SAILING III LAS PSHL&S ABGHIPELAGO 
Froia Xmer, 1886, pp, 13-14. 
P. 13 1,25 Prom Pedro Gonzales we sailed to Sail Jose, the out- 
laost and second largest of the Las Perlas islands. It is ouch more of 
a highland than any of the Islands which I had visited before and c ob — 
petes folly in height with El Key (San Miguel) which, however, it excels 
in the beauty of its scenery. 
Though the sun oroxled us and the wind dropped off so that we had 
to pull the oars we could not but be fascinated by the glorious panorama 
which lay spread before our eyes. 
The coast was composed of ssjestlo hills with rounded tops covered 
with a light green grove of young trees, and between the hills valleys 
displayed, the most luxurious vegetation in all the shades of green; mighty 
centuries old giants of trees — ''cexbor' 1 , "cedriaLor* and mahogany — towered 
with dome like crowns against the sky, rivaling with the mountains in 
height. In these valleys larger and smaller rivers shifted and turned, 
and are now .in the dry season separated from the ocean by large sand-spits. 
After many fruitless attempts to land we finally found a cove which could 
serve as habour and pitched camp on a nice level knoll at the bank of a 
wide but at present shallow river, shaded by gigantic mahoganies. The 
banks of the river displayed the greatest changes, now with suddenly rising 
sides clothed up to the top with broad—leaved cacti and small n tagg palmer” 
(probably fart-palms), now there was high forest, now the banks were low 
