our feet
wearied and wounded by the roughness of the road and we walked a
distance of four leagues to another place called Nohvecan, which place,
for a league before and a league after, consists of great overflowed
stretches which in this language are called _Akalchees_. It can be well
understood what pain we endured with our sore legs and feet passing
through this two leagues of water and mud, which at the least came up
over our knees, leaving us almost crippled; another great hardship
being added, as soon as we came to an end of this trip, which is the
abundance of mosquitoes, which did not allow us rest by day or night.
There is in this place an _aguada_ which is very large and deep and
which in the rainy season becomes a river full of water. There are
found in the said place some trees, the bark of which is in smell and
taste the same as the cinnamon. It is called in this idiom,
_Ppelizkuch_; also on the paths is found a vine, which, on touching it,
smells of garlic. The odor reaches a distance of a quarter of a league."

Hardships Suffered by the Padres. "This torment was followed by another
very heavy storm of wind which seemed to tear up the trees by the
roots, with a great fall of rain, thunder and lightning, which
afflicted our hearts. So that imitating in our weakness the Apostle
Saint Peter in another similar storm, which befell him on the sea, we
had recourse to God with 'Lord, save us, we perish'; though by
imitating him in every thing, we deserved the reproval of our weakness,
by the answer which Christ gave to his Apostles, when he calmed the
storm by his power; for there he reproved them with these words, 'Why
are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Wherefore do you doubt?', his
most holy Majesty showing his pity at once."

Oppol; a Bridge Built across a River. "On the next day early, warned by
what had happened in that place, at the first steps which we took in
the prosecution of our trip, we passed another league of swamp with the
same misery as we had the preceding one, as far as a place called
Oppol, which is three leagues from this place. In it to the Northwest,
at a distance of a quarter of a league, is found a deep _aguada_, from
which our company provided itself with water needed for consumption.
Two leagues from this place, beyond a deserted old town, there is found
a running stream (although accidental) so that, to pass over it, we
made a bridge. The water is very good, though in the rainy