THE IMPOSIBLE. 67 



In proportion as they penetrated into the forest the 

 barometer indicated the progressive elevation of the land. 

 The trunks of the trees here presented a curious phenome- 

 non, for a gramineous plant, like a liana, eight or ten feet 

 high, formed festoons, which crossed the path, and swung 

 about with the wind. They halted in the afternoon, on 

 a small flat, known by the name of Quetepe. A few 

 small houses had been erected near a spring, well known 

 by the natives for its coolness and great salubrity. They 

 found the water delicious. 



As they advanced toward the south-west, the soil be- 

 came dry and sandy. They climbed a group of moun- 

 tains, which separated the coast from the vast plains, or 

 savannahs, bordered by the Orinoco. That part of the 

 group, over which passed the road to Cumanacoa, was 

 destitute of vegetation, and had steep declivities both 

 on the north and the south. It was known by the name 

 of the Imposible, because it was believed that, in the 

 case of hostile invasion, this ridge of mountains would 

 be inaccessible to the enemy, and would offer an asylum 

 to the inhabitants of Cumana. The view from the Im- 

 posible was finer and more extensive than that from the 

 table-land of Quetepe. Humboldt distinguished clearly 

 by the naked eye the flattened top of the Brigantine, the 

 landing-place, and the roadstead of Cumana. The rocky 

 coast of the peninsula of Araya was discernible in its 

 whole length. The travellers were particularly struck 

 with the extraordinary configuration of a port, known 

 by the name of Laguna Grande. A vast basin, sur- 

 rounded by high mountains, communicated with the 

 gulf of Cariaco by a narrow channel which admitted 

 of the passage of only one ship at a time. 



