Passing by the dreary isle of
Gallo, which they had such good cause to remember, they stood
farther out to sea until they made Point Tacumez, near which they
had landed on their previous voyage. They did not touch at any
part of the coast, but steadily held on their way, though
considerably impeded by the currents, as well as by the wind,
which blew with little variation from the south. Fortunately,
the wind was light, and, as the weather was favorable, their
voyage, though slow, was not uncomfortable. In a few days, they
came in sight of Point Pasado, the limit of the pilot's former
navigation; and, crossing the line, the little bark entered upon
those unknown seas which had never been ploughed by European keel
before. The coast, they observed, gradually declined from its
former bold and rugged character, gently sloping towards the
shore, and spreading out into sandy plains, relieved here and
there by patches of uncommon richness and beauty; while the white
cottages of the natives glistening along the margin of the sea,
and the smoke that rose among the distant hills, intimated the
increasing population of the country.
At length, after the lapse of twenty days from their departure
from the island, the adventurous vessel rounded the point of St.
Helena, and glided smoothly into the waters of the beautiful gulf
of Guayaquil. The country was here studded along the shore with
towns and villages, though the mighty chain of the Cordilleras,
sweeping up abruptly from the coast, left but a narrow strip of
emerald verdure, through which numerous rivulets, spreading
fertility around them, wound their way into the sea.
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