. I V
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9()8 AITEKPIX.
After r o u n d i n g Inner Point you may anehor where —
quiet stiU water, ^vith from four to seven fathoms, over a muddy bottom.
The landing plaee is at the mole about the centre of the t<^wn
N 41". W., nine leagues and a half from the town of Payta, is
PoxNT Par ina, a bluff, about eighty feet high, with a reef to the
distance of half a mile on its west side; between this pomt and
Payta the coast is low and sandy, with table land of a moderate
height, a short distaiice from the beach ; and the mountain of Ama
tape five leagues in the interior. ,
After rounding Point Parina (which is the western extreme o
South America), the coast trends abruptly to the
becomes higher and more cliffy, until you «ach Pomt Ta^ar^
is a double point, the southern part of which is diffy; about eighty
feet high, with a smaU black rock lying ofif it; the northern part s
much ower, and has few breakers near. On
point is a shaUow bay. in the depth of which the high chffy coast
again commences, and runs in a Une towards Cape Blanco.
Cape Blanco is high and hold (apparently the corner of along
ran<.e of table-la^d), sloping gradually toward the sea ; near the
extreme of the cape there are two sharp-topped hillocks . and midway
between them and the commencement of the table land, is another
rise with a sharp top. There are some rocks that shew themselves
about a quarter of a mile off, but no danger exists without that distance
From Cape Blanco the general trend of the coast is more
easteriy. in nearly a direct line to Point Malpelo, which is twentyone
leagues distant. .
N 34» E. seven leagues and a half from the former is Point
Sal, abro^vn cliff, one hundred and twenty feet high;^ong the
coast is a sandy beach, with high cliff as far as the v^ley of M^mco™,
where it is low with brush wood near the sea; the hiUs bemg at a dis-
' T o i w of Point Sal the coast is cliffy, to about midwy
between it and Point Picos; it then becomes lower, and similar to
Picos is a sloping bluff, with a sandy beach outside it, and
another point, exactly similar, a little to the northward : at the back
of it is a cluster of hills with sharp peaks, hence arises, probably,
the name given by the Spaniards to this point. From Point Picos
the coast is a sandy beach, mth a mixture of hiU and cliff of a
APrKNUlX. 2(i9
Hght brown colour and weU wooded. There are several small bays
b ^ e e n it and Pomt Malpelo, which bears N. 41° E., seven and a
half leagues distant. .
Point Malpelo, the southern point of the entrance of Guayaquil
River maybe readily known by the marked diiference between it
and the coast to the southward : it is very low and covered with
bushes to its extreme ; a short distance in-shore, is a clump of bushes
higher and more conspicuous than the rest, which shews plainly on
approaching. At the extremity of the point is the River fumbes
off which a reef extends, to the distance of a quarter of a mile.
This place is much fi-equented by whalers, for fresh-watei-, which is
found about a mile from the entrance, where they fill their boats from
alongside; great care is necessary in crossing the bar, ^ ^
and dangerous surf beats on it, rendering it at all times difficult to
entrance to the river may be distinguished by a hut on the
port hand going in, which is perceived immediately you round the
point. About two leagues up the river stood the old to^vn of
Tumbes, now scarcely more than a few huts, barely sufficient to
supply the whalers with fruit and vegetables. This is the boundary
line, between Peru and the State of the Equator. You may anchor
any where off the point in six or seven fathoms.
WlNns.
The prevailing winds on the coast of Peru blow from S.S.E. to
S W • seldom stronger than a fresh breeze, and often in particular
parts scarcely sufficient to enable shipping to make their passages
from one port to another. THs is especially the case on the south
and south-western coast, between Cobija and CaUao.
Sometimes during the summer, for three or four successive days,
there is not a breath of wind ; the sky is beautifuUy clear, with a
nearly vertical sun.
On the days that the sea-breeze sets in. it generaUy commences
about ten in the morning ; then hght and variable, but gi-aduaUy
increasing till one or two in the afternoon. From that time, a steady
breeze prevaUs tiU near sunset, when it begins to die away; and
=oon after the sun is down there is a calm. About eight or nine
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