particularly for those who are bent on reaching the highest land in the
island. The Pico de los Pechos is the highest point (6400 ft.), but the
Montaña de la Cruz Santa, on the left, is generally chosen, as here
parties of walkers and riders can meet, under the shadow of the Holy
Cross, where, on the festivals of St. Peter and St. John, a religious
_fiesta_ is held. Before the wholesale deforestation took place, this
district must certainly have been much more beautiful; now it is a
silent, shadowless world, a desolate region of stony ground, over which
run great _barrancos_ looking like deep rents in the mountain sides.
Probably no other island has suffered more cruelly from the axe of the
charcoal-burner, and in the neighbourhood of Las Palmas everything has
been cut which could be converted into charcoal, and nowadays that
necessary article of life to the Spaniard has to be imported.
One of the most beautiful of all their native forests, the forest of
Doramas, is hardly worthy of its name at the present time; scattered
trees on the mountain side are all that remains of one of the most
beautiful of primeval forests, which was so celebrated in the days of
the Canarios. Even in 1839, when Barker Webb and Berthelot visited the
forest, they lamented over the destruction of the trees, and whole
stretches of country which had formerly been pine and laurel woods were
only covered with native heath. The prince Doramas, who is said to
have lived in a grotto in the picturesque neighbourhood of Moya, gave
his name to the mountain and forest, and these travellers visited his
cave, which was still regarded with great veneration on account of the
tales of the heroic and brave deeds and almost superhuman strength of
the prince, which had been handed down from generation to generation.
They found the door, or rather entrance, to the grotto draped with
garlands of _Hibalbera_ (_Ruscus androgynus_) and the scarlet-flowered
_Bicacaro_ of the Guanches (_Canarina campanulata_), as the spot was
then solitary and deserted. Some years before the Spanish traveller
Viera had been charmed by the beauty of the forest, and a translation
of passages from his work on the “General History of the Canary
Islands” will show what a treasure the Spaniards have lost in allowing
the destruction of the woods.
“Nature,” he says, “is here seen in all her simplicity, nowhere is she
to be found in a more gay or laughing mood; the forest of Doramas is
one of the most beautiful of the world’s creations from the variety of
its immense straight trees, always green and scattering on all sides
the wealth of their foliage. The sun has never penetrated through
their dense branches, the ivy has never detached itself from their old
trunks; a hundred streams of crystal water join together in torrents
to water the soil which becomes richer and richer and more productive.
The most beautiful spot of all in the depth of this virgin forest is
called Madres de Moya; the singing of the birds is enchanting, and in
every direction run paths easy of access; one might believe them to be
the work of man, but they are all the more delightful because they are
not. By following one of these paths one comes to the spot called by
the Canarios, the Cathedral, an immense and complete dome of verdure
formed by the meeting of the branches of the magnificent trees. Laurels
raise their great trunks in colonnades, with their branches interlaced
and bent into gigantic arcades, which produce a most marvellous effect.
Advancing under their majestic shadow one discovers at every turn
fresh views, and one’s imagination, carried away by the tales of the
ancients, is filled with poetic impressions. These enchanted regions
are well worthy of the fictions of fables, and in the enthusiasm they
give birth to when wandering in their midst, the Canarios appear to
have lost nothing of their celebrity; these are still the Fortunate
Islands and their shady groves the Elysium of the Greeks, the wandering
place of happy souls.”
The poet Cayrasco de Figueroa, who was known as the “divin Poête,” and
whose tomb is to be seen in one of the side chapels of the cathedral in
Las Palmas, wrote verses in praise of the forest, which he must have
seen in all its glory in 1581, and some fifty years later the venerable
don Christobal de la Camara, Bishop of Grand Canary, travelled all
through it and wrote of “the mountain of d’Oramas as one of the marvels
of Spain: the different trees growing to such a height that it is
impossible to see their summit: the hand of God only could have planted
them, isolated among precipices and in the midst of masses of rock.
The forest is traversed by streams of water and so dense are its woods,
that even in the days of greatest heat the sun can never pierce them.
All I had been told beforehand of its beauties appeared fabulous, but
when I had visited it myself I was convinced that I had not been told
enough.”
Between 1820 and 1830 the forest seems to have suffered much. At the
former date some part of the woods remained in all their pristine
beauty on the Moya side and the great Til (_Laurus fœtens_) trees round
Las Madres were still standing, but ten years later, when Barker Webb
and his companion visited this spot again, these splendid trees were
shorn of their finest branches and the devastation of the woods had
begun.
Long before this date the mountain appears to have become an apple of
discord. Some influential landed proprietors demanded the division of
the forest, the _communes_ interfered, and eventually the question
became a political one. Just as a settlement was arrived at the party
in power fell and General Morales arrived on the scene, having been
granted a large part of the forest by Ferdinand VII. in recognition of
his services, and the deforestation of the district began in earnest,
in spite of local resistance to the royal decree.
In most of the islands some old pine has been given the name of the
Pino Santo, and protected by a legend of special sanctity, but perhaps
the Pino Santo of Teror was the most venerated of all. The tree, old
historians tell us, was of immense size and grew adjoining the Chapel
of Our Lady; so close, in fact, that one of its branches served as the
foundation of the belfry. The unsteadiness of this strange foundation
not unnaturally hastened the destruction of the little tower, and on
April 3, 1684, the sacred tree, which collapsed from its great age and
weight, threatened to crush the chapel beneath. The sacred image of Our
Lady of the Pine was so named because it was said to have been found
in the branches of the tree. This miraculous discovery was made after
the conquest in 1483. The Canarios had often observed a halo of light
round the tree which they did not even dare approach, but Don Juan de
Frias, bishop and conqueror, more courageous than the rest, climbed
into the branches of the tree and brought down a statue of the Virgin.
He is said to have found the image among thick branches and between
two dragon trees, nine feet high, which were growing out of a hollow
in the pine branches. The figure at once received the name of Nuestro
Señora del Pino, the church, which has been built on the site of the
old chapel, being dedicated to her. The spot on which stood the sacred
tree is now marked with a cross, and a pine tree close by is said to
be a descendant of the Pino Santo. Nor is this all the legend about
this wonderful tree. A spring of healing water issued from beneath it,
and here the faithful came to bathe and be healed of their ills. An
avaricious priest thinking he would collect fees or alms from those
who came to visit the spring, caused it to be enclosed by masonry and
a door, which he kept locked, upon which the sacred spring dried up,
and his schemes were defeated. Below the village to this day are some
mineral springs dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. Who knows, possibly
this is the same sacred spring which has reappeared to benefit the
sick.
XI
LA PALMA
Every one agrees that La Palma is almost the most beautiful of the
group of seven Fortunate Isles, so it is all the more deeply to be
deplored that there is not better communication between the little
port of Santa Cruz de la Palma and Teneriffe or Grand Canary. At rare
intervals during the winter, especially towards sunset, the island had
emerged from the clouds in which it is usually enveloped and lain dark
purple against a golden sunset sky, an omen which we had learnt to
dread in Orotava, finding there was great truth in the saying of the
country people, “When La Palma is to be seen, rain will come before two
days,” and sure enough the storm always came.
The little town of Santa Cruz, or La Ciudad as it is locally called, as
if it was the only town in the world, is most picturesquely situated
on steep slopes, very much resembling the situation of Funchal in
Madeira on a smaller scale. Possibly in days to come La Palma may
have a great future before it as a tourist resort, when the new mole
fulfils the hopes of natives and their port becomes a coaling-station
for larger steamers. An hotel among the pine woods would certainly be
very attractive, especially in spring, when the whole island is afoam
with fruit blossom. At present a bad _fonda_ is the only accommodation
in Santa Cruz, and most people curtail their stay in consequence, and
hurry away at the end of three days during which time the steamer
has been at the neighbouring islands of Hierro and Gomera, or else
they ride over to Los Llanos, spurred by the report of a very fairly
comfortable inn. The island affords almost endless expeditions,
especially to good walkers, as the tracks are bad and slippery for
mules. Near Santa Cruz the Barranco de la Madera is the home of the
Virgin de las Nieves, a very ancient and much venerated image of the
Virgin, to whom the church is dedicated. Every five years this sacred
figure is carried down to the sea in solemn procession, and the stone
ship at the mouth of the great _barranco_, which is called after Our
Lady of the Snows, is rigged and decked in gala fashion with bunting.
Not only from all parts of the island, but many devout Spaniards
congregate to do honour to her, and a great _fiesta_ takes place, which
must be a curious and most interesting ceremony.
The Barranco del Rio is the most beautiful of all the walks in the
neighbourhood. Like its namesake near Guimar in Teneriffe, it is a
happy hunting-ground for the botanist, and those who have a steady
head and do not mind narrow paths and precipices can wander far along
through the gorge, where the beautiful rocks are clad with innumerable
ferns and native plants.
In ancient days the Guanches gave the island the name of Benahoave,
meaning “my country,” which sounds as though they were so proud of
the island when they took possession of it, probably sailing across
from Teneriffe, that they meant to stick to it. The present name first
appears on the old Medici map in Florence (1351), which is said to be
the oldest chart of these waters. The name is supposed to have been
given to the island by an expedition composed of Florentines, Genoese
and Majorcans who had visited the Canaries some ten years before. It
was probably the last-named who christened the island La Palma, after
the capital of Majorca, so at the time of the conquest, though the
Spaniards introduced many changes in the way of laws, religion and
agriculture, they did not change the European name by which the island
had become known.
Webb and Berthelot when they visited the island in 1837 were loud in
praise of the wealth and luxury of the vegetation, which in their
opinion surpassed that of any other of the Canary group.
The island centres in the vast abyss of the Gran Caldera, which
centuries ago was the boiling cauldron of a great crater. The islanders
are immensely proud of their old crater, and always assert that the
Peak of Teneriffe was merely thrown up by _their_ volcano in one of its
most terrific upheavals. As in the other islands at a certain elevation
the region of laurels and other evergreen trees, in whose shade ferns
flourish, is succeeded by the mammoth heaths, and higher still come
the beautiful pine woods with their slippery carpet of pine needles on
which both man and beast find a difficulty in keeping a footing. On
the more arid slopes of parts of the Cumbre the scattered vegetation
is more suggestive of Alpine regions. The above-mentioned learned
travellers attribute the presence of the immense number of apparently
wild almond and other fruit trees to their having sown themselves
from the original trees introduced to the island by the conquerors,
who, determined to make the most of the climate and soil, set about
to change the face of the land. The natural vegetation receded to the
higher regions as the lower parts became more and more cultivated
with almonds, vines, oranges, lemons and bananas, which up to then
had been unknown in the island. In some districts woods of chestnut
trees, which were also introduced, have taken the place of the virgin
forest. To these two travellers also belongs the honour and glory of
having discovered the Echium peculiar to the Island, and they at once
gave it its local name, _Echium pininana_, though _nana_ does not seem
very appropriate to it, as it is anything but dwarf, growing to a
height of 15 ft. with a dense spike of deep blue flowers. Several of
the lovely Canary brooms appear to be indigenous to the island, and
Professor Engler of Berlin, who visited La Palma last year, found the
yellow-flowered _Cytisus stenopetalus_ in two varieties, _palmensis_
and _sericeus_, besides the graceful drooping and sweet-scented white
_Cytisus filipes_ and _Retama rhodorrhizoides_, and the _Cytisus
proliferus_ common to most of the islands.
Most people prefer to visit the great crater from Los Llanos, an
expedition occupying three days. The journey across the Cumbres _viâ_
El Paso to Los Llanos is one of extreme beauty, as the vegetation
begins very soon after leaving Santa Cruz, and at a height of only
1000 ft. the chestnut, laurel, and heath woods begin. The path winds
through these enchanting woods until at a higher elevation the giant
heaths alone are left. From the top of the Cumbre Nueva there is a
magnificent view over the whole island, Santa Cruz nestling among the
hills by the shore and in the far distance lie Teneriffe and Gomera. To
the south is the old Cumbre, called Vieja in contradistinction to its
newer neighbour; from one of its heights a stream of lava is said to
have descended in 1585, which is probably the last occasion on which
the volcano showed any activity. The dense vegetation covering some of
the streams of lava speaks for itself of their great age, as it is said
that not a particle of vegetation appears on lava until it has had four
centuries in which to grow cold, and then the first sign of returning
life is a peculiar lichen which appears on the heaps of lava. The great
mountain of Timé, whose black and forbidding precipice overhangs the
Barranco de las Augustias, makes many a traveller wonder who first had
the courage to make a path, steep and narrow though it is, down the
face of the rock. Possibly the goatherds, _pastors_, first learnt the
lie of the land, swinging themselves on their _lanzas_ or long spiked
poles from rock to rock with surprising agility, and then others not
trained to this strange mode of progression made the paved track.
On the western slopes the pine woods soon commence, the splendid trees
increasing in size until the sacred Pino de la Virgen is reached--a
giant whose trunk measures some 25 ft. round. Hardly a traveller passes
the shrine at its foot without dropping a coin, however humble, into
the money-box which is kept for its support. How long the pine has
been regarded as a holy tree, or for how many generations the lamp
has been lighted nightly, I know not; but in 1830 Berthelot wrote:
“This beautiful tree, said to be a contemporary of the Conquest,
shows no sign of age; a little statue of the Virgin has been placed
in the first fork of its branches; every evening the woodcutters of
the neighbourhood come silently and reverently to light the little
lamp which hangs above the sacred image. At dusk, if one passes near
the _Pino Santo_, this lamp, which shines alone in the depth of
the forest, casting shadows on the leafy bower which protects this
mysterious shrine, inspires one with a sense of deep feeling and dread.
The presence of this tree, which has been made sacred and endowed
with mysterious powers, caused me to feel for it the very greatest
veneration.”
Though the little village of El Paso is situated somewhat nearer to
the Gran Caldera, few travellers stop there, as it does not boast
of an inn, however humble, and to be taken as a “paying guest” does
not appeal to many people. It is better to push on to Los Llanos, a
pleasant village reached by a road from Tazaconte, which runs through
orange groves, where in spring the air is heavy and sickly with the
scent of the blossom, and then passing through almond groves and
orchards of every kind of fruit tree, so to the very last the beauty of
road is kept up, and the traveller is well repaid.
Though the expedition to the Gran Caldera is always described as a
tiring one, the natives would feel deeply hurt if any visitor to their
island did not go to see their mighty crater. It is indeed mighty--a
vast basin, measuring in places four to five miles across, and some
6500 to 7000 ft. deep; its very size makes it difficult to realise
that it is a crater, and it might easily be regarded as merely a deep
hollow among the mountains. Though its walls are great bare grey
crags, the pine woods which clothe the lower slopes of the hills which
rise from the bottom of the crater, in places the bottom itself being
clothed with trees, make it all the less like an ordinary crater.
Great deep ravines tear the base, and these in their turn have become
pine woods, carpeted with soft and slippery pine needles which for
centuries possibly have lain undisturbed. The Caldera is recommended as
a camping-ground, as water, which in Palma is scarce, is to be found;
in fact, innocent-looking dry stony beds may through rainy weather on
the higher land suddenly become a roaring stream. Some people might
think it too inaccessible a spot, but the solitude, and the sound of
the wind whispering among the pines, would appeal to many. That the
depth of the crater has altered since a bygone age is evident, as caves
of the Haouarythes, the aboriginal inhabitants of La Palma, are now
absolutely inaccessible; nothing but a bird could reach the entrance
to them. The action of water is said to account for this; possibly
underground streams broke loose after a plutonic effort and upheaval of
the volcano, and the upper crust subsided.
Peasants are still to be seen wearing the peculiar hood or _montera_
made of dark brown woollen cloth lined with red flannel, in shape like
a sou’wester, turned up in front fitting closely to the head, the flap
hanging behind lined with red, or sometimes if the flap is not required
as a protection against the weather the corners are buttoned over the
peak in front. The _mantas_, blanket cloaks, are all made of wool woven
in the island. These are both articles of men’s dress. The women’s
caps have no flaps, and are very ugly, and the picturesque dress which
survived for a time in Breña Baja is now extinct altogether, as are
also the tiny round hats made from the pith of the palm.
XII
GOMERA
Gomera is seldom visited by tourists, but a flying visit can be paid
to it during the stay of the inter-insular boat which plies between
the islands. In summer its higher land and woods would be an ideal
camping-ground for a traveller with tents, and the climate is said to
be very good. The soil appears to be extremely rich and well repays the
cultivator, but the Cumbres are still clad with beautiful woods, which
up to now have escaped from the destructive charcoal-burners. The soil
of the island is volcanic, but it is one of the few of the group which
cannot boast of an old crater, and the highest point is only about 4400
ft. A remarkable feature of the vegetation is the entire absence of
pines; there are none at the present time, and old historians always
comment on their absence. This in itself showed ancient writers the
approximate height of the island, as nowhere is the native _Pinus
canariensis_ found in its natural conditions under 4000 ft. above
sea level, while in the region below that altitude _Erica arborea_
flourishes. In Gomera the heaths attain larger dimensions than in any
other island, and grow into real trees, and on the beautiful expedition
from San Sebastian, the port, to Valle Hermoso (the Beautiful Valley),
which appears well to deserve its name, the traveller passes through
a succession of well-watered and wooded country and lovely forest
scenery, said to be unsurpassed in the Canaries. San Sebastian was
formerly of more importance than it is now, as in old days its
naturally sheltered harbour was much valued by navigators.
It was probably for this reason that it became the favourite anchorage
of Christopher Columbus on his voyages of discovery. He first called
at Puerto de la Luz, in Grand Canary, in order to repair the damage
done to one of his fleet, but leaving his lieutenant in charge of the
damaged ship, Columbus himself sailed to Gomera on August 12, 1492.
On this occasion he stayed for eleven days, returning to Grand Canary
to pick up La Pinta, but he again called at Gomera on September 1.
He appears to have spent a week in storing provisions, and several
sailors from Gomera joined his expedition. On his second voyage he
returned to his old anchorage, this time again picking up sailors, and
as he had a much larger fleet of vessels under his command, besides
plants and seeds he embarked cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens,
all of which he wished to introduce to the country he had already
discovered, a fact which has been of great interest to zoologists who
had been puzzled to determine the true race of many animals found in
the West Indies. Twice again he visited Gomera, so there is no doubt it
was his favourite port of call. Some old historians assert that for a
time he lived in Gomera. At San Sebastian an old house is still pointed
out as having belonged to him. After his marriage in Lisbon with a
daughter of the Portuguese navigator Perestrello, for some years little
seems to be known of the admiral’s doings. The inhabitants of Madeira
claim that he lived in a house in Funchal, while other writers affirm
that he lived in Gomera and speak of his return to “his old domicile”
after one of his voyages.
[Illustration: SAN SEBASTIAN]
In old days the inhabitants were called Ghomerythes, and after the
conquest of the island by the Spaniards, which did not prove a
difficult matter, as though the islanders were a brave little band they
knew little or nothing of the art of warfare, the conquerors enlisted
the services of the natives to help them in attacking the other
islands. The island was not left entirely undisturbed even after the
conquest, as Sir Francis Drake made several attempts to take the island
in 1585, and five years later a Dutch fleet under Vanderdoes invaded
the town. On the walls of the quaint old church in San Sebastian are
paintings showing the repulse of the Dutch fleet in the harbour in
1599. The Moors in the seventeenth century attacked and burnt a great
part of the town.