Leaves from a Madeira Garden 



brown. From the summit of the pass we may 

 descend by a good road into the Curral, and 

 ride in five hours to Funchal. 



But the enterprising traveller will prefer to 

 return to Boa Ventura and to continue his 

 exploration of the north coast, of which the 

 wildest portion still awaits him. In a few 

 hours' ride from the fair village, which he will 

 no doubt have left with regret, he will reach 

 the little town of S. Vicente, lying at the 

 narrow mouth of one of the grandest of the 

 island's valleys. Here, too, a road leads up 

 the ravine and over a high pass at its head to 

 the west side of the Grand Curral and Funchal, 

 one of the finest, some think the very finest, 

 of the routes across the island. Opposite the 

 extremely narrow opening in the line of coast- 

 cliffs through which the river reaches the sea, 

 on the very beach itself, stands a curious 

 isolated rock, the interior of which has been 

 hollowed out to form a chapel which is dedi- 

 cated to the patron saint of the valley. This 

 chapel was constructed in the year 1692, and 

 is used for the celebration of mass on St. John's 

 Day. 



From S. Vicente westward a very remarkable 



224 



