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account of an ascent of the hij^hest peak of the Sierra Maestra 

 on the vsoutheastern coast, in the Province of Oriente, 



"On March 19, 1915, Dr. Ekman reached the town of Bayamo, 

 located on a river of the same name and began the exploration 

 of the river, on the northern slopes of the Sierra Maestra, hoping 

 to get up to its source. This he found impossible, so a week 

 later he went to Yara a short distance west of Manzanillo and 

 from there to Zarzal and then to Nagiia, a small town situated 

 near to the confluence of the two rivers, Yara and Nagiia. This 

 is the best place to start on an excursion toward the region of the 

 Pico Turquino. Dr. Ekman was well received by Don Leonardo 

 Verdecia and his son Regino Verdecia y Magana, who showed 

 great ability as a guide. The plan was to ascend the Pico 

 Turquino by following the ridge between the N. and S. tribu- 

 taries which flow from the divide into two opposite directions 

 till they reached the spur or Estribo Turquino, a spur of the ridge 

 which projects southward near the highest point of the Sierra 

 Maestra. This they were able to accomplish with much difficulty 

 and suft'ering! 



"On the 4th of April the trip was begun, accompanied by 

 Regino Verdecia and Joaquin Rodriguez from Yara. They 

 followed the course of the Yara River, a picturesque stream, 

 affording many fine views. They passed the first night at the 

 junction of the Arroyo Naranjo, at an altitude of 225 meters 

 (750 ft.). The next day the real climb began on a trail which 

 leads to the junction of the River Yara with the La Plata. 

 The Sierra at this part is 925 meters (3,000 ft.) high. We left 

 this trail to follow the ridge of the Cordillera and could only do 

 this by cutting our way through with a machete. At times they 

 feared they were lost as the range divides repeatedly. Once 

 they were lost and ascended a peak of 1,400 meters (4,660 ft.) 

 called the 'Punta de Palma Mocha' heretofore unsealed. An 

 interesting flora was found there and very fine views were had 

 of the surrounding country. They spent the night under a 

 huge rock, which gave them shelter, and had no water to drink 

 except that obtained from the leaves of various species of Tilland- 

 sia and Bromeliads. 



