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On the 2d of July, in the morning, the jangada arrived at the foot of San Pablo d'Olivenca, after having floated through the midst of numerous islands which in all seasons are clad with verdure and shaded with magnificent trees, and the chief of which bear the names of Jurupari, Rita, Maracanatena, and Cururu Sapo.
It was manned by ten Indians, who propelled the boat by poles; the men, five on each side, trotting one after the other along a plank arranged for the purpose from stem to stern. It took us two nights to double Point Cururu, where, as already mentioned, the river bends from its northerly course beyond Altar do Chao.
A stretch of wild, rocky, uninhabited coast was before us, and we were fairly within the Tapajos. Our course lay due west for about twenty miles. The wind increased as we neared Point Cururu, where the river bends from its northern course. A vast expanse of water here stretches to the west and south, and the waves, with a strong breeze, run very high.
The next day we all went ashore, after securing well the canoe, and slept from eleven o'clock till five under the shade of trees. The distance between Point Cururu and Santarem was accomplished in three days, against the same difficulties of contrary and furious winds, shoaly water, and rocky coasts.