_ 194 _ This was built on a plain at the foot of a mountain which lay on its eastern side. It was at a distance of a crossbow's range of fire from the sea, small in size, and possessed two towers. The wall near the main gate was surrounded by a barbican which had no artillery. Very close to it towards the south lay the town where the local inhabitants lived. It was opposite this town that our fleet was anchored. Towards the east there was a kind of bay, and between it and the mountains the land was covered with palm-trees. The beach opposite which our fleet was anchored was completely open to the beach so that the waves were large there and made it difficult to disembark. With Afonso de Albuquerque's and the other captains’ advice he thought it best to disembark on the eastern side, at the bay that is, even though this was further away from the fortress, but at least it was safe to disembark there. Besides, as there was no artillery at the fortress it was better to be delayed for a while (i.e. by taking the longer route and going ashore at the bay) than to take risks and reach the fortress sooner. After examining the position of the fortress and the landing-site Tristan da Cunha returned to the ships. During the whole time the Arabs had shown no sign of nervousness, or concern because Abraham had great trust in his men's courage experience had taught him how
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