424 



CARACCAS. 



Caraccas. w ho have no other object for observation but the sun 

 ly "V"" / by day, and theee fires at night. 



' The lake of Valencia, though not so extensive as 

 that of Maraca'ibo, is much more interesting, both 

 from its beauty and utility. It is of an oblong form, 

 about thirteen leagues and a half in length, and its 

 greatest breadth is four. Though twenty rivers dis- 

 charge themselves into this lake, it has no visible 

 outlet ; yet neither its depth nor its extent appear to 

 increase. To account for this singular circumstance, 

 it has been supposed that there must be at the bot- 

 tom of the lake a subterraneous channel, through 

 which its waters are continually discharged ; and in 

 support of this theory it is observed, that boats sail 

 with rapidity from the borders to the centre, where 

 some dangers are encountered, but return to the bor- 

 ders with more difficulty. Nothing can be more 

 magnificent and charrfTing than the scenery round 

 the lake of Valencia. The rich and beautiful valley 

 in which it is situated, surrounded with mountains 

 except on the west, and the numerous islands scat- 

 tered over its bosom, give it a strong resemblance to 

 Loch Lomond, the most interesting of our Scottish 

 lakes. The unfading verdure which adorns its banks, 

 the endless variety of birds which sport in the neigh- 

 bouring woods, vying with each other in the beauty 

 of their plumage and the melody of their notes, and 

 the fine plantations which extend from it in all direc- 

 tions, fill the heart of the spectator with a kind of 

 rapture, which only the magnificence of nature can 

 impart. Mr Semple saw on this lake the first sail 

 which had ever been spread here, and naturally hail- 

 ed it as the germ of future improvement. 



Tides, On the northern coast of this country, from Cape 



winds, &c. de la Vela to Cape Paria, the tides are so irregular 

 and imperceptible as to be entirely overlooked in 

 nautical reckonings and calculations ; whilst on the 

 eastern coast from Cape Paria to Dutch Guiana, 

 they are so powerful as to command the anxious 

 observation of all navigators who frequent those la- 

 titudes. The bearings of the coasts are the obvious 

 cause of that remarkable difference. The winds are 

 much more regular on the coasts, where nothing de- 

 ranges their natural direction, than in the interior of 

 the country, where they are subject to local influence. 

 The trade wind, which prevails at sea in these lati- 

 tudes, is likewise the common breeze on the coasts.; 

 with this difference, that at sea it is constant, but on 

 the coasts it blows only from nine or ten o'clock in the 

 morning till the evening. It blows from north-east 

 by east; and is succeeded every night by an opposite 

 wind, which is called the land-breeze. But this pe- 

 riodical succession, though general, is not without 

 exceptions. 



p t Pursuing the same course which we observed in 



our enumeration of the rivers, we come first to the 

 port of PORTETA, about six leagues east of Cape 

 de la Vela. This port admits only small vessels : 

 but in the harbour of BAYAHONDA, four leagues far- 

 ther to the windward, vessels of the largest size can 

 anchor without being- exposed to the smallest danger 

 from the winds: Both these ports are in possession 

 of the Indians, who derive from a pearl fishery in the 

 road of Bayahonda the only article they have to bar- 

 ter with the Dutch and English. As we proceed 



Ports. 



along the coast to the eastward, we come next to the Caraccas 

 port of MARACAIBO, which, though in itself an excel- 

 lent harbour, is rendered almost inaccessible by a 

 bar of quick sand at its entrance, which is never co- 

 vered with water beyond the depth of ten or twelve 

 feet. Proceeding in the same direction, we come to 

 CORO, whose port lies open from north to north-east. 

 In this port the water continues to deepen as we ap- 

 proach the shore ; but neither its accommodations, 

 nor its commodities, are such as to render it a place 

 of great resort. After leaving Coro, we meet with 

 nothing that deserves the name of a harbour till we 

 come to PORTO CABELLO, better known by the name 

 of Porto Bello, which, for space, beauty, convenience, 

 and safety, is by far the finest harbour on the whole 

 coast of America, The whole of the Spanish navy 

 might ride here without confusion ; and the high 

 lands which encompass it are so happily disposed, as 

 to shelter it from the fury of any wind that blows. 

 In the unruffled tranquillity of its surface, it resembles 

 a pond rather than a port upon those tropical seas, 

 which are always agitated with more or less violence. 

 PORTO CABELLO, the name given to it by the Spa- 

 niards, imports, that a vessel at anchor is more ef- 

 fectually secured here by a single rope, than else- 

 where by the strongest cables. Its anchorage, which 

 owes nothing to art, is so commodious, that the 

 largest ships may lie alongside of the wharf, and 

 load and unload without the assistance of lighters. 

 Three leagues to windward of this port is the bay of 

 TURIAMO, which extends one league from north to 

 south, but which, having no shelter from the north 

 wind, is seldom visited by merchants, to whom the 

 commodities of the adjacent countries hold out no 

 temptations. The same remark is applicable to the 

 bays of Patanemo, Borburata, and Sienega. Having 

 passed these, we find ourselves next in the bay of 

 OCUMAKA, five leagues east of Porto Bello. This is 

 a commodious and well sheltered harbour, defended 

 on the east by a battery mounting eight pieces of 

 cannon of the calibre of 8 or 12. At the distance 

 of one league from the port is the village of Ocu- 

 mara, watered by a river of the same name, which 

 discharges itself into the bay, at the bottom of the 

 port. The next port of any consequence which we 

 meet with is that of GUAVRA, whose road is always 

 so open to the breeze, that the sea is kept there in a 

 state of continual agitation ; and the violence of the 

 winds frequently occasions damage to the ships which 

 ride at anchor. The surge is very strong : and act- 

 ing at the bottom, as well as on the surface of the 

 water, keeps the sand in constant agitation, and de- 

 posits it in such quantities upon the anchors, that 

 before they have been fixed for a month it is impos- 

 sible to hoist them. To avoid the certain loss of their 

 cables, every vessel is obliged to hoist anchor once 

 in eight days. The depth of water does not exceed 

 eight fathoms at the distance of a quarter of a league 

 from the beach ; and to complete the catalogue of 

 its inconveniences, that species of worms, called 

 tarets, which is so destructive to shipping, commits 

 greater ravages here than in any port of the Carac- 

 cas. Yet, in spite of all these unfavourable circum- 

 stances, the harbour of Guayra is more frequented 

 than any other upon the coast. Between Guayra 



