On leaving the Indian suburbs and climbing the river towards the south we reached a little wood of cacti, and then a marvelous place shaded by tamarind trees, brazilettos, bombax and other trees remarkable for their leaves and flowers. Here the soil is rich enough for pasturing, and among the trees there are dairies built of reeds. The milk is kept fresh not in the calabashes, which are made of thick ligneous fibers, but in porous earthenware pots from Maniquarez. A prejudice current in northern countries led me to believe that cows in the torrid zone did not give buttery milk. However, during my stay in Cumana, and especially while on a trip through the vast plains of Calabozo, covered in grasses and sensitive plants, I learned that European cows adapt perfectly to extreme heat provided they are given water and good fodder.

However, this luxuriant vegetation does not only embellish the outer vault but also reaches into the vestibule of the grotto. We saw, to our surprise, that superb heliconias 18 feet tall, with banana-tree type leaves, praga palms and arborescent arums bordered the rivulet's banks right into the cave. Vegetation penetrates inside the Caripe cave some thirty to forty paces. We measured the way in by means of a cord, and went about 430 feet without needing to light torches. Daylight reaches this place because the cave forms one single gallery that stretches south-east to north-west. In the spot where light begins to fail we heard the hoarse screams of the nocturnal birds that, according to the Indians, live only in these underground caves.