handy for the central line are few in number,
and as a rule deficient in lodging accommodation conforming to the
English standard. Amongst such possible alternative places the
following may be named (in order of position from N.W. to S.E.) as
accessible by railway:--

VIZEU (pop. 7000; hotels, _Mabilia_, _Cadite_), on a branch of the Beira
Alta Railway 31m. from Santa Comba Dao Junction, which itself is 88m.
from Oporto.

MANGUALDE (pop. 3000), on the Beira Alta Railway, 115m. from Oporto, and
49m. from Pampilhosa Junction.

PLASENCIA (pop. 6000; hotel, _F. de Eusebio Sierra_), 6m. N. of the
station of that name on the Lisbon and Madrid Railway.

NAVALMORAL (pop. 3300, buffet), a station on the Lisbon and Madrid
Railway about 8m. W. of the central line of eclipse.

URDA, a small station on the Madrid and Ciudad Real Railway, crossed by
the central line. The nearest accommodation would seem to be at Ciudad
Real (pop. 14,000; hotel, _Baltasar Garcia_), 33m. to the S.

ALCAZAR DE SAN JUAN Junction (pop. 8400; good buffet; hotel, _Casa
Briseno_). Alcazar is 92m. S. of Madrid; the central line crosses the
railway about 15m. to the S. of the town.

TOBARRA (pop. 7500), a station on the Chinchilla and Cartagena Railway,
212m. S. of Madrid, and 115m. N. of Cartagena, lies about 6m. S. of the
central line.

NOVELDA (pop. 8000), a station on the Alicante and Madrid Railway, in a
beautiful valley about 20m. N. of Alicante.

In addition to the above places it must not be forgotten that both
Oporto at one end of the zone of totality and Alicante at the other are
within the track of the shadow, but the question of the meteorological
conditions of the atmosphere at these places (on the seaboard as they
virtually are) has to be considered.

A traveller from England to Portugal or Spain by sea has the following
choice of routes:--

1. _Southampton to Oporto_, fortnightly, on Fridays, by the steamers of
the "Royal Mail Steam Packet Co." Fare, first-class return, about L11.
Time, about 54h. The return tickets are conveniently grouped in various
ways, _e.g._ Southampton to Oporto, and back from Vigo or Lisbon; or
Southampton to Lisbon and back, or back from Vigo (_but not back from
Oporto_). Where the booking is to Vigo, or Lisbon, of course the local
railway fares have to be paid in addition. Lisbon is 209m. S. of Oporto;
Vigo, 110m. N. of Oporto. One objection to making any use of Vigo is the
extra Custom-house formalities