There are also to be taken
into account the stoppages occasioned by the bends in the river, the
numerous islands which had to be rounded, the shoals which had to be
avoided, and the hours of halting, which were necessarily lost when
the night was too dark to advance securely, so that we cannot allow
more than twenty-five kilometers for each twenty-four hours.
In addition, the surface of the water is far from being completely
clear. Trees still green, vegetable remains, islets of plants
constantly torn from the banks, formed quite a flotilla of fragments
carried on by the currents, and were so many obstacles to speedy
navigation.
The mouth of the Nanay was soon passed, and lost to sight behind a
point on the left bank, which, with its carpet of russet grasses
tinted by the sun, formed a ruddy relief to the green forests on the
horizon.
The jangada took the center of the stream between the numerous
picturesque islands, of which there are a dozen between Iquitos and
Pucalppa.
Araujo, who did not forget to clear his vision and his memory by an
occasional application to his demijohn, maneuvered very ably when
passing through this archipelago.
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