21 



determine the longitude of the place by means 

 of the chronometer # . 



The view from the Impossible is finer and 

 more extensive than that from the table-land of 

 Quetepe. We distinguished clearly by the na- 

 ked eye the flattened top of the Brigantine, the 

 position of which it would be important to fix 

 accurately, the landing-place, and the road of 

 Cumana. The rocky coast of the peninsula of 

 Araya appeared at its full length. We were 

 particularly struck with the extraordinary con- 

 figuration of a port, known by the name of La- 

 guna Grande, or Laguna del Obispo. A vast 

 basin, surrounded by high mountains, commu- 

 nicates with the Gulf of Cariaco by a narrow 

 channel, which admits only of the passage of 

 one ship at a time. This port, of which Mr. 

 Fidalgo has sketched the plan minutely, is ca- 

 pable of containing several squadrons at once. 

 It is an uninhabited place, but annually fre- 

 quented by vessels, which carry mules to the 



* See my Astronomical Observations, vol. i, page 94. 

 On account of the distance of the southern part of the gulf* 

 of Cariaco, the latitude must be nearly 10° 23'. I took the 

 bearings of the road of Cumana, N. 61° 21' W. ; of Cape 

 Macanao, N. 29° 27' W. ; of Laguna Grande, on the northern 

 coast of the gulf of Cariaco, N. 3° 10' W. ; of the Cerro del 

 Bergantin, (centre of the Mesa) S. 27° 5' W. Shortest dis- 

 tance from the sea 8 or 4 miles. The angles were taken some 

 with a sextant, some with the nautical compass ; the latter 

 are corrected by the magnetic variation. 



