The basin which followed was extremely rocky, with strong whirlpools, most troublesome to negotiate. Another island of irregular shape, 200 m. long and 200 m. wide—Rita Island—was found in a large basin, 1,000 m. broad, where we came to strong rapids and violent eddies and whirlpools, the latter most dangerous-looking. The water revolved with such force that it formed in the centre of each vortex holes from one to two feet in diameter.
The channel flowing north on the left side of the river seemed the better of the two, but it was strewn with rocks against which we had many collisions, owing to the strong current, the unmanageable canoe and the disobedient crew.
Another island 350 m. long—Eloisa Island—was to the north-east of Rita Island. Fifteen hundred metres farther on another corrideira occurred. A small tributary entered the Arinos on the right side.
We were then travelling in a N.N.E. direction, the river being in a straight line for some 3,000 m., in the course of which we came to a small island on the left side; then to a great island, 3,000 m. long—Albert Rex Island—with beautiful forest upon it. There were two other islets in this channel, one a mere cluster of rocks, the other, north-east of the first and 150 m. in diameter—Belgium Island—having pretty vegetation upon it.
A fourth and fifth—Laeken Island, 300 m. in length, and Elizabeth R. Island, 5,000 m. in length—were separated by a narrow channel. The latter had most gorgeous vegetation upon it; so tidy was everything in the thick forest, and the ground under it so clean that you might have imagined yourself in an English park.
Those islands were really too beautiful for words. Not being a poet, I cannot find appropriate language to describe their wonderful charm.
The river had a tendency to flow toward the west, and even for 1 kil. in a south-westerly direction. It had a width of 700 m. A small island 50 m. in diameter, chiefly formed of accumulated rounded rocks which had rolled down and deposits of gravel, had formed in the centre of the stream. Beyond it a charming little island, 180 m. long—Germaine Island—was found, on which we made our camp. It had an extensive gravel beach, on which I found beautiful crystals and pebbles of wonderfully coloured marble.
