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ARRIVAL AT LA GUAYRA. 137 
doubled Cape Codera with difficulty, the wind be- 
ing unfavourable, and the surges short and high. 
On the 2ist of November, at sunrise, they were op- 
posite Curuao, to the west of the Cape. The Indian 
pilot was frightened at seeing an English frigate 
only a mile distant; but they escaped without attract- 
ing notice. he mountains were every where preci- 
pitous, and from 3200 to 4300 feet high, while along 
the shore was a tract of low humid land, glowing 
with verdure, and producing a great part of the fruits 
found so abundantly in the neighbouring markets. 
The peaks of Niguatar and the Silla of Caraccas 
form the loftiest summits of this chain. In the 
fields and valleys the sugar-cane and maize are cul- 
tivated. To the west of Caravalleda the declivities 
along shore are again very steep. After passing this 
place they discovered the village of Macuto, the black 
rocks of La Guayra covered with batteries, and in 
the distance the long promontory of Cabo Blanco, 
with conical summits of dazzling whiteness. | 
Humboldt landed at Guayra, and in the evening 
arrived at Caraccas, four days sooner than his fel- 
low-travellers, who had suffered greatly from the 
rains and inundations. ‘The former he describes as 
rather a road than a port, the sea being always agi- 
tated, and ships suffering from the action of the wind, 
the tideways, the bad anchorage, and the worms. 
The lading is taken in with difficulty. The free mu- 
lattoes and negroes, who carry the cocoa on board 
_ the ships, are remarkable for their strength. They 
go through the water up to their middles, although 
_ this place abounds in sharks, from which, however, 
_ they have in reality nothing to dread. It is singu- 
lar, that while these animals are dangerous and 
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