February 1495, 6 degrees south, RioPotengi, Brazil.
The Potengi River in the early morning glistens under the golden sunlight, flowing gently toward the vast Atlantic Ocean. This great river in northeastern Brazil extends more than four hundred li from west to east, with numerous tributaries. Along the river are dense mangrove forests, teeming with various tropical flying birds. These four hundred li of dense woodland form a rare fertile alluvial plain between the arid and barren northern Brazil Plateau and the stormy and perilous Atlantic Ocean.
