32 VALLEYS OF ARAGUA AND VALENCIA. 



corn and bananas, while far down in the lovely glen there 

 flowed a rivulet, which added its waters to those of the 

 larger stream that bears the name of the picturesque and 

 luxuriant valley through which it passes. The extent of 

 the prospect was not so great but that the whole could be 

 embraced at a single glance, and every portion, even the 

 most distant, was so distinctly seen that it appeared like 

 a vast picture set in bold relief before our vision. Many 

 were the glorious scenes we enjoyed in our tropical wan- 

 derings, some wilder, more romantic, surpassing by far, in 

 grandeur, any we ever beheld in our own land ; yet this 

 view from Higuerote seemed to excel them all, and left an 

 impression upon the memory which the lapse of time can 

 never efface. 



Along the southern declivity of the mountain-range, 

 bounding upon the north the valley we have described, is 

 the road, cut from the soft micaceous rock, which leads by 

 a gentle descent into the plain below. About half the 

 distance down we halted at a wretched venta for rest and 

 breakfast. With hunger half appeased by a scanty meal, 

 we again mounted and were on our way. The mountain- 

 side along which we were travelling received the full bene- 

 fit of a tropical sun, and, as mid-day approached, the heat 

 became most oppressive. We were often tempted within 

 the cool retreat of some shaded glen, such as were fre- 

 quently crossed as we zigzagged down the Cordillera into 

 the valley beneath us. But our destination for the night 

 was a long journey ahead, and we urged our animals for- 

 ward. 



The descent was at length completed, when we entered 

 the valley, which, narrow at first, gradually widened as 

 we advanced, spreading out into a broad and beautiful 

 plain, which is one of the great coffee-regions of the world. 

 The valleys of Aragua have been fitly called the " Garden 

 of Venezuela." Their elevation is nearly two thousand 



