Note 31 — Chapter VII

3. We bought a quantity of sago31 there, called by the Indians in Manila yoro. It is the heart of certain palm-trees; when soaked, it makes a yellow meal (properly it looks like yellow sand). Certain cakes are made from it which serve that people in lieu of bread; we lived on it for six months. Although it is a good food for Europeans, at times it fails to satisfy the hunger. Sometimes it seemed insipid food, but at others it tasted good. That tree is so flexible that it is never cut although it may be more than one vara in circumference. In Manila the Indians eat this food in time of need. That caused us considerable pity when we saw it, for really it is only pounded wood; but then it seemed to us to be a great dainty. That site [i.e., Totole] lay in a trifle over one degree north latitude. From ten until two the sun beat down fiercely, but, at that hour, a heavy shower fell every day, and there were terrible thunders and heavy winds that cooled off everything; and the nights were so cool that we had to put on heavy clothing.