CHAPTER V. 

 Vilaflor. 



TI7OUR thousand feet or more above the sea, on the 

 ^ south side of Tenerife, is situated the small town 

 of VilaHor. The mountain slopes on which it is built 

 are for the most part composed of rocky ground, from 

 which springs, here and there, one of the giant pine 

 trees so often to be met with in the higher districts 

 of Tenerife ; these trees unite in places to form isolated 

 woods, remnants of the forest which at one time clothed 

 these mountain sides. 



It is a quaint village, built round a large square, 

 the church standing at the top, the fonda on the left- 

 hand side, while leading out of the two bottom corners 

 of this square are two narrow streets. To the right 

 of the church are three magnificent cypress trees, the 

 row of steps included in the accompanying illustration 

 of these trees leading up to the church itself. 



Like some old families, this village is touchy about 

 the spelling of its name, and one must be careful not 

 to confound the Vila with the Spanish word for town, 

 which is villa. Orotava people have a great love for 

 Vilaflor, and in that I think they show good taste. 

 Sometimes enveloped in cloud for days together, its 

 full attractions are not realised until the sun draws from 

 its woods the warm scent of the pines, which here 



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