LA eUAYRA. 



7 



of the year very unhealthy. The thermo- 

 meter varies from 82^ to 96^ Mountains 

 rising very perpendicularly at the distance 

 of three hundred yards in the rear of 

 La Guayra cause a very considerable re- 

 flection of heat, which, added to the la- 

 titude of the place, has made it generally 

 to be considered the hottest spot in the 

 woffld. 



'The insecurity of the harbour, which is 

 a mere roadstead, and the mountains, 

 across which the road to Caraccas lies, 

 render La Guayra a very inconvenient port 

 for that city: Nature, however, has refused 

 them any other. In 1821 nineteen vessels 

 were totally wrecked here by a north- 

 easterly swell, although there was but little 

 wind. The only ship which escaped was 

 the Congress, American frigate, which, 

 however, parted from four of her anchors, 

 and would have been lost, had the swell 



