FUEkTEVENTURA 1 3 



guarded as we were on the west by the island of Fuer- 

 teventura itself, and on the east by the African coast. In 

 this desired haven the boat steals along, as boats should 

 steal along, unaccompanied by those drawbacks that so 

 often attend sea voyages ; this smooth steaming along, I 

 remember, impressed me at the time, as being unlike 

 anything I had previously experienced on the sea. My 

 blanketed fellow-travellers were sitting in the fore part 

 of the vessel, smoking, or eating their gofio, and enjoying 

 the warmth of the sun ; the captain and the sailors 

 seemed to be without occupation for the time being, and 

 all appeared to be waiting for something which never 

 came. 



For hours we stole on thus, the open sea on our 

 right, calm as a lake, the island on our left, a desert of 

 sand-coloured ground without any sign of vegetation, 

 leading up in the distance to mountains, which assumed 

 a distinctly red-coloured tinge towards their summits. We 

 saw no houses and no people. Still we crept along, the 

 monotony of the view once broken by a school of 

 porpoises playing on the surface of the water a little 

 way out to sea, and raising a patch of white foam over 

 which some gulls were hovering. 



At length we drew in sight of a cluster of white 

 houses sheltered by a bend in the coast-line, which 

 turned out to be Puerto Cabras. Quite a small place, 

 evidently. A nearer inspection showed us a clean-look- 

 ing little port, composed of flat-roofed houses, a row of 

 camels waiting on the beach lending a very picturesque 

 touch to the scene. 



Our steamboat anchored a little way off the quay, 

 and we were soon disembarked, being rowed with the 



