“It is the peak of Teneriffe.”
“I have heard enough about it to know it without an introduction.”
“It must be nearly a hundred miles off.”
“And we are in no immediate danger of getting aground on that land.”
This mountain was the point of attraction for the day, as it gradually displayed its outline more clearly to the students. At three o’clock in the afternoon, the squadron rounded Point Anaga, the north-eastern cape of Teneriffe. It was only nine miles farther to the chief town of the island; and by five, the squadron was at anchor, and all the formalities of the government had been complied with.
At eight the next morning all hands were assembled in the grand saloon of the Prince, to hear what Mr. Mapps had to say about the Canary Islands in general, and Teneriffe in particular.
“The Islas Canarias, as the Spaniards have it, or the Canaries, or Canary Islands, as we have it, lie between thirteen and eighteen degrees of west longitude, and between twenty-seven and a half and twenty-nine and a half degrees of north latitude. They have an aggregate area of thirty-two hundred square miles, and a population of two hundred and twenty-seven thousand. There are seven principal islands, the most important of which are Teneriffe, Grand Canary, and Palma. These islands are all very mountainous, volcanic, and rocky. The peak of Teneriffe, which we have had in sight since yesterday morning, is over twelve thousand feet high.
“The two most western islands are Hierro, or Ferro, and Palma, both of which contain peaks from five to over seven thousand feet high. The meridian which passes through Ferro was the one formerly selected as the first, from which longitude was measured; and for this reason it has been adopted as the dividing line between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Gomera is fourteen miles south-west of Teneriffe. The water between these islands is very deep; and there are no dangers, except within a few hundred feet of the shore.
“Teneriffe is forty-five miles long, and twenty-two wide. The natives call the summit of the mountain which stands in the middle of the island, the ‘Pico de Teyde.’ We saw it yesterday morning when we were nearly a hundred miles from it; and the people say it can be seen a hundred and sixty miles, but this is vanity on their part. There are generally more or less clouds hanging about it. Santa Cruz, or ‘Holy Cross,’ is the most driving city of all the islands of the Atlantic. It has twenty thousand inhabitants. The mole which you see is of recent construction, and was very much needed to protect the shipping from the strong winds coming from north-east to south-east. There is some British naval history connected with this city. In 1657 Admiral Blake destroyed a Spanish fleet, anchored under the batteries of the town; and, favored by a sudden change of wind, got his ships out of the harbor with but little loss. Nelson lost an arm here in 1797, and was badly beaten in his battle with Fort San Miguel, which is still in existence. British flags are so scarce with the Spaniards, that those captured in this engagement are still on exhibition in the principal church of the city. In the middle of the summer the heat in the town is very oppressive; and the wealthy inhabitants flee from it to Laguna, a place among the hills, five miles inland.
“On the north-west side of Teneriffe is the port and city of Orotava, which is probably the best health station in the world for invalids troubled with throat and lung diseases. It is located in an amphitheatre of hills, two or three miles from the sea. It is even superior to Madeira in the uniformity of its temperature. The region around it is a perfect garden, and the thermometer never falls below fifty degrees, or rises more than a degree or two above eighty; and these extremes are of very rare occurrence. The average temperature is about sixty-eight degrees. One month hardly varies more than a couple of degrees from the one next to it. Invalids here may remain out of doors all the time, and keep their windows open night and day. But it has not yet become to any great extent a health resort; and there is a lack of accommodations for visitors and temporary residents.