Enlightenment thought "involved the use and the celebration of reason, the power by which man understands the universe and improves his own condition. The goals of rational man were considered to be knowledge, freedom, and happiness." Encyclopedia Britannica.

Abel is systematic in his description of the world to Rima, starting out with a small pebble and expanding outward to the plateau.  He uses his own back to illustrate the size of Venezuela, with the spine dividing the country in two.  His spine represents the Orinoco.

Rima's use of questions during Abel's geography lesson enables her to perceive just how vast the world is. She probes him for answers when he seems vague. (she doesn't go on faith alone).
She presses Abel for information about other people, other lands, and other cultures.  Hudson portrays Rima as a blank slate, with virtually no understanding of the outside world.  She is obviously intelligent and thirsts for knowledge and a desire to find her people, her origins.
Hudson demonstrates the use of reason versus the belief in superstition when Abel meets and converses with the natives.  More specifically, Abel discovers Kua-ko's belief in the "Daughter of Didi"--a creature to be feared.  Abel quickly dismisses this belief as superstition.