Island of Palma. 69 



Gomera, it possesses greater natural variety of soil and 

 scenery and has some unique features. On the map it is 

 laid down pear-shaped, with the narrow end pointing due 

 south. As we approach it from the east its profile is again 

 exactly like a pear, a bold round mountain-mass, with pre- 

 cipitous sides, but gradually sloping from the neck till its 

 southern point is lost in the sea. Closer examination explains 

 very simply this formation. Originally a circular volcanic 

 mass of 7600 feet in height, with a central crater, Palma 

 must have been a larger edition of what the far more ancient 

 Gomera is to-day. During some convulsion the lava burst 

 through the southern side of the crater, and poured forth its 

 stream into the sea, thus forming the neck of the pear, and 

 leaving in the centre of the island avast hollow cup, known as 

 the Caldera, or caldron, 7 miles in diameter from north to 

 south, and 5 from east to west, with its inner sides some- 

 times 5200 feet deep, and that an absolutely sheer precipice, 

 the bottom of the Caldera being 2400 feet above the sea-level. 

 On the north-west of the island there is no available 

 anchorage, even for the smallest craft ; while the only 

 anchorage on the east is a partially sheltered roadstead, with 

 a small artificial harbour, at Ciudad de Santa Cruz. This is 

 the metropolis of the island, and one of the best and most 

 interesting cities of the whole Canary group, with a noble 

 ancient church, and a handsome town-hall erected by the 

 Emperor Charles V. There is a thoroughly old-world air 

 about the place, with its clean streets, running one above 

 the other, parallel to the shore, very much like a miniature 

 Funchal, its well-stored and attractive-looking shops, and 

 the quaint and bright costumes of both men and women, 

 indicating at once whether they hail from the north-west 

 or south of the island. There is a comfortable Spanish 

 fonda, but foreigti visitors are rare. Only one did we meet 

 with — an intelligent and cultured Bavarian physician, bent on 

 investigating the hygienic character of the country. There 

 is no consul or consular agent, and until this year, when for 

 the first time the interinsular steamers call once a week, 

 thanks to the enterprise of Messrs. Norwood, Brothers, there 



