Seated on a gently-ambling steed, one may reach most pleasantly the summits of those lofty mountains, which rise close to Funchal, where a balmy fragrance perfumes the air, and the eye roams with delight in all directions over scenery of the most striking description.
One of the favourite points from which such a view may be obtained in all its beauty, is the terrace in front of the church of Nossa Senhora de Monte, situated 1965 feet above the level of the sea, on a ridge of the Arrebantao mountain, reached in less than an hour by one or other of the existing conveyances; these are either horses, or hammocks and sedan-chairs, or sledges, covered with tasteful canopies, and drawn by a couple of small oxen.
SLEIGH PARTY IN MADEIRA.
Though a vehicle, reminding one so strongly of a northern winter, appears rather odd in a climate such as that of Madeira, yet its practicability and convenience is very soon perceived, when comfortably sliding away over the smooth stones of Funchal. Wheel carriages, such as used in Europe, are unknown here.
But he who has bodily strength and health enough to be able to wander through the interior of the island, will find spots which command landscapes by far more grand and sublime than that seen from Nossa Senhora de Monte. Cape San Lorenzo, with its petrified fauna;—the awe-inspiring Entroza pass, that wonderful sculpture of nature which bears so powerful a witness to the corroding action of water;—the lovely and solitary cascade of Rabacal;—the Pic Arrieiro, with its craggy rocks, offering to the geologist such a remarkable peep into the geognostical history of the island;—the numerous gigantic rocky skeletons of volcanic cones, on which the geologist is able to make the most interesting studies and investigations, just in the same manner as the anatomist on a corpse;—all these wonders of nature are calculated to awaken the reflection and excite the admiration of the beholder.
The most delightful event during our stay in the island was an excursion of several days, made to the romantic localities of the northern coast. A stately cavalcade of twenty-two horsemen set out, early on a fine June morning, from Funchal to Nossa Senhora, and from thence over the Pic Poizo, through the glens of Metade to St. Anna. After a ride of two hours, the Casa de Abrigo was reached, a small house, situated about 4500 feet above the level of the sea, erected by the Government some years ago for the shelter of travellers. From this point the path runs through a hilly country covered with heath, from which the majestic Pico Ruivo, with the fantastic forms of its rugged volcanic walls bathed in gold by the rays of the rising sun, presents a most imposing sight. On the whole route only one small miserable village, called Fayal, was passed, consisting of a few straw thatched huts, exhibiting a picture of poverty and wretchedness, which can scarcely be paralleled in any part of the habitable globe.
