We resolved to spend the winter in Spain, hoping to embark fromCartagena or Cádiz in the spring, if the political situation in theeast permitted this. We crossed the kingdoms of Catalonia and Valencia toreach Madrid. On the way we visited the ruins of Tarragona and ancient Saguntum. From Barcelona we made anexcursion to Montserrat, whose elevated peak's are inhabited by hermits. contrast between luxuriant vegetation and desolate, bare rocks forms apeculiar scenery.

Seated on the crater's external edge we turned our eyes towards the north-east where the coasts are decorated with villages and hamlets. At our feet masses of mist, continually tossed about by the winds, changed shape all the time. A uniform layer of cloud between us and the lower regions of the island had been pierced here and there by wind currents sent up from the heated earth. The Orotava bay, its vessels at anchor, the gardens and vineyards round the town, appeared in an opening that seemed to enlarge all the time. From these solitary I regions our eyes dived down to the inhabited world below; we enjoyed the striking contrasts between the peak's arid slopes, its steep sides covered with scoriae, its elevated plains devoid of vegetation, and the smiling spectacle of the cultivated land below. We saw how plants were distributed according to the decreasing temperatures of altitudes. Below the peak lichens begin to cover the scorious and polished lava; a violet (Viola cheiranthifolia) similar to the Viola decumbens climbs the volcano's slopes up to 1, toises above all other herbaceous plants. Tufts of flowering broom decorate the valleys hollowed out by the torrents and blocked by the effects of lateral eruptions. Below the retama lies the region of ferns, and then the arborescent heaths. Laurel, rhamnus and strawberry-tree woods grow between the scrub and the rising ground planted with vines and fruit trees. A rich green carpet extends from the plain of brooms and the zone of alpine plants to groups of date palms and banana trees whose feet are bathed by the ocean.

May 12th. We set off from the Culimacari rock at half past one in the morning. The plague of mosquitoes was intensifying as we left the Río Negro. In the Casiquiare valley there are no zancudos, but insects from the Simulium and the Tipulary families are all the more numerous and poisonous. Before reaching the Esmeralda mission we still had eight more nights to spend out in the open in this unhealthy, humid country. Our pilot was happy to count on the hospitality of the Mandavaca missionary and shelter in the village of Vasiva. We struggled against the current, which flowed at some 8 miles an hour. Where we aimed to rest was only some 3 leagues away, yet we took fourteen hours to make this short journey, despite the effort of our rowers.