Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 1 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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Durasno, The Protea, The Psidium, The Jambos, The Chirimoya Of
Peru,* (* Annona Cherimolia.
Lamarck.) the sensitive plant, and the
heliconia, grow in the open air.
We gathered the ripened seeds of
several beautiful species of glycine from New Holland, which the
governor of Cumana, Mr. Emparan, had successfully cultivated, and
which grow wild on the coasts of South America.
We arrived very late at the port of Orotava,* (* Puerto de la Cruz.
The only fine port of the Canary Islands is that of St. Sebastian,
in the isle of Gomara.) if we may give the name of port to a road
in which vessels are obliged to put to sea whenever the winds blow
violently from the north-west. It is impossible to speak of Orotava
without recalling to the remembrance of the friends of science the
name of Don Bernardo Cologan, whose house at all times was open to
travellers of every nation.
We could have wished to have sojourned for some time in Don
Bernardo's house, and to have visited with him the charming scenery
of St. Juan de la Rambla and of Rialexo de Abaxo.* (* This
last-named village stands at the foot of the lofty mountain of
Tygayga.) But on a voyage such as we had undertaken, the present is
but little enjoyed. Continually haunted by the fear of not
executing the designs of the morrow, we live in perpetual
uneasiness. Persons who are passionately fond of nature and the
arts feel the same sensations, when they travel through Switzerland
and Italy. Enabled to see but a small portion of the objects which
allure them, they are disturbed in their enjoyments by the
restraints they impose on themselves at every step.
On the morning of the 21st of June, we were on our way to the
summit of the volcano. M. Le Gros, whose attentions were unwearied,
M. Lalande, secretary to the French Consulate at Santa Cruz, and
the English gardener at Durasno, joined us on this excursion. The
day was not very fine, and the summit of the peak, which is
generally visible at Orotava from sunrise till ten o'clock, was
covered with thick clouds.
We were agreeably surprised by the contrast between the vegetation
of this part of Teneriffe, and that of the environs of Santa Cruz.
Under the influence of a cool and humid climate, the ground was
covered with beautiful verdure; while on the road from Santa Cruz
to Laguna the plants exhibited nothing but capsules emptied of
their seeds. Near the port of Santa Cruz, the strength of the
vegetation is an obstacle to geological research. We passed along
the base of two small hills, which rise in the form of bells.
Observations made at Vesuvius and in Auvergne lead us to think that
these hills owe their origin to lateral eruptions of the great
volcano. The hill called Montanita de la Villa seems indeed to have
emitted lavas; and according to the tradition of the Guanches, an
eruption took place in 1430.
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