At each dip of the oar into the water, the rower mounts
upon a bench before him, and then, during the stroke, throws himself
off again with his full force. In two hours more, we left the sea,
and taking a left-hand direction, entered the river Geromerim, at
the mouth of which is an inn, where we stopped half an hour, and
where I saw a remarkable kind of lighthouse, consisting of a lantern
affixed to a rock. The beauty of the country is now at an end--that
is, in the eyes of the vulgar: a botanist would, at this point,
find it more than usually wonderful and magnificent; for the most
beautiful aquatic plants, especially the Nymphia, the Pontedera, and
the Cyprian grass are spread out, both in the water and all round
it. The two former twine themselves to the very top of the nearest
sapling, and the Cyprian grass attains a height of from six to eight
feet. The banks of the river are flat, and fringed with underwood
and young trees; the background is formed by ranges of hills. The
little houses, which are visible now and then, are built of stone,
and covered with tiles, yet, nevertheless, they present a tolerably
poverty-stricken appearance.
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