208 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA 



formed us that approach to the cape even in light 

 draft vessels is very difficult even though the 

 deep blue of the Gulf Stream seems but a stone's 

 throw out. 



The field party returned to the schooner after 

 dark reporting rain squalls, great heat, mosquitoes, 

 and jejenes, even in excess of the previous day. 

 No doubt they were very bad but they could not 

 have been worse. Some things are impossible. 



Before turning in for the night, we held a round- 

 robin to decide upon our future best course of 

 action. Further work about the cape seemed 

 needless unless several weeks could be taken for 

 an intensive process of collecting and this, of 

 course, was out of the question. Another fort- 

 night would about mark the time limit of our stay 

 in Cuba, and we decided that the fourteen days 

 could be better utilized by extending our explora- 

 tions to the east of Esperanza, giving us oppor- 

 tunity to visit the great Pan de Guajaibon and to 

 try out some dredging in Bahia Honda and Ca- 

 banas Bay. By leaving the schooner at La Fe 

 and proceeding overland to Vihales we would secure 

 at least two days' collecting there, while the boat 

 was making the return journey to Esperanza. 



