_ 45 _ the other Moorish. That night we made our way out to sea and when morning came we could no longer see land. Then we proceeded north-westwards, and in the afternoon we again saw land. That night we travelled north by northwest, and during the morning watch we changed course to north-northeast. As we were sailing thus with the wind filling our sails, two hours before dawn, the S. Rafael ran aground on some sandbanks two leagues from the mainland. As soon as it hit bottom the captain warned the others who were following. When they heard his shouts, they dropped anchor a bombard's shot away from him and lowered the boats. At low tide the ship was high and dry and, with the help of the boats, they cast numerous anchors into the sea. When high tide came during the day, the ship broke loose, much to everyone's relief. On the mainland facing these sandbanks there is a towering chain of beautiful mountains. These were named after the St. Rafael and so were the sandbanks. While the ship was stranded, two almadias approached us. They brought a lot of wonderful, sweet oranges both for them and us, better than those from Portugal. Two of the Moors stayed on board and next day went with us to a city known as Mombasa.
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