RONDA TO GAUCIN--ROAD TO CASARES--FINE SCENERY--CASARES--DIFFICULTY
IN PROCURING LODGINGS--FINALLY OVERCOME--THE CURA'S HOUSE--VIEW OF
THE TOWN FROM THE RUINS OF THE CASTLE--ITS GREAT STRENGTH--ANCIENT
NAME--IDEAS OF THE SPANIARDS REGARDING PROTESTANTS--SCRAMBLE TO THE
SUMMIT OF THE SIERRA CRISTELLINA--SPLENDID VIEW--JEALOUSY OF THE
NATIVES IN THE MATTER OF SKETCHING--THE CURA AND HIS
BAROMETER--DEPARTURE FOR THE BATHS OF MANILBA--ROMANTIC
SCENERY--ACCOMMODATION FOR VISITERS--THE MASTER OF THE
CEREMONIES--ROADS TO SAN ROQUE AND GIBRALTAR--RIVER GUADIARO AND
VENTA.
Ronda and the road from thence to Gaucin have been already fully
described; I will, therefore, pass on, without saying more of either
than that, if the road be one of the _worst_, the scenery along it
equals any to be met with in the south of Spain. The road was formerly
practicable for carriages throughout, but it is now purposely suffered
to go to decay, lest it should furnish Gibraltar with greater facilities
than that great commercial mart already possesses, for destroying the
manufactures of Spain--such, at least, is the excuse offered for the
present wretched state of the road.
From the rock-built castle of Gaucin we will descend--by what, though
called a road, is little more than a rude flight of steps practised in
the side of the mountain--to the deep valley of the Genal, and, crossing
the pebbly bed of the stream, take a path which, winding through a dense
forest of cork and ilex, is directed round the northern side of the
peaked mountain of _Cristellina_, to a pass between it and the more
distant and wide-spreading _Sierra Bermeja_.
The scenery, as one advances up the steep acclivity, is remarkably fine.
I do not recollect having any where seen finer woods; and the occasional
glimpses of the glassy Genal, winding in the dark valley below; the
numerous shining little villages that deck its green banks; the
outstretched town of Gaucin and ruined battlements of its impending
castle covering the ridge on the opposite side, and backed by the
distant mountains of Ubrique, Grazalema, &c., furnish all the requisites
for a perfect picture.
Soon after gaining the summit of the wooded chain, the road branches in
two, that on the left hand proceeding to Estepona, the other to Casares.
Taking the latter, we emerged from the forest in about a quarter of an
hour, and found ourselves at the head of a deep and confined valley,
which, overhung by the scarped peaks of Cristellina on one side, is
bounded on the other by a narrow ridge that, stretching several miles
to the south, terminates in a high conical knoll crowned by the castle
of Casares.
The road, which is very good, keeps under the crest of the left-hand
ridge, descending for two miles, and very gradually, towards the town.
The view on approaching Casares is remarkably fine, embracing, besides
the picturesque old fortress, an extensive prospect over the apparently
champaign country beyond, which (marked, nevertheless, with many a
wooded dell and rugged promontory,) spreads in all directions towards
the Mediterranean; the dark, cloud-capped rock of Gibraltar rising
proudly from the shining surface of the narrow sea, and overtopping all
the intervening ridges.
Before reaching Casares, the mountain, along the side of which the road
is conducted, falls suddenly several hundred feet, and a narrow ledge
connects it with the conical mound more to the south, whereon the castle
is perched. The town occupies the summit of this connecting link--which
in one part is so narrow as to afford little more than the space
sufficient for one street--but extends, also, some way round the bases
and up the rude sides of the two impending heights, thus assuming the
shape of an hour-glass.
Having reached the _Plaza_,--and a tolerably spacious one it is
considering the little ground the town has to spare for
embellishments,--we looked about for the usual signs of a _venta_, but,
failing in discovering any, applied to the bystanders for information,
who, pointing to a wretched hovel, on the wall of which was painted a
shield, bearing, in heraldic language, gules, a bottle sable, told us it
was the only _Ventorillo_[62] in the town.
Now, though it is a common saying that "good wine needs no bush," we had
yet to learn that dirty floors need no broom; and, unwilling to be the
first to gain experience in the matter, we determined, after a minute
examination of the house, to present ourselves to the _Alcalde_, and, in
virtue of our passports, ask his "aid and assistance" in procuring
better quarters.
The unusual sight of a party of strange travellers had brought that
important personage himself into the market-place, who, collecting round
him the principal householders of the town, forthwith laid our
distressing case before them, and, in his turn, asked for aid and
assistance in the shape of advice.
Our papers were accordingly handed round the standing council, and,
having been minutely inspected, turned upside down, the lion and unicorn
duly admired, the great seal of the Governor of Gibraltar examined with
eyes of astonishment, and the question asked "_Son Ingleses?_"[63]
(which was excusable, considering the absurdity of giving passports in
_French_ to English travellers in _Spain_) a shrug of the shoulders
seemed all that the _Alcalde_ was likely to get in the way of advice, or
we in the lieu of board and lodging.
Guessing at last, by the oft-repeated question concerning our
nationality, "_De que pie cojeaba el negocio_";[64] we took occasion to
signify to the conclave, that a few dollars would most willingly be paid
for any inconvenience the putting us up for the night might occasion.
Our prospects immediately brightened; each had now "_una salita_," that
he could very well spare for a night or so ... "we had our own _mantas_,
so that we should require but mattresses to lie down upon--and as for
stabling, that there was no loss for"--in fact, the only difficulty
appeared to be, how the Alcalde should avoid giving offence to a dozen,
by selecting _one_ to confer the favour of our company upon.
He saw the delicacy of his position, and hesitated--"he himself, indeed,
had a spare room, but ..." here a portly personage, clothed in a black
silk cassock, and sheltered by an ample shovel hat, stepped forward to
relieve the embarrassed functionary from his dilemma; and giving him a
nod, and us a beckon, drew his _toga_ up behind, and walked off at a
brisk pace towards the castle hill.
The claims of _El Señor Cura_--for such our conductor proved to be--no
one presumed to dispute; so making our bow to the _Alcalde_, who assured
us that
_Quien a buen arbol se arrima_
_buena sombra le cobija_,[65]
we followed the footsteps of the worthy member of the Church
Hospitaliar, without further colloquy.
Our conductor stopped not, and spoke not, until we had reached the very
top of the town, and then, leading our horses into a commodious stable,
he ushered us into his own abode; wherein he assured us, if the
accommodation he could offer was suitable, "we had but to _mandar_." It
consisted of a large _sala_ and an _alcoba_, or recess, for a bed; the
latter scrupulously clean, the former lofty and airy. We, therefore,
expressed our entire satisfaction, requesting only that a couple of
mattresses might be spread upon the floor; a friend, who had joined us
at Gaucin, rendering this increase of accommodation necessary.
Having given instructions to that effect, Don Francisco Labato--for such
our host informed us were his _nombre y appellido_,[66] not omitting to
add, that he was a _clerigo beneficiado_[67]--proposed to accompany us,
to cast an ojeada[68] upon the curious old town, from the ruined
battlements of its ancient fortress; observing that there was yet
abundance of time to do so, "ere Phoebus took his evening plunge into
the western ocean."
We gladly accepted the proffered ciceroneship of our classical host,
and, mounting the rugged pathway up the isolated crag, in a few minutes
reached the plateau at its summit. It would be hardly possible to select
a less convenient site for a town than that occupied by Casares. Pent in
to the north and south between impracticable crags, and bounded on the
other two sides by deep ravines; it can, in fact, be reached only,
either by describing a wide circuit to gain the mountains, rising at its
back; or, by ascending a rough winding path, practised in the side of
the castle hill.
The principal part of the town is clustered round the base of the old
fortress, the houses rising one above another in steps, as it were, and
occupying no more of the valuable space than is necessary to give them a
secure foundation. The streets, which are barely wide enough to allow a
paniered donkey to pass freely, are formed out of the live rock, and,
here and there, are cut in wide steps, to render the ascent less
difficult and dangerous. These flat slabs of native limestone, when
heated by a summer sun, though passable enough by unshod animals, afford
but a precarious footing to a horse's iron-bound hoofs.
The castle can only be approached through the town, and although its
walls have long been in ruins, yet, so strong are its natural defences,
that the muzzles of a few rusty old guns, propped up by stones, and
protruded from the prostrate parapets, were sufficient to deter the
French from making any attempt upon the place during the war of
independence:--such, at least, is the version of the inhabitants.
That Casares was a Roman town is almost proved by the name it yet bears;
but the matter is placed beyond a doubt on examining the old foundations
of the castle, which are clearly of a date anterior to the occupation of
Spain by the Saracens.
The name it anciently bore strikes me as being equally obvious, viz.,
_Cæsaris Salutariensis_; so designated from the mineral waters in its
neighbourhood, which, though _now_ known by the name of the modern town
of Manilba, are within the _termino_ of Casares. For, not only were the
valuable properties of these springs well known to the Romans, but,
according to the common belief in the country, they performed a
wonderful cure on one of the emperors--Trajan, I think.
_Cæsaris Salutariensis_ is mentioned by Pliny, amongst the Latin towns
of the _conventus gaditanus_; the limits of which country may, at first
sight, appear to be somewhat stretched to include Casares; but
Barbesula, which stood at the mouth of the river Guadiaro, at an equal
distance from Cadiz, (as is clearly proved by inscriptions found there,)
is also mentioned by that excellent authority as one of the stipendiary
towns of the same county; and the order in which they are enumerated,
viz., those first which were nearest to the capital, tends to confirm my
supposition.
On our return from the old castle, which commands a splendid view, we
were not displeased to find that our host was no despiser of the good
things of this world, much as he gave us to understand that all his
thoughts were directed towards the never-ending joys of that which is to
come. Every thing bespoke a well-conducted _ménage_; the house, besides
being clean and tastily decorated with flowers, was provided with some
solid comforts. The _Cura's niece_--his housekeeper, butler, and
factotum--was pretty, as well as intelligent and obliging. His _cuisine_
was tolerably free from garlic and grease, his wine from aniseed. Our
horses were up to their knees in fresh straw; and three clean beds were
prepared for ourselves.
Our host excused himself from partaking of our meal, he having already
dined, and, whilst we were doing justice to his good catering, paced up
and down the room pretending to read, but in reality watching our
movements, and, as it at first struck us, looking after his silver
spoons: but divers testy hints given to his bright-eyed niece that her
constant attendance upon us was unnecessary, soon made it evident that
_she_ was the object of his solicitude; as, judging from the occasional
direction of our eyes, he rightly conjectured what was the subject of
our conversation. Anon, however, he would approach the table, thrust the
volume of Homilies under his left arm, and, taking a pinch of snuff,
(which he said was "_bueno para el estudio_"[69]) ask our way of
thinking on various subjects, political and theological, always
prefacing his interrogatories by some observation, either on his passion
for study, the cosmopolitan bent of his mind, or the superiority his
learning gave him over the vulgar prejudices of the age. And, at length,
when the table was cleared, the niece gone, and he had elicited from us
that we were all three _English_, he observed, without further
circumlocution, "_Pues Señores_, you are not members of the _Santa
Iglesia, Catolica Romana_?"
"No," we replied, "_Catolica_ but not _Romana_."
"That is to say, you are heretical Christians."
"That is to say, we differ with you as regards the corporeal nature of
the elements partaken of in the Eucharist; we deny the efficacy of
masses; the power of granting indulgences; and the necessity for
auricular confession:--and so far certainly we are heretics in the eyes
of the church of Rome."
The worthy _Cura_--much as he had studied--was by no means aware that
our pretensions to Catholicism were so great as, on continuing the
controversy, he discovered them to be.[70] He made a stout stand,
however, for the absolute necessity of auricular confession; maintaining
that we, by dispensing with it, deprived the poor and ignorant of a
friend, a counsellor, and an intercessor;--stript our church of the
power of reclaiming sinners, and checking growing heresies;--and our
government of the means of anticipating the mischievous projects of
designing men.
It was in vain we urged to our host that, in our favoured country,
education had done away with the necessity for strengthening the hands
of government by such means; that the poor were provided for by law; and
that the clergy were ever ready to counsel and assist those who stood in
need of spiritual consolation. But, before leaving us for the night, the
_Padre_ admitted that _we_ were certainly Christians, and that many of
the mysteries and practices of the Church of Rome were merely preserved
to enable the clergy to maintain their influence over the people;--an
influence which we deemed quite necessary for the well-being of the
state.
Rising betimes on the following morning, we set off on foot to clamber
to the lofty peak of the _Sierra Cristellina_; and regular climbing it
was, for all traces of a footpath were soon lost, and we then had to
mount the precipitous face of the cone in the best way we could. The
magnificence of the view from the summit amply repaid us for the fatigue
and loss of shoe-leather we had to bear with; for, though scarcely 2000
feet above the level of the sea, the peak stands so completely detached
from all other mountains, that it affords a bird's eye view which could
be surpassed only by that from a balloon. The entire face of the
country was spread out like a map before us. To the north, penned in on
all sides by savage mountains, lay the wide, forest-covered valley of
the Genal, its deeply furrowed sides affording secure though but scanty
lodgment to the numerous little fastnesses scattered over them by the
persecuted _Mudejares_, when expelled from the more fertile plains of
the Guadalquivír and Guadalete; and on which castellated crags the
swarthy descendants of these "mediatised" Moors still continue to reside
and bid defiance to civilization.
These little strongholds stand for the most part on the summit of rocky
knolls that jut into the dark valley; and round the base of each a small
extent of the forest has in most cases been cleared, serving, in times
past, to improve its means of defence, and, at the present day, to admit
the sun to shine upon the vineyards, in the cultivation of which the
rude inhabitants find employment, when, obliged for a time to lay aside
the smuggler's blunderbuss, they take to the axe and pruning-knife.
Behind, serving as a kind of citadel to these numerous outworks, rises
the huge _Sierra Bermeja_, which afforded a last refuge to the
persecuted Moslems; and at its very foot, about five miles up the valley
of the Genal, are the ruins of _Benastepar_; the birth-place of the
Moorish hero, _El Feri_, whose courage and address so long baffled the
exterminating projects of the Spaniards.
Turning now round to the south, a totally different, and yet more
magnificent, view meets the eye. Gibraltar,--its lovely bay,--the
African mountains, rising range above range,--and the distant Atlantic,
successively present themselves: whilst, from the height at which we are
raised above the intermediate country, the courses of the different
rivers, that issue from the gorges of the sierras at our back, may be
distinctly followed through all their windings to the Mediterranean, the
features of the intervening ground appearing to be so slightly marked as
to lead to the supposition that the country below must be perfectly
accessible;--but, as one of our party drily observed, those who, like
himself, had followed red-legged partridges across it could tell a
different story.
We returned to Casares by descending the eastern side of the mountain,
which is planted with vines to within a short distance of the summit. In
fact, wherever a little earth can be scraped together, a root is
inserted. The wine made from the grapes grown on this bank is considered
the best of Casares; it is not unlike Cassis--small, but highly
flavoured. The town, looked down upon in this direction, has a singular
appearance, seeming to stand on a high cliff overhanging the
Mediterranean shore, though, in reality, it is six or seven miles from
it.
We amused ourselves during the rest of the afternoon in taking sketches
of the town from various points in the neighbourhood, and excited the
wrath of some passers-by to a furious degree. They swore we were
_mapeando el pueblo_,[71] and that they would have us arrested; but we
were strong in our innocence, and turned a deaf ear to their menaces. It
is, however, a practice that is often attended with annoying
consequences; for I have known several instances of English officers
having been taken before the military authorities for merely sketching a
picturesque barn or cork tree--so great is the national jealousy.
At our evening meal, our host, as on the former occasion walked
book-in-hand up and down the room, but was evidently less watchful of
his pretty niece and silver spoons. His attention, indeed, appeared to
be entirely given to the state of the mercury in an old barometer,
which, appended to the wall at the further end of the room, he consulted
at every turn, putting divers weatherwise questions to us as he did so.
And at last, he asked in plain language, whether our church ever put up
prayers for rain, and if they ever brought it.
The occasion of all this _pumping_ we found to be, that the country in
the neighbourhood having long been suffering from drought, the
husbandmen, apprehensive of the consequences, had for some days past
been urging him to pray for rain, but the state of the barometer had not
hitherto, he said, warranted his doing so, and he had, therefore, put
them off, on various pretences. "Yesterday, however," he observed,
"seeing that the mercury was falling, I gave notice that I should make
intercession for them; and, I think, judging from present appearances,
that my prayers are likely to be as effectual as those of any bishop
could possibly be." And off he started to church, giving us, at parting,
a very significant, though somewhat heterodoxical grin.
Nevertheless, not a drop of rain fell that night; the barometer was at
fault; and the only clouds visible in the morning were those gathered on
the brow of the _Cura_. They dispersed, however, like mist under the
sun's rays; when, bidding him farewell, and thanking him for his
hospitable entertainment, we slipped a _doublon de à ocho_ into his
hand; which, pocketing without the slightest hesitation, he assured us,
with imperturbable gravity, should be applied to the services of the
_church_--"as, doubtless, we intended."
Threading once more the rudely _graduated_ streets of the town, we took
the stony pathway, before noticed, which winds down under the eastern
side of the castle hill, and in rather more than half an hour were again
beyond the limits of the Serranía, and in a country of corn and pasture.
At the foot of the mountain two roads present themselves, one proceeding
straight across the country to San Roque and Gibraltar (nineteen and
twenty-five miles), the other seeking more directly the Mediterranean
shore, and visiting on its way the sulphur-baths and little town of
Manilba.
The _Cura_ had spoken in such terms of commendation of the _Hedionda_
(fetid spring)--claiming it jealously as the property of Casares--that
we were tempted to lengthen our journey by a few miles to pay it a
visit.
The road to it follows the course of the little stream that flows in the
valley between the Cristellina mountain and Casares, which, escaping by
a narrow rocky gorge immediately below the town, winds round the foot of
the castle crag, and takes an easterly direction to the Mediterranean.
The country at first is open, and the stream flows through a smiling
valley, without encountering any obstacle; but, at about two miles from
Casares, a dark and narrow defile presents itself, which, the winding
rivulet having in vain sought to avoid, finally precipitates itself
into, and is lost sight of, under an entangled canopy of arbutus,
lauristinus, clematis, and various creepers. So narrow and overshadowed
is the chasm, so high and precipitous are its bank--themselves overgrown
with coppice and forest-trees, wherever the crumbling rocks have allowed
their roots to spread--that even the sunbeams have difficulty in
reaching the foaming stream, as it hurries over its rough and tortuous
bed; and the pathway, following the various windings of the narrow
gorge,--now keeping along the shady bank of the rivulet, now climbing,
by rudely carved zig-zags, some little way up the precipitous sides of
the fissure,--is barely of a width to admit of the passage of a loaded
mule.
So wildly beautiful is the scenery, so free from artificial
embellishments,--for the low moss-grown water-mills which are scattered
along the course of the stream, and here and there a rustic bridge, owe
their beauty rather to nature than art--so _romantic_, in fine, is the
spot, that, if in the vicinity of a fashionable _baden_, it could not
fail of being a little fortune to all the ragged donkey-drivers within a
circuit of many leagues, and of proving a mine of wealth to the
surveyors of _tables d'hôtes_, and _restaurans_, and keepers of billiard
and faro tables.
The amusements of the frequenters of the humble _Hedionda_ are, however,
very different, and the sequestered dell is visited only by chanting
muleteers, driving their files of laded animals to or from the mills;
or, perchance, by some sulphurated old lady, who, ensconced in a
pillowed _jamuga_,[72] is bending her way, with renovated health,
towards Casares or Ximena: to which places the narrow fissure offers the
nearest road from the baths.
After proceeding about a mile down the dark ravine, its banks, crumbling
down in rude blocks, recede from each other, and a huge barren sierra is
discovered rising steeply along the southern bank of the stream, to
which the road now crosses. It greatly excited our surprise how this
lofty and strongly marked ridge could have escaped our observation from
Casares, for it had seemed to us, that on descending from thence we
should leave the mountains altogether behind us.
From the base of this barren ridge issues the _Hedionda_; still,
however, about a mile from us; and ere reaching it, the hills retiring
for a time yet more from the stream, leave a flat space of some extent,
and in form resembling an amphitheatre, which is planted with all kinds
of fruit-trees, and dotted with vine-clung cottages. This spot is called
_La Huerta_--the orchard; and these comfortless looking little
hovels--pleasing nevertheless to the eye--we eventually learnt are the
lodging-houses of the most aristocratic visiters of the baths.
Traversing the fruitful little dell, and mounting a low rocky ledge that
completes its enclosure to the east, leaving only a narrow passage for
the rivulet, we found ourselves close to the baths; our vicinity to
which, however, the offensive smell of the spring (prevailing even over
the strong perfume of the orange blossoms) had already duly apprized us
of.
The baths are situated almost in the bed of the pure mountain stream,
whose course we had been following from Casares; and a short distance
beyond, and at a slight elevation above them, stands a neat and compact
little village.
The season being at its height, we found the place so crowded with
visiters, that it would have been impossible to procure a night's
lodging, had such been our wish. All we required, however, was
information concerning the place; for which purpose we repaired to the
_Fonda_,--a kind of booth, such as is knocked up at fairs in England for
the sale of gin, "and other cordials,"--and ordered such refreshment as
it afforded, asking the _Moza_[73] if she could tell us whether any of
the houses were vacant, &c.
She replied, that the Fonda was provided with every thing necessary for
travellers of distinction, being established on the footing of the
hotels "_de mas fama_" of Malaga and San Roque; and that _El Señor
Juan_, the "_intendente_"[74] of the place,--who, doubtless, on hearing
of our arrival, would forthwith pay his respects to us,--could furnish
every sort of information respecting it.
Oh! a master of the ceremonies, with his book, thought we--well, this
will be amusing: some urbane "captain," no doubt, all smiles to all
persons!--and whilst we were yet picturing to ourselves what this
Spanish Beau Nash could possibly be like, a tall ungainly personage,
with a considerable halt in his gait, a fund of humour in his long
leathern countenance, and a paper cigar screwed up in the dexter corner
of his mouth, presented himself, and placed his services at our
disposition.
He held a huge pitcher of the fragrant water in one hand, which, when he
was in motion, gave him a "lurch to starboard;" a stout staff in the
other, by means of which he established an equilibrium when at rest. His
body was coatless, his neck cravatless, his shirt sleeves were rolled up
to the elbow, leaving his brown sinewy arms bare; his trowsers hung in
braceless negligence about his hips; his large bare feet were thrust
into a pair of capacious shoes; and his head was covered with a
high-crowned, narrow-brimmed, Frenchified hat, which had evidently
browned under the heat of many summers, and bent to the storms of
intervening winters. Round his neck hung a stout silver chain (which the
fumes of the sulphur-spring had turned as black as Berlin iron), whence
was suspended a ponderous master-key.
"He must be the prison-keeper," said we, "carrying the daily allowance
of water to the incarcerated malefactors!"
"This is _Señor Juan, el intendente_," said our smirking attendant,
placing a bottle of wine upon the table before us.
"Oh! this is _Señor Juan_, the master of the ceremonies!--Then pray be
seated, _Señor Juan_; and bring another wine-glass, _Mariquita_."
Our requests were instantly complied with; and in half an hour we had
disengaged from the numberless "_por supuestos, conques_," and "_pues_,"
with which Señor Juan interlarded his conversation, and from the smoky
exhalations in which he enveloped it, all the information we required
concerning the baths, though by no means so full an account of them as
the gossip-loving _Tio_ seemed disposed to give us. So pleased were we,
however, with his description of the amusements of the place, and of the
valuable properties of its waters, that, assuring him we should take an
early opportunity of renewing his acquaintance, and commending him to
the care of _San Juan Nepomaceno_, we arose, and took our departure.
I was not long in performing my promise. Indeed, I became an annual
visiter to the baths for a few days during the shooting season; and will
devote the following chapter to a more particular description of the
_Hedionda_, and the manner of life at a Spanish watering-place.
The mule-track from the baths to Gibraltar--for during the first few
miles it is little else--keeps down the valley for some little distance,
and then, ascending a steep hill, joins at its summit a road leading to
Casares from Manilba; which latter little town is seen about
three-quarters of a mile off, on the left. This road to Casares turns
the _sierra_ overhanging the baths on its western side, where it meets
with some flat, nearly table-land; but our route to Gibraltar, after
keeping along it a few hundred yards, strikes off to the left, and,
traversing a wild and very broken country, in something more than three
miles forms its junction with the road from the town of Manilba to San
Roque and Gibraltar, which again, half a mile further on, falls into the
road from Malaga to those two places. This spot is distant five miles
from the baths, and rather more than two from the river Guadiaro.
Near some farm-houses on the left bank of this river, and about a mile
from its mouth, are ruins of the Roman town of _Barbesula_. Some
monuments and inscriptions found here, many years since, were carried to
Gibraltar.
The bed of the Guadiaro is wide but shallow, and offers two fords, which
are practicable at most seasons. There is a ferry-boat kept, however, at
the upper point of passage, for cases of necessity. A venta is situated
on the right bank of the stream, whereat a bevy of custom-house people
generally assemble to levy contributions on the passers-by. It is a
wretched place of accommodation, though better than another, distant
about a mile further, on the road to Gibraltar, and well known to the
sportsmen of the garrison by the name of _pan y agua_--bread and
water--those being the only supplies that the establishment can be
depended upon to furnish. Its vicinity to some excellent snipe ground
occasions it to be much resorted to in the winter.
At the first-named venta, two roads present themselves, that on the
right hand proceeding to San Roque, (eight miles,) the other seeking the
coast and keeping along it to Gibraltar--a distance of twelve miles.
The country traversed by the former is very rugged, but the path is,
nevertheless, unnecessarily circuitous. In various places--but a little
off the road--are vestiges of an old paved route, which, it is by no
means improbable, was the Roman way from _Barbesula_ to _Carteia_, of
which further notice will be taken, when the coast road from Malaga to
Gibraltar is described.