178 A VOYAGE TO Book IV. 



Avholly ferpentine ; but to Caracol, the landing-place 

 in winter, there are twenty-four reaches, the longeft 

 of which are the three nearcil the city; and thefe 

 may be about two leagues and a half in length, but 

 the others not above one. Whence it may be in- 

 ferred, on an average, that the difiance, raeafured on 

 the furface of the river, between Guayaquil and the 

 cuiioin-houfeof Babahoyo, is twenty-four leagues and 

 a half, and to Caracol twenty-eight and a half. The 

 time requinte to perform this paflage is very dif- 

 ferent, according to the feafon, and nature of the 

 veflel. During the winter, a chata generally takes 

 lip eight days in going from Guayaquil to Caracol, 

 being againft the current of the river; whereas two 

 days are iiifficient to perform the paflage downwards. 

 In fummer a light canoe goes up in three tides, and 

 returns in little more than two ; the fame may be 

 laid of other veflbls, the paflage downwards being 

 always performed in much lefs time than the other, 

 on account of the natural cwrrent of the river, in the 

 reaches near the cufiom-houfe, where the llrongeil 

 flood only flops the water from running downwards. 



The diflance from Guayaquil to Ifla Verde, fltuated 

 at the mouth of the river in Puna bay, is by pilots 

 computed at about fix leagues, and divided, like the 

 other part, into reaches ; and from Ifla Verde to 

 Puna three Icairues : fo that the whole diflance from 

 Caracol, the mofl inland part tip the river, to that 

 of Puna, is thirty-feven leagues and a half. Between 

 Jfl.a Verde and Puna it widens lo prodigioufly, that 

 the horizon towards the north and fouth is bounded 

 by the iky, except in fome few parts northwards, 

 where the plantations of mangroves are perceived. 



The mouth of the river at the Ifla Verde is about 

 a league in breadth, and even fomething broader at 

 Guayaquil, above which it contraéis itfelf as it ad- 

 vances nearer the mountains, and forms other creeks, 

 the mouth of one of which, called Eftero de Santay, 



faces 



