BOOK VI. 



CHAPTER XVIL 



Mountains that separate the valleys of Aragua 

 from the Llanos of Caraccas. — Villa de Cur a. 

 — Parapara. — Llanos, or Steppes. — Calabozo. 



The chain of mountains, that borders the lake 

 of Tacarigua toward the South, forms in some 

 sort the northern shore of the great basin of the 

 Llanos or savannahs of Caraccas. In order to 

 descend from the valleys of Aragua into these 

 savannahs, the mountains of Guigue and of 

 Tucutunemo must be crossed. From a peopled 

 country embellished by cultivation, we plunge 

 into a vast solitude. Accustomed to the aspect 

 of rocks, and to the shade of valleys, the tra- 

 veller beholds with astonishment these savan- 

 nahs without trees, these immense plains, that 

 seem to ascend toward the horizon. 



Before I trace the scenery of the Llanos, or 

 of the region of pasturage*, I shall succinctly 

 describe the road we took from Nueva Valencia, 



* See above, chap, xii, vol. iii, p. 424. 



