_ 62 _ and the mainland. The boats that they boarded were two in number and tied in such a way that they could sail together. In addition to the many boats, loaded with people, there was an infinite number that had come by land (about whom I say nothing), all of whom came to see us. We were to travel about a league up this river, where we saw many large, roomy carracks, which were beached high and dry because there was no longer a port there. After we had disembarked, the captain-major returned to his litter and we resumed our journey. The number of people who had come to see us was so great that they were impossible to count. The women too left their houses, with their children in their arms, and followed on behind us. Then they took us to a large church, in which we observed the following things: First, the body of the church was the size of a monastery, all clad in ashlar, with a brick ceiling. The main door had a bronze pillar the height of a mast, crowned by a bird that looked like a cock. There was another very crude pillar the size of a man. Half-way down the nave was a chapel of carved-stone with a door big enough to accommodate a man, and a stone stairway that led upwards from this door, which was made of bronze. Inside was a small statue, which they claimed was that of Our Lady. In front of the
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