124 NOTES OF A BOTANIST chap. 
Wingo, another of Anatto, and some roots of the 
twining Bignonia (Carajaru) planted by the door. 
The Governor resides in the convent, which is 
remarkable for having an upper story, the flooring 
of which is of bamboo planks resting on rafters of 
Tarapoto palm. The ground floor is scarcely made 
any use of, for the kitchen is a low shed standing a 
few yards apart ; but the upper story is divided 
along the middle by a bamboo partition, the 
northern half being open at the sides, so as to form 
a wide veranda, where the family pass the day ; 
and the southern half is divided into two dormi- 
tories, where they keep their household gods and 
pass the night. The whole is very light and 
cleanly, with superabundance of ventilation ; but we 
have not yet experienced any high winds, the force 
of the squalls being broken by higher ground across 
a valley to north and north-east. We live with 
the Governor, who has given up one of the dormi- 
tories to us. 
From the village there is a track in a northerly 
direction which continues all the way to the river 
Napo. At half an hour from the village it crosses 
a stream called Baha-yacu, whose mouth is a very 
little below the port ; there are a few chacras on it, 
and the gold-washings are said to be the best of 
any of Bombonasa. The banks are steep and fall 
in with every flood. The water runs over beds 
of indurated clay, such as most of the rock on the 
Bombonasa ; though easily broken by the foot, it 
resists remarkably the action of water. Pebbles 
of quartz and blocks of compact blue stone are 
evidently alluvial deposits. 
In something under half a day the track brings 
