The epidemic on board the Pizarro spread rapidly as soon as we neared the coast of Terra Firma. By night the thermometer regularly marked 22'C or 23'C, by day it rose to 24'C and 27'C. Congestion in the head, extreme dryness of skin and the failing of all strength became alarming symptoms but, having reached the end of the voyage, we flattered ourselves that the sick would recover their health as soon as we landed them on Margarita Island or at Cumana harbor, both known for their salubrity.

In this area there are several species of peccaries, or pigs with lumbar glands, only two of which are known to naturalists in Europe. The Indians call the little peccary a chacharo. Reared in their houses they become tame like our sheep and goats. Another kind is called the apida, which is also domesticated and wanders in large herds. These animals announce themselves from a long way off because they break down all the shrubs in their way. During a botanical excursion Bonpland was warned by his Indian guides to hide behind a tree trunk as these cochinos, or puercos del monte, passed by. The flesh of the chacharo ii flabby and disagreeable, but the Indians hunt them nevertheless, with small lances tied to cords. We were told at Atures that jaguars dread being surrounded by herds of wild pigs and climb trees to save themselves. Is this a hunters' tale, or a fact?

After travelling several hours downhill over scattered blocks of stone we suddenly found we had reached the end of the Santa María jungle. As far as our eyes could see a vast plain spread out, its grass revived by the rainy season. Looking down on to the tree-tops it seemed as if we were looking at a dark green carpet below us. The jungle clearings seemed like huge funnels in which we recognized the delicate pinnate leaves of the praga and irasse palms. The countryside is extremely picturesque due to the Sierra of Guàcharo whose northern slopes are steep and form a rocky wall some 3, feet high. There is little vegetation on this wall, so you can follow the calcareous strata. The peak itself is flat.

After three hours' walking we reached a small plain called La Rambleta at the far end of the malpaís; from its center rises the Piton or Sugar Loaf. From the Orotava side this mountain resembles those pyramids with steps found in Féjoun or Mexico. Here we found the air holes that locals call the Nostrils of the Peak (Narices del Pico). Hot watery vapors seep out at regular intervals from cracks in the rock, and the thermometer marked 43.2°C. I cannot, however, accept the daring hypothesis which states that the Nostrils of the Peak are vents of an immense apparatus of distillation whose lower part is situated below sea-level. Since we have been studying volcanoes with more care, and since innate love for all that is marvelous is less common in geological books, doubts have been expressed about these constant and direct links between sea water and volcanic fire. There is a far simpler explanation of this phenomenon. The peak is covered with snow part of the year; we found snow still around on the Rambleta plain. This led us to conclude that the Tenerife peak, like the Andes and Manila islands' volcanoes, are filled with filtered water. The watery vapors emitted by the Nostrils and cracks of the crater are those same waters heated.