were about halfway through the channel. There was not 

 a habitation or a sign of life to be seen on Tortuga's steep 

 sides, smothered in a tangle of jungle growth. There were 

 no signs of road or path, no fortifications left from pirate 

 days; not even a boat was visible along its rocky shore. 

 However, several miles distant, on the Haitian shore, we 

 could see a small town nestled against a towering moun- 

 tain. We identified it as the old, historic French city of 

 Port Paix. 



I picked up the binoculars and scanned the shore, 

 comparing it with the chart spread before me, seeking 

 various landmarks mentioned in Columbus's Journal of 

 that long-ago December in 1492, when he had sailed the 

 very same route. This was the land Columbus had called 

 Espanola because it reminded him of Castile. 



Nearly five centuries had passed since he had gazed 

 upon the same steep coastline. On the morning of De- 

 cember sixth, Santa Maria and Nifia had passed the west- 

 ern cape of Hispaniola and glimpsed Tortuga in the dis- 



Sea Diver's approach to Cap Haitian. 



Search for the Santa Maria 161 



