One place where spiky cacti of great size grow together is almost impossible to walk through. These areas, known as tunales, not only prevent bare-chested Indians from entering, but also anyone fully dressed. During our solitary walks we tried several times to penetrate the tunal that crowns the hill with the fort, along which runs a path. There we found thousands of examples of this strange plant. At times nightfall surprised us as there is no twilight. Then this place becomes dangerous, for the rattlesnake (Crotalus cumanensis), the coral and other poisonous snakes seek out these hot places to deposit their eggs in the sand.

The vegetation in the plain surrounding the city is monotonous, although remarkably fresh due to the humidity. Its principal feature is an arborescent solanum, the Urtica baccifera, which reaches 40 feet tall, and a new species of the Guettarda genus. The ground is very fertile and could be easily watered if irrigation ditches were dug from the numerous rivers that do not dry up all year round. The most precious product in the zone is tobacco; it is solely to this plant that the small, badly built city owes its meager fame. Since the introduction of the royal monopoly (Estanco Real de Tabaco) in 1799 the cultivation of this plant in the Cumanà province is limited almost exclusively to the Cumanacoa valley. This monopolistic farming system is deeply hated by the people. The entire tobacco harvest has to be sold to the government, and to prevent or limit smuggling tobacco was concentrated in only one place. Inspectors travel the country burning plantations found outside the authorized zone, and inform against those wretches who dare to smoke their own home-made cigars. These inspectors are mostly Spaniards, as insolent as those doing the same job in Europe. This insolence has greatly contributed to the maintenance of the hatred between the colonies and the metropolis. (50)

At Davipe we bought provisions, including chicken and a pig. This purchase greatly interested the Indians, who had not eaten meat for ages. They urged us to leave for Dapa Island where the pig was to be killed and roasted overnight. In the convent we just had time to examine great piles of the mani resin and rope from the chiquichiqui palm, which deserves to be better known in Europe.