14 EXPEDITION TO MACHICO. — SANCTA CRUZ, ETC. [chap. I. 



beneath, of a different nature from what the students of the 

 laws of attraction above might desire. At the bottom of the 

 clitf, stones are quarried at some peril, for building purposes. 

 Frail ladders are the only means by which the quarry can be 

 reached. All the " cantaria molle,"* both red and gray, is 

 quarried here; the " cantaria riga" comes from the parish 

 of the Estreito of Camera de Lobos. 



Beyond Cape Girao the ride is sometimes extended to the 

 Campanario ; here grows a Spanish chestnut of immense size, 

 which has been hollowed out, and the interior has been con- 

 verted into a small room. It is 36 feet in circumference, and 

 continues to bear a vigorous foliage. 



EXPEDITION TO MACHICO. 



Another long day's excursion is to Machico. Starting at 

 eight o'clock in the morning, and riding along a road possess- 

 ing but little interest, you come, at the end of two hours and 

 a half, upon the town of 



SANCTA CRUZJ. 



A fine specimen of the date-bearing palm is here an object 

 of some curiosity. It is not till you open out the fertile 

 valley of Machico \ that you are repaid, as regards scenery, 

 for your long ride. 



MACHICO. 



At the village of Machico you are taken to see Machim's 

 chapel §, and are shown the remains of the cedar cross. 

 Your route now lies up the ravine, which is closed in on the 



* " Cantaria molle" is a soft stone, or freestone, used in building, and 

 " Cantaria riga" is a harder material. 



+ See " Sketches in Madeira," by Lady S. V. Harcowt. 

 Ibid. § See chap. iv. page 64. 



+ 



