BY FLORENCE DU CANE WITH 16 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR BY ELLA DU CANE A. & C. BLACK LTD. 4, 5 & 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.1. PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN First published in 1911...

I TENERIFFE Probably many people have shared my feeling of disappointment on landing at Santa Cruz. I had long ago realised that few places come up to the standard of one’s preconceived ideas, so my mental picture was not in this case a very beautiful one; but even so, the utter hideousness of the capital of Teneriffe was a shock to me. Unusually clear weather at sea had shown us our first glimpse of the Peak, rising like a phantom mountain out of the clouds when 100 miles distant, but as we dre

TENERIFFE ( continued ) About a thousand feet above the Puerto de Orotava, on the long gradual slope which sweeps down from Pedro Gil forming the valley of Orotava, lies the villa or town of Orotava. This most picturesque old town is of far more interest than the somewhat squalid port, being the home of many old Spanish families, whose beautiful houses are the best examples of Spanish architecture in the Canaries. Besides their quiet patios , which are shady and cool even on the hottest summer d

TENERIFFE ( continued ) A spell of clear weather, late in February, made us decide to make an expedition to the Cañadas, which, except to those who are bent on mountain climbing and always wish to get to the very top of every height they see, appeals to the ordinary traveller more than ascending the Peak itself. In spite of the promise of fine weather the day before, the morning broke cloudy and at dawn, 6 A.M. , we started full of doubts and misgivings as to what the sunrise would bring. We had

TENERIFFE ( continued ) I know nothing more enjoyable than a ramble along the coast or up one of the many barrancos in the neighbourhood of Orotava. I had always heard that the Canary Islands were rich in native plants, but I hardly realised that almost each separate barranco (literally meaning a mountain torrent, but now applied to any ravine or deep gully) would have its own special treasures, and that the cliffs by the sea are so rich in vegetation that in many places they look like the most

TENERIFFE ( continued ) To the east of the town lies a district where, in old days, the Spaniards built their villas, as summer residences, in which to escape from the heat and dust of the town. In those days vineyards and cornfields took the place of banana plantations and potato fields, and near some of the villas are to be seen to this day the old wine-presses with their gigantic beams made of the wood of the native pine. These presses have long been silent and idle, as disease ravaged the vi

TENERIFFE ( continued ) Icod de los Vinos , a little town on the coast, some seventeen miles from Orotava, was in the days of its prosperity a great centre of the wine and cochineal trade. Its prosperous days are a thing of the past, and to-day it appears to be rather a sleepy little town; but possibly for just this reason it is more picturesque than some of its richer neighbours, whose inhabitants can afford to build modern and most unsightly houses. The drive from Orotava to Icod is by far the

TENERIFFE ( continued ) Many visitors to Teneriffe find their way across the mountains from Orotava to Guimar in the course of the winter or spring, which is the best time for the expedition. Though the actual time required for the journey from point to point may be only about seven hours, according to the condition of the road, it is best to make an early start and to have the whole day before one, so as to have plenty of time to rest on the way and enjoy all there is to be seen. Once the last

GRAND CANARY I have noticed that there is always a certain amount of jealousy existing between the inhabitants of a group of islands. In old days they were of course absolutely unknown to each other, and even spoke such a different language that they had some difficulty in making themselves understood. Though such is naturally not the case to-day when in a few hours the little Interinsular steamers cross from one island to another, still in Teneriffe you are apt to be told there is nothing to be

GRAND CANARY ( continued ) Many of the residents of Las Palmas move to the Monte for the summer, but even in late spring most people are glad to get away from the town and the white dust, which by then is lying ankle deep on the roads. Monte is the only other place which the ordinary traveller will care to stay in, as the native inns in Grand Canary bear a bad reputation for discomfort and dirt, and the Monte makes a good centre for expeditions, besides being an entire change of air and scene. T

GRAND CANARY ( continued ) Those who do not mind a long day and really early start can see a good deal of the country and make some very beautiful expeditions without facing the terrors of the native inn. When even our guide-book—and the writer of a guide-book is surely bound to make the best of things—warns the traveller that the “accommodation is poor,” or that “arrangements can be made to secure beds,” every one knows what to expect. So a long day, however tiring, is preferable, if it is poss

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 Or

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 th

FUERTEVENTURA, LANZAROTE AND HIERRO The three islands of Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and Hierro, complete the group of seven Fortunate Isles, as the little satellites of Graciosa, Alegranza, Montaña Clara, are hardly more than large rocks, uninhabited and only visited occasionally by fishermen. Fuerteventura, though by no means a very small island, being over 60 miles long and about 18 miles broad, has remained in a primitive and unexploited condition, because in spite of the fertility of the soil

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