Friday, 9th of the said month (December), I took the sun in 88°, and its declination was 23° 31′; and our distance from the equinoctial line towards the South part came to be 21° 31′, and the course was S.S.W., and we arose in the morning to the right of St. Thomas, on a great mountain, and south slopes along the coast in the S.S.W. direction; and on this coast, at 4 leagues to sea, we found bottom at 25 fathoms, free from shoals; and the mountains are separated one from another, and have many reefs round them; and in Brazil and St. Thomas there are many rivers and ports; and going along the coast 6 leagues there are many shoals 2 leagues out to sea, and there is a depth of 12 fathoms on them, and 10, and 8; but the coast runs N.E. and S.W. to Cape Frio, and there are many islands and rivers.
At Cape Frio there is a very large river, and to the N.E., at three leagues distance, there is the peak of a high mountain and three islands; and the cape is in 23°, and at the said cape there are three islands, and you leave them outside. Passing the said cape there is a large bay, and at its entrance there is a low island, and the bay within is very large, with many ports; it extends two leagues from the mouth, and it is called Bay of St. Lucy; and if you wish to pass the island, you leave it on the left hand, and (the entrance) is narrow; but there is a depth of 7 fathoms, and a foul bottom; but outside there is a depth of 20 to 25 fathoms, and within, where there is anchorage, there are 18 fathoms. In this bay there are good people, and plenty of them, and they go naked, and barter with fish-hooks, and looking-glasses, and little bells, for victuals. There is a good deal of brazil wood, and this bay is in 23°, and we entered here the day of St. Lucy, and remained till the day of St. John, which is the 27th of the month of December; and we set sail the same day, and went to W.S.W., and found seven islets, and to the right of them there is a bay, and it is called the Bay of Kings; it has a good entrance, and in this neighbourhood, on the 31st of the month, I took the sun in 86° 45′, and its declination was 22° 8′, and our latitude came to be 25° 23′.
Sunday, 1st of January of the year 1520, I took the sun in 84°, and it had 21° 23′ declination; and the altitude from the pole came to be 27° 29´; and on the days after the first day we went to S.W., and the other to W. and the fourth day to S.W. 1⁄4 S. Thursday, the 5th, the sun was in 85° 30′ of altitude, and 23° 19′ of declination; so that our distance from the line came to be 29° 49′, and the course was S.W. 1⁄4 S.
On the 6th, the day of the Kings, the sun was in barely 80°, and had 21° 8′ of declination; and the altitude from the pole came to be 31°, and the course was S.W. 1⁄4 W.
Saturday, the 7th, I took the sun in 78°; it had 20° 56′ of declination, and our parallel was 32° 56′; the course was to S.W. 1⁄4 S., and we went along the coast.
On the 8th I did not take the sun, but we went to S.W. 1⁄4 S., and at night we sounded and found 50 fathoms; and we altered the course, and went on the 9th of the said month to W.S.W.; and in the morning we sounded, and found 15 fathoms, and we went till midday, and saw land, and there I took the sun in 76°, and it had 20° 31′ of declination; and at night we anchored in a bottom of 12 fathoms—34° 31′.
Tuesday, 10th January (1520), I took the sun in 75°; it had a declination of 20°, and our latitude came to 35°. We were to the right of the Cape of Sta. Maria. Thence forward the coast runs East and West, and the land is sandy; we gave it the name of Montevidi (now they call it correctly Santovidio), and between it and the Cape Sta Maria there is a river which is called (de los Patos) Duck River. From thence we went on forward through fresh water, and the coast runs E.S.E. and W.N.W. for ten leagues distance; after that it trends N.E. and S.W. as far as 341⁄2°, with a depth of 5, 4 and 3 fathoms; there we anchored, and sent the ship Santiago along the coast to see if there was a roadstead, and the river is in 331⁄2°. To the N.E. we found some islets, and the mouth of a very large river (it was the river of Solis), and it went to the N. Here they turned back to the ships, and the said ship was away from us a matter of 25 leagues, and they were 15 days in coming; and during this time two other of our ships went in a southerly direction to see if there was a roadstead for staying at; and those went in the space of two days, and the Captain-General went thither, and they found land to the S.S.W., 20 leagues distance from us, and they were four days in coming; and on returning we took in water and wood, and we went away from there, tacking from one tack to the other with contrary winds, until we came in sight of Montevidi; and this was on the 2nd day of the month of February, the day of our Lady of the Candlemas; and at night we anchored at 5 leagues from the mountain, and it lay to the S.E. and a quarter S. of us. Afterwards, on the morning of the 3rd, we set sail for the South, and we sounded, and found 4, 5, 6, and 7 fathoms, always increasing in depth; and this day we took the sun in 68° 30′; it had 13° 35′ declination, and our latitude came to 35°.
Saturday, 4th February, we anchored in a depth of seven fathoms, the ship San Antonio having got leaky, and we were there till the 5th, and afterwards we weighed on the 6th, and stood on the south course, and at night we anchored in eight fathoms, and remained there till next day.
The 7th we set sail to reconnoitre better the coast, and we saw that it trended S.E. 1⁄4 S.; after that we took another tack and anchored in 8 fathoms, and there we took the sun in 66° 30′, and it had 12° 15′ declination, with which our distance from the equinoctial line to the south came to be 353⁄4°; after that we sailed the same day, and at night we anchored in 9 fathoms, and stood for Cape Santanton [Cabo Blanco] it was to the south in 36°, and this was Tuesday, the 7th.
On the 8th we set sail from the said point, and it is north and south with Montevidi, and 27 leagues distant from it; this coast runs N. and S. [the width of the Rio de la Plata is 27 leagues]; from that place forward we went along the coast round the cape of St. Polonia; after that the coast trends from N.E. to S.W. The said cape is in 37°, and the land sandy and very low, it has sea of shallow depth for a distance of two leagues from land, of 8, 9, and 10 fathoms; so we ran all this day to the S.W., and the night and day.