1768. ROUND THE WORLD. 41 



a remarkable hill, in the form of a sugar-loaf, At the 

 west point of the bay ; but as all the coast is very 

 high, and rises in many peaks, the entrance of this 

 harbour may be more certainly distinguished by the 

 islands that lie before it ; one of which, called 

 Rodonda, is high and round, like a hay-stack, and 

 lies at the distance of two leagues and a half from 

 the entrance of the bay, in the direction of S. by W. ; 

 but the first islands which are met with, coming from 

 the east, or Cape Frio, are two that have a rocky 

 appearance, lying near to each other, and at the 

 distance of about four miles from the shore : there 

 are also at the distance of three leagues to the west- 

 ward of these two other islands, whicli lie near to 

 each other, a little without the bay on the east side, 

 and very near the shore. This harbour is certainly 

 a good one ; the entrance, indeed, is not wide, but 

 the sea-breeze, which blows every day from ten or 

 twelve o'clock till sunset makes it easy for any ship 

 to go in before the wind ; and it grows wider as the 

 town is approached, so that abreast of it there is 

 room for the largest fleet, in ^ve or six fathom water, 

 with an oozy bottom. At the narrow part, the 

 entrance is defended by two forts. The principal is 

 Santa Cruz, which stands on the east point of the 

 bay, and has been mentioned before ; that on the 

 west side is called fort Lozia, and is built upon a 

 rock that lies close to the main ; the distance be- 

 tween them is about f of a mile, but the channel is 

 not quite so broad, because there are sunken rocks 

 which lie off each fort, and in this part alone there 

 is danger : the narrowness of the channel causes the 

 tides, both flood and ebb, to run with considerable 

 strength, so that they cannot be stemmed without a 

 fresh breeze. The rockiness of the bottom makes it 

 also unsafe to anchor here ; but all danger may be 

 avoided by keeping in the middle of the channel. 

 Within the entrance, the course up the bay is first 

 N. by W. i W., and N. N. W., something more than a 



