36 



VILLA PE LA LAG UNA* 



towards the fort of Passo Alto, along- the basaltic 

 rocks which close the promontory of Naga, but had 

 little success, as the drought and dust had in a 

 manner destroyed the vegetation. The Cacalia 

 kleinia, Euphorbia canariensis, and other succulent 

 plants, which derive their nourishment more from 

 the air than from the soil, reminded them by their 

 aspect that the Canaries belong to Africa, and even 

 to the most arid part of that continent. 



The captain of the Pizarro, having apprized them 

 that, on account of the blockade by the English, 

 they ought not to reckon upon a longer stay than 

 four or five days, they hastened to set out for the 

 port of Orotava, where they might find guides for 

 the ascent of the Peak ; and on the 20th, before 

 sunrise, they were on the way to Villa de laLaguna, 

 winch is 2238 feet higher than the port of Santa 

 Cruz. The road to this place is on the right of a 

 torrent, which, in the rainy season, forms beautiful 

 falls. Near the town they met with some white 

 camels, employed in transporting merchandise. 

 These animals, as well as horses; were introduced 

 into the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century 

 by the Norman conquerors, and were unknown to 

 the Guanches. Camels are more abundant in Lan- 

 cerota and Forteventura, which are nearer the con- 

 tinent, than at TenerifTe, where they very seldom 

 propagate. 



The hill on which the Villa de la Laguna stands 

 belongs to the series of basaltic mountains which 

 forms a girdle around the Peak, and is independent 

 of the newer volcanic rocks. The basalt on which 

 the travellers walked w r as blackish-brown, compact, 

 and partially decomposed. They found in it horn- 

 blende, olivine, and transparent pyroxene, with la- 

 mellar fracture, of an olive-green tint, and often 

 crystallized in six-sided prisms. The rock of La- 

 guna is not columnar, but divided into thin beds, in- 

 clined at an angle of from 30° to 48°, and has no 



