At San Carlos we lodged with the fort commander, a lieutenant in the militia. Prom a gallery in the house we enjoyed an agreeable view on to three long islands covered in thick vegetation. The river lies straight from north to south, as if it had been dug by man. The constantly covered sky gives these countries a solemn, somber quality. In the village we found some juvia trunks: it is the majestic tree that gives what in Europe are called Brazil-nuts. We made it known under the name Bertholletia excelsa. (115) The trees reach 30 feet in eight years.