116 TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 



fr€>m March to September, and to the south from 

 September to March. * On account of these cur- 

 rents, many vessels bound to the southern parts of 

 Brazil, or to Buenos Ayres, visit the stations of 

 Pernambuco and Bahia in the winter months on 

 the passage out, and in the summer months on the 

 voyage home. As the land wind generally blows 

 strong, and to a considerable distance from the 

 coasts of Brazil, it essentially favours vessels steer- 

 ing southwards, and they may reckon upon a 

 speedy voyage along the coast, if they have not too 

 nearly approached the land in the latitude of 6° 

 or 7°« The longitude at which the equator is 

 crossed on these voyages, is different ; it is not ad- 

 visable to keep too near the African coast on ac- 

 count of the currents and the calms prevailing there. 

 In the English navy, the longitudes between 18° 

 and 23° west of Greenwich are considered the best 

 for crossing the equator, and it is also thought 

 best to steer more to the east, when the sun is in 

 the north, and more to the west when it is in the 

 south. 



It was on Sunday, the 29th of June, that accord- 

 ing to our ship's reckoning we were to cross the 

 equator. As the sea was pretty calm, mass was 

 celebrated on this day. The solitude of the place, 

 the silence and grandeur of the element to which 



* Sailing directions for the eastern coasts of Brazil, by John 

 Purdy. London, 1818. 8vo. p. 2. 



