded by descending from the Cova da Cevada across _Jardim da Serra_ (2523 ft.) and past the _Pico da Cruz_ (3288 ft.) to _Camara de Lobos_ (p. 25).

The EXCURSION TO RABAÇAL can, if time presses, be accomplished in one day. It is best to go by steamboat to Calheta (3 times weekly, in 1½–2 hrs.; or a small private steamer may be hired of Messrs. Blandy Bros., p. 22). The steamer calls first at _Camara de Lobos_ (p. 25), then skirts the sombre rocky slopes of _Cabo Girão_ and steers past _Fajãa dos Padres_, a village famed for its wine, to the village of _Ribeira Brava_ (inn), where we obtain, through the curral of that name, a very striking glimpse of the _Serra d’Agua_ (4610 ft.) and the Pico Grande (see above). We next pass the beach of _Lugar de Baixo_, formed by a landslip in 1803, the beautiful cape, _Ponta do Sol_, and the village of _Magdalena_, peeping out of vines and bananas amidst the grandest scenery of the S. coast.

At the village of =Calheta= (bad landing-place; no inn) we may find litters if desired (each man 800–1000 rs. per day), and we obtain provisions and torches (fachos, at 50 rs.). We now walk chiefly through pine-wood viâ _Salão_ to the (1½ hr.) narrow and wet tunnel (about 650 yds. in length) of the lower _Levada Nova do Rabaçal_. At the N. end of it we obtain a very striking view of the highest part of the valley of the _Ribeira da Janella_, richly wooded with evergreen, oaks and laurels. A path over the rocks (which needs a steady head) connects this levada (or conduit) with the upper _Levada Velha_, constructed in 1836–60, and with (9½ M.) the engineers’ houses of =Rabaçal= (3750 ft.; adm., see p. 20; fee). A little to the N.E., on the so-called _Balcão_, we enjoy an excellent survey of the *_Waterfall of the Risco_, which plunges from a rock, 330 ft. high, into a ravine overgrown with climbing plants and ferns, and a little lower down provides the water for the old conduit. Crossing the viaduct of the latter, we skirt the new conduit, and in a few minutes reach another luxuriantly overgrown ravine, that of the *_Vinte e Cinco Fontes_, where no fewer than twenty-five waterfalls issue from a narrow basin.

From Rabaçal we may ascend towards the E. (with a guide) to the (2 hrs.) plateau of _Paul da Serra_ (4656 ft.; ‘mountain swamp’), where fogs often prevail, and the two _Tanquinhos Houses_ (about 4900 ft.; used by the engineers; poor quarters). Near them rise the _Pico dos Tanquinhos_ (5260 ft.) and the *_Pico Ruivo do Paul_ (5388 ft.), both of which afford grand views of the mountains.

Scarcely less repaying is the two days’ EXCURSION TO SANTA ANNA on the N. coast, to which a third day may be added for the ascent of the Pico Ruivo or the Pico Areeiro. We start from the Campo da Barca at Funchal (Pl. D, 1) and follow the Estrada do Conde Carvalhal (Pl. E, 1), which ascends to the N.E. in windings to (3¾ M.) _Palheiro do Ferreiro_ (1857 ft.; bullock-car from Funchal 1200 rs.), the finest quinta in the island, the property of Mr. John Blandy of Funchal (adm. on application). Farther on we follow the road, uphill and downhill, to (6 M.) Camacha (2369 ft.; no inn; bullock-car 2500 rs.), a well-to-do village of basket-makers in a charming wooded region, with many villas owned by English residents in Funchal. Beyond the _Pico dos Iroses_ (p. 21) the road, now less attractive, crosses the gorges of the _Ribeira de Porto Novo_ and _Ribeira de Santa Cruz_, and then, turning to the N., reaches (13 M.) _Santo Antonio da Serra_ (2320 ft.), a poor village on a grassy tableland. We descend thence to the N.W. into a sequestered valley carpeted with flowers (Amaryllis Belladonna, etc.), where a rough path leads to the (15½ M.) _Portella Pass_ (2021 ft.), which commands a superb *View of the mountains at the head of the Metade Valley (see below), of the N.E. coast from the Penha d’Aguia (see below) to the Ponta de São Lourenço (p. 20), and of the island of Porto Santo (p. 20). We now descend, at first by a zigzag path, through vineyards and sugar-cane plantations, to (18 M.) _Porto da Cruz_ (no inn), a picturesque little seaport at the S.E. base of the abrupt *_Penha d’Aguia_ (1949 ft.; ‘eagle-rock’), the most curiously shaped hill in the island. We next ascend the saddle to the S. of the Penha d’Aguia, noteworthy for its marvellously rich vegetation, and descend the ravine of the _Ribeiro Frio_ (see below) to _Fayal_, a village not far from the charming _Pescaria_, a little bay to the N.W. of the Penha d’Aguia. The church-terrace here affords a grand survey of the valleys of the Ribeiro Frio, the Ribeiro da Metade, and the Ribeiro Secco (all mentioned below). From Fayal we then cross the _Cortadas Pass_, or _Bocca do Cortado_ (1985 ft.), to (24 M.) Santa Anna (1408 ft.; Hot. Figueira, very fair; pop. 3200), a village well adapted for some stay, the capital of the _Comarca de Santa Anna_, the most fertile region in the island (sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, yams, etc.). From Santa Anna a rough mule-track, very indistinct at places, ascends past the curious basaltic _Homem em Pé_ (‘man on foot’), and lastly over the saddle by the _Encumeada Alta_ (5948 ft.), to the top of the _Pico Ruivo_ (6060 ft.; p. 18), which commands a most imposing, but seldom very clear panorama of the central chain, part of the Gran Curral (p. 25), and the E. half of the island.

Turning back from Santa Anna, we first wend our way towards the S. to the _Cova da Roda_, where we again overlook the N.E. coast as far as the Portella Pass and the Porto da Cruz; we then cross the _Ribeiro Secco_ and the (29½ M.) _Cruzinhas Ridge_, and descend into the valley of the *_Ribeiro da Metade_, a gorge vying in grandeur with the Gran Curral. A zigzag path (‘Quatorze Voltas’) ascends thence to the little venda (inn) of _Cedro Gordo_, and then crosses the _Serra de Caramuja_ into the (33 M.) valley of the _Ribeiro Frio_, with its splendid groves of tilwood trees (see p. 19), laurel, and erica. Above the village of that name rises the _Balcão_, a rock of basalt (near the not easily accessible _Levada do Furado_), where we have a grand *View of the Metade Valley with mountain-background. Our route winds up the rocks of the Feiteiras (‘ferns’) and the _Pouso Saddle_, with its fine views, to the (34½ M.) _Pouso_ or _Poïzo Refuge_ (4603 ft.), situated on a dreary plateau. From the Pouso Refuge we may without difficulty climb the _Pico Areeiro_ (5893 ft.; 1¼–1½ hr.), a famous point of view, but almost always capped with clouds. The bridle-path ascends past the _Observatorio_; we may then descend direct to the Vista dos Navios.

The next part of our route, from the Pouso Refuge to the Monte (p. 24), is uninteresting. From the _Vista dos Navios_ (‘view of ships’), whence the bay of Funchal is visible, the track descends to the head of the valley of the _Ribeira de João Gomes_ (p. 23), rounds the E. slope of the _Pico do Arrebentão_ (3842 ft.), to which point a running sledge (p. 20) may be ordered from Funchal, and then descends rapidly,

## partly in windings, to the (39 M.) _Monte_. Thence to (41½ M.)

_Funchal_, see p. 24.

4. The Canary Islands.

STEAMBOAT LINES. 1. _Union Castle Line_, fortnightly from London and Southampton, touching alternately at Las Palmas and Teneriffe; fares to either, 1st cl. 14–16, 2nd 9–11 _gs._ (return about ⅔ more). For summer tours, comp. p. 17.—2. _Royal Mail Steam Packet Co._, see p. 17.—3. _Peninsular & Oriental Branch Service_, from London monthly for Australia, calling at Las Palmas; 12_l._, return (tickets interchangeable with No. 5 from Teneriffe) 20_l._—4. _Bucknall Line_, monthly from London to Teneriffe; 10_l._, return 18_l._—5. _Aberdeen (Thompson’s) Line_, from London and Plymouth monthly for Australia, calling at Teneriffe; 13_l._, return (also valid for No. 3) 22_l._—6. _Aberdeen (Rennie’s) Line_, from London, about once every 10 days, for S. and E. Africa, calling alternately at Las Palmas and Teneriffe; 10 or 8_l._, return 18 or 14_l._—7. _German East African Line_, once every 3 weeks from Southampton for S. Africa, calling at Las Palmas and Teneriffe, 12_l._ 10_s._ or 7_l._ 10_s._; no return-fares, but an abatement of 20 per cent is allowed on the fare back to Southampton, either by this line, by the Woermann, or by the Hamburg-American Line.—8. _Woermann Line_, monthly from Dover to Las Palmas, and monthly to Teneriffe; fares and abatement for return, same as No. 7.—9, 10. _New Zealand Line_ and _Shaw, Savill, & Albion_, each monthly from London and Plymouth for Teneriffe, 14_l._ or 11_l._ 10_s._; interchangeable return-ticket 22 or 17_l._—11. _Yeoward Bros. Line_, from Liverpool, weekly pleasure cruises to Teneriffe, Grand Canary, and back (10–12 _gs._), also single tickets (6–8 _gs._).—12. _Natal Line_, from London fortnightly for S. Africa calling at Las Palmas, fare 8 _gs._, return 15_l._ 2_s._ 6_d._—13. _Federal, Houlder, & Shire Lines_, see p. 17.—There are also steamers to the Canary Islands from Cadiz (see p. 58), Genoa (see p. 114), Naples, and Trieste (see p. 425).—It should be noted that almost all the British lines have recently raised their fares by ten per cent in consequence, it is said, of a rise in the price of coal. Inquiry as to this ‘surtax’ should therefore be made in every case.—The direct steamers perform the voyage (1707 M. from Southampton to Teneriffe) in 5–6 days; the coasting steamers (viâ Oporto, Lisbon, etc.; about 2250 M.) take much longer.

In addition to the above-mentioned steamers communication among the islands themselves is effected by the small cargo-boats of the _Compañía de Vapores Correos Interinsulares Canarios_ which ply 9 times monthly between Teneriffe and Las Palmas in 6 hrs. (fare 20 or 15 pesetas); and by those of the _Servicio de Pailebotes_ which ply weekly from Teneriffe to Las Palmas, and weekly to Santa Cruz de la Palma. Inquiry as to the sailings, which often vary, should be made on the spot. The Spanish cuisine on board these local boats is not very inviting.

The Canary Islands (_Islas Canarias_ or _Afortunadas_, _i.e._ ‘fortunate islands’), the _Makáron Nésoi_ or _Insulae Fortunatae_ of antiquity, in 27° 30′ to 29° 26′ N. lat., and 13° 15′ to 18° 2′ W. long., lie off the coast of Mauretania, the nearest point being Cape Juby (p. 104). There are in all thirteen islands, forming a Spanish province of a total area of 3305 sq. M., with a population of 364,000. They consist of two groups. The E. group is composed of _Lanzarote_ (rising to 2231 ft. above the sea), _Fuerteventura_ (2789 ft.), and five smaller islands (_Alegranza_, _Graciosa_, etc.); to the W. group belong _Gran Canaria_ (6400 ft.), _Teneriffe_ (12,175 ft.; once the meridian used by the Spaniards and the Dutch), _Gomera_ (4366 ft.), _Palma_ (7737 ft.), and _Hierro_ or _Ferro_ (4643 ft.), the meridian used by France since the time of Louis XIII. (1634). Teneriffe, Gran Canaria, and sometimes Palma are the islands usually visited by tourists; the others chiefly attract botanists and geologists.

[Illustration: ISLAS CANARIAS]

[Illustration: TENERIFE]

The Canaries, supposed by some geographers to form part of the submerged continent of _Atlantis_, and by others to have been outlying spurs of the Atlas of Morocco (p. 93), have the same geological formation as Madeira (see pp. 17, 18, 19). ‘In Fuerteventura especially there occur masses of slag and lava, thrown up by countless eruptions, superimposed on the diabase formation, which is still visible in many places; and in Teneriffe we find phonolithic and trachytic rocks as well as the basaltic. Grand old craters (_calderas_) exist in Ferro, Gran Canaria, and most of all in Palma and Teneriffe. The enormous basin of the _Cañadas_ in Teneriffe has been almost entirely filled up with later streams of lava and scoriæ, which have formed a distinct volcanic cone, the great _Pico de Teide_, 12,175 ft. in height.’ The last considerable eruptions were those of 1677 in Palma, of 1730–36 and 1824 in Lanzarote, and of 1705, 1706, 1796, and 1798 on the N.W. coast of Teneriffe, all of which caused great havoc. On the occasion of the eruption of 1909 in Teneriffe a large lava-stream, accompanied by the emission of vapour and stones from the central crater (see p. 41), burst forth near the foot of the Chahorra (p. 42) and advanced in a N.W. direction towards Santiago and El Tanque but came to rest before reaching these villages. There was little damage and no loss of human life. In the W. islands, which like Madeira rise very abruptly from the sea, the effects of erosion in the broad valleys, with their rich soil, as well as in the deep ravines (_barrancos_) of more recent origin, are specially noticeable.

The climate of the Canaries is remarkable for the striking contrasts prevailing between the E. and the W. groups on the one hand, and between the lower and the higher levels on the other. In the almost treeless islands of _Lanzarote_ and _Fuerteventura_ (62 M. to the N.W. of Cape Juby) years sometimes elapse without rainfall, while the dreaded _tiempo del sur_, the hot and extremely dry wind from the Sahara, covers them with dust and sand and often brings swarms of locusts. Even more disastrous for agriculture are the sandy dunes or coast-hills, thrown up by the currents off the African shores, the sand of which is driven inland by violent N. winds. The _Gran Canaria_, on the other hand, though by no means free from the locust pest, holds an intermediate position in point of climate and scenery between the more continental E. group of islands and the almost wholly oceanic W. group. Owing to the influence of the gulf-stream (p. 18) and the zone of high air-pressure prevalent in the W. Canaries in winter, the N. coast of _Teneriffe_ and the islands of _Gomera_ and _Palma_ enjoy a remarkably mild and equable winter climate (the mean temperature of winter at Puerto Orotava being 60° Fahr. and the minimum 51°). In the region tempered by the trade-wind clouds, which gather at a height varying from 2300 to 5000 ft. above the sea, even the summer temperature is quite bearable; but on the high mountains, above the cloud-zone, the air is extremely dry, and the burning heat of the day is suddenly followed, as in the tropics, by a severe chill. The rainfall at Santa Cruz de Tenerife averages 12 inches, at Santa Cruz de la Palma 14 in., at Puerto Orotava 17 in., at Laguna 22 inches. The lowest snow-line is about 3300 ft.

The vegetation of the W. islands, the Eldorado of botanists, surpasses that of Madeira in variety, though not in luxuriance; but it is confined to the forest-zone in the region of the trade-wind clouds, and to the low ground irrigated with the aid of these clouds, where the soil consists of disintegrated diabase, tufa, and lava. On the other hand large tracts of land, especially in the Gran Canaria and on the S. and E. coasts of Teneriffe, are entirely destitute of vegetation, even in winter, while in summer the verdure of the cultivated land is often covered with a mantle of grey dust.

The Canary Islands, together with Madeira and the Azores, have been described as a region ‘where the tertiary flora, destroyed in Europe during the glacier epoch, has survived and developed, at least since the pliocene age, in insular solitude’. To the primæval African flora, the same as that of the original ‘diabasic Canaries’, belong in particular the stately Canary pine (Pinus canariensis), several species of laurel, such as the Laurus canariensis, the _viñatigo_ (Persea indica), the aloe, the oleander-leaved Kleinia neriifolia, the cactus-like euphorbias, the _balo_ (Plocama pendula), and the famous dragon-tree (Dracæna Draco). Besides the endemic trees and plants are others of very early origin, the seeds of which were originally brought over from India or America by the gulf-stream. During the Spanish period countless other plants, now cosmopolitan, were imported from America, fruit-trees from Europe, and shrubs from the Mediterranean, which last, favoured by the climate, develop into bushy trees. In the gardens, which are mostly enclosed by high walls, we are struck with the gorgeous wealth of bougainvilleas, gloxinias, poinsettias, bignonias, daturas, walbergias, passifloras, and many other flowers. In the lower and more tropical districts grow, side by side, bananas (_plátanos_), tomatoes, sugar-cane (_caña de azúcar_), yams (Span. _ñame_), tobacco, oranges and lemons, prickly-pear (Opuntia Tuna), coffee-plants, Peruvian pepper-trees (_pimenteros_), E. Indian bread-fruit, mango and camphor trees, eucalypti, cork-trees, tamarisks (_tarajales_), araucarias, magnolias, fig-trees, Japanese medlars, palms (about 25 varieties), notably the superb Canary palm (Phœnix canariensis or Jubæ Webb), the date-palm (p. 171), the royal palm (Oreodoxa regia), and, in Palma, the cocoa-nut palm. The vineyards, yielding the famous _Malmsey_ (p. 19) and _Vidueño_ wines, rise on the S. side of Teneriffe from the lower land to a height of 4070 ft. above the sea-level. In the upper cultivated regions the chief crops and fruits are wheat, potatoes, lupins, maize, chestnuts, walnuts, and, among other European fruits, peaches. On the rocky sides of the barrancos occur everywhere the aloe, the cactus-like Euphorbia canariensis (Span. _cardón_), the tabayba (Euphorbia Regis Jubæ), the orchilla lichen (Roccella tinctoria; woad), and Sempervivum (house-leek; some 60 varieties). At the bottom of the barrancos and in the cloud-region we encounter beautiful underwood, composed of evergreen myrtles and laurels, the strawberry-tree (Arbutus canariensis), ericas, stemless ferns, and a few climbing plants. Above the level of the trade-wind clouds we may still meet with the cistus, the Canary pine (up to 7050 ft. above the sea), the white Cytisus proliferus (Span. _escobón_), and the Adenocarpus frankenoides (Span. _codeso_), a kind of gorse. The Alpine retama (Spartocytisus supranubius; Span. _retama blanca_), a kind of broom, the commonest plant in the Cañadas, grows on the Peak up to a height of 10,300 ft.; but a few mosses and lichens alone reach the summit.

The fauna of the Canaries is remarkably poor. The characteristic bird is the canary (Serinus canariensis), which, as in Madeira, is of a greenish-grey colour, while the yellow canaries are imported. Mosquitoes, especially on the E. and S. coasts of the islands, fleas, and flies, including some whose bite is very unpleasant, abound in summer. The more important fish are cod, tunny, and sardines. Chief among domestic animals is the goat. Camels were introduced from the continent in 1405.