A pretty little chateau-like building immediately
attracted our attention. We took it for some advanced building of
the town, and congratulated one another on having reached our
temporary destination so quickly. On approaching nearer, however,
we could perceive no signs of the town, and learned that the
building was a small fort, and that Santos was situated in a second
bay, communicating with the first by a small arm of the sea.
Unluckily, the wind had by this time fallen, and we were obliged to
be at anchor all day, and it was not until the 14th that a slight
breeze sprang up and wafted us into port.
Santos is most charmingly situated at the entrance of a large
valley. Picturesque hills, adorned with chapels and detached
houses, rise on each side, and immediately beyond are considerable
mountain ranges, spreading in a semi-circle round the valley, while
a lovely island forms a most beautiful foreground to the whole.
We had scarcely landed before the captain informed us that we must
stop for at least five days. The Italians, one of the Frenchmen,
and myself determined that we would take advantage of this delay to
make an excursion to St. Paulo, the largest inland town of the
Brazils, and about forty miles from Santos.
