Sfi THK RXTOMOT.OGIST's RKCOHD. 



expected to obtain lodgings witli a prosperous mercer, who had a good 

 house and received guests. Unfortunately he had just been supplied 

 with more than his complement by a large family which had, the 

 previous day, returned from the Argentine, whither it seems many 

 people go from this region, returning either for a vacation or perma- 

 nently aftei- having, I suppose, made their pile. We had then to 

 inspect the '• Posadas." The best of these was, from our point of view, 

 quite impossible. After wasting some time in searches, inspections, 

 and palavers, we were reluctantly coming to the conclusion that we 

 must stay one night at the Posada and return next day, when a 

 gentleman who had attended us throughout our researches, as is a 

 common habit in these regions, all matters of negotiation and market- 

 ing being matters of great general interest, volunteered the information 

 that he thought something could be done. In fact, he had the key of 

 a vacant house, in which he thought we could put up, and his wife 

 could look after our commissariat and other domestic att'airs. We finally 

 found ourselves installed in a large house with very good rooms, not 

 entirely devoid of furniture, and, at a very belated hour, secured, not a 

 sumptuous feast, but something to eat. Here we resided and got on 

 very well during our stay at Canales. We found, unfortunately, that 

 the house was not entirely uninhabited, but a little arrangement got 

 over the difficulty. The Posada here, and our observations at the 

 villages in the district, showed that the accommodation available in this 

 region was much behind that that we met with in the Albarracin 

 Sierra. Last year, at Bejar, Piedrahita, and Avila, we did not try 

 the smaller villages, but fancy they also were not to be commended. 



We did not ascertain the exact height of Canales de la Sierra, 

 where we stayed from .Tune 27th to July 9th, but it cannot be much 

 over 2500 feet. It is a considerable distance below the Col between 

 it and Pjarbadilla, and to that, one descends a good way from the 

 highest point of the railway. Canales lies in a valley with a little 

 stream, the Najarilla, that was quite dry a mile above the village, but 

 a mile below was quite a little river. On the north there rises 

 immediately, in somewhat steep slopes, a hill, the ridge of which runs 

 east and west at a height of perhaps 5500 feet, certainly not more, 

 passing round towards the northwest into a higher summit, which 

 we took to be the Sierra de la Demandii, possibly about 7400 feet. 

 This carried, during our stay, several considerable patches of snow. 

 This appears to be the highest point in the group after Moncayo. 

 which is, however, really distinct, the other summits are really parts 

 of the same mass as the Demanda, and, though the maps say other- 

 wise, we fancied the Urbion and Cebellera were a trifle higher than the 

 l)emanda, but then we viewed these from the north and so their 

 snowy patches made a comparatively greater display. Opposite, to the 

 south, was a lower hill, a little further oil', ranging backwards to a 

 hmg high ridge with much snow, the Sierra Campina. The top of 

 this was some ten miles off', and we never got up courage to visit it. 

 In fact, we could only have made a day's journey there and back, with 

 no time to do anything when there. To the southeast, and some fifteen 

 or twenty miles ofi', but over a very broken country, was the bold and 

 precipitous summit of the Cel)ellera and the range of the Pico de Urbion. 

 These we should much liked to have visited, but it would have been 

 a full day's jo\u'iiey to get there, and we could hear of no accommodation 



