As There Was No
Talk Of Robbers In These Parts, We Travelled Without Any Escort And
Alone.
The road was beautiful and picturesque, though somewhat
solitary, especially after we had left behind us the small town of
Caldas.
There is more than one place of this name in Spain; the
one of which I am speaking is distinguished from the rest by being
called Caldas de los Reyes, or the warm baths of the kings. It
will not be amiss to observe that the Spanish Caldas is synonymous
with the Moorish Alhama, a word of frequent occurrence both in
Spanish and African topography. Caldas seemed by no means
undeserving of its name: it stands on a confluence of springs, and
the place when we arrived was crowded with people who had come to
enjoy the benefit of the waters. In the course of my travels I
have observed that wherever warm springs are found, vestiges of
volcanoes are sure to be nigh; the smooth black precipice, the
divided mountain, or huge rocks standing by themselves on the plain
or on the hill side, as if Titans had been playing at bowls. This
last feature occurs near Caldas de los Reyes, the side of the
mountain which overhangs it in the direction of the south being
covered with immense granite stones, apparently at some ancient
period eructed from the bowels of the earth. From Caldas to
Pontevedra the route was hilly and fatiguing, the heat was intense,
and those clouds of flies, which constitute one of the pests of
Galicia, annoyed our horses to such a degree that we were obliged
to cut down branches from the trees to protect their heads and
necks from the tormenting stings of these bloodthirsty insects.
Whilst travelling in Galicia at this period of the year on
horseback, it is always advisable to carry a fine net for the
protection of the animal, a sure and commodious means of defence,
which appears, however, to be utterly unknown in Galicia, where,
perhaps, it is more wanted than in any other part of the world.
Pontevedra, upon the whole, is certainly entitled to the
appellation of a magnificent town, some of its public edifices,
especially the convents, being such as are nowhere to be found but
in Spain and Italy. It is surrounded by a wall of hewn stone, and
stands at the end of a creek into which the river Levroz
disembogues. It is said to have been founded by a colony of
Greeks, whose captain was no less a personage than Teucer the
Telemonian. It was in former times a place of considerable
commerce; and near its port are to be seen the ruins of a farol, or
lighthouse, said to be of great antiquity. The port, however, is
at a considerable distance from the town, and is shallow and
incommodious. The whole country in the neighbourhood of Pontevedra
is inconceivably delicious, abounding with fruits of every
description, especially grapes, which in the proper season are seen
hanging from the "parras" in luscious luxuriance.
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