RIO VIEJO. 



129 



plight; took an extra glass of anise* to 

 counteract the effects of the wet, and made 

 a hearty breakfast of a stew of the ducks we 

 killed the previous evening, and dried our 

 clothes and bedding as soon as the sun ap- 

 peared. Passed two villages during the 

 day, and slept at a place called Rio Viejo. 

 Around the houses of these villages grow 

 considerable numbers of gourds, or calabash 

 trees; — they have a very graceful appear- 

 ance, their branches at a short distance from 

 the earth bending over from the centre in 

 elegant curves, enriched with small leaves. 

 Some of the fruit is of a long, and some of 

 a round shape. Those of an oblong shape 

 are cut when ripe, scooped out, and serve 



* I beg particularly to recommend travellers to take a 

 glass of anise every morning at daybreak, as I did ; it 

 has a strong tendency to keep ofF the intermitting fever 

 of the country, by fortifying the stomach. This liquor 

 is extracted by distillation from cane juice and aniseed 

 mixed. 



VOL. I. K 



