A Voyage to New Holland | Page 6

which are the best buildings in the town. The forts here could not secure the Spanish galleons from Admiral Blake, though they hauled in close under the main fort. Many of the inhabitants that are now living remember that action in which the English battered the town, and did it much damage; and the marks of the shot still remain in the fort walls. The wrecks of the galleons that were burnt here lie in 15 fathom water: and it is said that most of the plate lies there, though some of it was hastily carried ashore at Blake's coming in sight.
LAGUNA TOWN LAKE AND COUNTRY; AND ORATAVIA TOWN AND ROAD.
Soon after I had anchored I went ashore here to the Governor of the town, who received me very kindly and invited me to dine with him the next day. I returned on board in the evening, and went ashore again with two of my officers the next morning; hoping to get up the hill time enough to see Laguna, the principal town, and to be back again to dine with the Governor of Santa Cruz; for I was told that Laguna was but 3 miles off. The road is all the way up a pretty steep hill; yet not so steep but that carts go up and down laden. There are public houses scattering by the wayside, where we got some wine. The land on each side seemed to be but rocky and dry; yet in many places we saw spots of green flourishing corn. At farther distances there were small vineyards by the sides of the mountains, intermixed with abundance of waste rocky land, unfit for cultivation, which afforded only dildo-bushes. It was about 7 or 8 in the morning when we set out from Santa Cruz; and, it being fair clear weather, the sun shone very bright and warmed us sufficiently before we got to the city Laguna; which we reached about 10 o'clock, all sweaty and tired, and were glad to refresh ourselves with a little wine in a sorry tippling-house: but we soon found out one of the English merchants that resided here, who entertained us handsomely at dinner, and in the afternoon showed us the town.
Laguna is a pretty large well-compacted town, and makes a very agreeable prospect. It stands part of it against a hill, and part in a level. The houses have mostly strong walls built with stone and covered with pantile. They are not uniform, yet they appear pleasant enough. There are many fair buildings; among which are 2 parish churches, 2 nunneries, a hospital, 4 convents, and some chapels; besides many gentlemen's houses. The convents are those of St. Austin, St. Dominick, St. Francis, and St. Diego. The two churches have pretty high square steeples, which top the rest of the buildings. The streets are not regular, yet they are mostly spacious and pretty handsome; and near the middle of the town is a large parade, which has good buildings about it. There is a strong prison on one side of it; near which is a large conduit of good water, that supplies all the town. They have many gardens which are set round with oranges, limes, and other fruits: in the middle of which are pot-herbs, salading, flowers, etc. And indeed, if the inhabitants were curious this way, they might have very pleasant gardens: for as the town stands high from the sea on the brow of a plain that is all open to the east, and hath consequently the benefit of the true tradewind, which blows here and is most commonly fair; so there are seldom wanting at this town brisk, cooling, and refreshing breezes all the day.
On the back of the town there is a large plain of 3 or 4 leagues in length and 2 miles wide, producing a thick kindly sort of grass, which looked green and very pleasant when I was there, like our meadows in England in the spring. On the east side of this plain, very near the back of the town, there is a natural lake or pond of fresh water. It is about half a mile in circumference; but being stagnant, it is only used for cattle to drink of. In the wintertime several sorts of wildfowl resort hither, affording plenty of game to the inhabitants of Laguna. This city is called Laguna from hence; for that word in Spanish signifies a lake or pond. The plain is bounded on the west, the north-west and the south-west with high steep hills; as high above this plain as this is above the sea; and it is from the foot of one of these mountains that the water of the conduit which supplies the town is conveyed over the plain in troughs