The shore now curves southward and becomes low and sandy. There are low coast plains covered with trees, especially groves of palm trees, which extend far into the interior. Four rivers are crossed, which carry comparatively little water, and the mouths of which are obstructed by sand bars caused by the prevailing north and east winds. As a result of these bars the streams flood the country and form large stagnant lakes, that have effectively prevented a settlement of the region. Some seven miles before reaching the mouth of the Gran Estero there is a little town called Matanzas, a kind of headquarters for turtle fishermen and which, though the entrance to its bay is almost closed by a sand bank, is often visited by coasting schooners that call for cacao from nearby plantations. What is called the Gran Estero is a network of bayous and channels, some upon the surface, others subterranean, which extends from the Yuna River to the ocean and traverses the marshy plain forming the neck of the Samana peninsula. It is apparent that the Yuna River centuries ago emptied into the ocean and that what is to-day the Samana peninsula was once an island separated by a broad channel from the mainland, to which it became united by the gradual rise of the land and by the alluvium deposited by the river. The great swamp so formed is in one place as much as 18 miles wide, and is covered with stunted mangrove trees and rank weeds and bushes. The decaying vegetation gives the water of the bayous and stagnant ponds a dirty coffee color and taints the air with malarial miasma. The opening of channels and draining of the swamp would remedy the defects, at the same time providing important means of communication and reclaiming large tracts of the richest agricultural land. From Matanzas the coast extends due east, closely following the mountain range which beginning near Port Jackson forms the backbone of the Samana peninsula. Spurs of the mountains rise precipitously from the sea which foams at their rocky base, and from the summits to the water's edge the country is covered with luxuriant vegetation. The few rocky coves along the shore were a favorite resort for buccaneers in days gone by. One of them is Port Jackson; the entrance is rendered dangerous by a coral reef, but once within, the deep waters are always tranquil and offer good shelter to the little craft of the turtle fishermen. Though the waters of this region are said to teem with the finest fish but little attention is paid to fishing. Another cove, difficult of access because of the jagged rocks near the entrance, is Port Escondido, or Hidden Port, near the most conspicuous feature of this coast, the lofty promontory of Cape Cabron, or Cabo del Enamorado, Lover's Cape. The easternmost point of the peninsula is the rugged double-terraced headland of Cape Samana, reckoned as the beginning of Samana Bay, though strictly speaking the Bay begins at the majestic cliff known as Balandra Point.