REMNANTS FROM FIELD NOTE BOOKS 
DOWN THE EAST COAST OF YUCATAN - 1894-5. December 30th. 
Hield Notes of W. H. Holmes. | 
Leaving Merida early in the morning of December SOth, we 
steamed away in a fine sea to the Met, sureae to the South around 
Cape Catoche, visited a Norwegian wreck, a bark, on.the island of 
Covet . Then crossed into Dolores harbor by dangerous anvil rock. 
Cozumel: Anchored off the village of Cozumel. We often had occa- 
sion to wonder at the charms of the waters, the white sand bottom 
reflects the light by day, and even the moon by night illuminates 
the bottom at 50 or 40 feet, so that even small objects can be 
seen with clearness. 
the pleasures of a yacht sailing down the east coast of Yucatan 
are hard to surpass. To be sure the coast is monotonous, especially 
that of the mainland, which is but a strip of sand or low ledges of 
rock, capped with vegetation which stretches along the western hori- 
Z0n disappearing with a mirage effoet at the north and south. 
fhe islands are much varied and extremely interesting, but it is not 
in these, that the charm lies but in the water, or the water under its 
various effects of deep blue, or blackened effects out in the chan- 
nels and of glorious and infinitely refined effects of color along 
the inner shores and across the love ly bays enclosed by islands ~ 
such greeng ~ pale lemon to pure emerald and thence to dark greens 
Spot and streak the field, and then alternate with such bits of purple 
