544 



Gili % in general so exact, and so judicious, 

 " e terribile pe molti scogli il tratto del finme 

 tral Castello e Caricciana" A range of shoals, 

 that crosses almost the whole river, bears the 

 name of Raudal de Marimara <f\ We passed it 

 without difficulty by a narrow channel, in which 

 the water seems to boil up, as it issues out im- 

 petuously % below the Piedra de Marimara, a 

 compact mass of granite eighty feet high, and 

 three hundred feet in circumference, without fis- 

 sures, or any trace of stratification. The river 

 penetrates far into the land, and forms spacious 

 bays in the rocks. One of these bays, included 

 between two promontories destitute of vegeta- 

 tion, is called the Port of Carichana^. The 

 spot has a savage aspect. In the evening the 

 rocky coasts project their vast shadows over the 

 surface of the river. The waters appear black, 

 from reflecting the image of these granitic 

 masses, which, as we have already said, some- 

 times in the colour of their external surface, re- 

 semble coal, and sometimes lead ore. We 

 passed the night in the small village of Cari- 

 chana, where we were received at the priest's 



* Vol. i, P . 11. 



+ We recognize this name in that of the mountain of 

 Castillo, which is Marimaruta, or Marimarota. (Gumilla, 

 vol. i, p. 283.) 



X These places are called chorreras in the Spanish colonies, 

 § Piedra y puerto de Carichana. 



