A historical narrative covers two quite different aims: whatever happens to the traveler; and the observations he makes during his journey. Unity of composition, which distinguishes good work from bad, can be sought only when the traveler describes what he has seen with his own eyes, and when he has concentrated on the different customs of people, and the great phenomena of nature, rather than on scientific observations. The most accurate picture of customs is one that deals with man's relationships with other men What characterizes savage and civilized life is captured either through the difficulties encountered by a traveler or by the sensations he feels. It is the man himself we wish to see in contact with the objects around him. His narration interests us far more if a local coloring informs the descriptions of the country and its people. This is what excites us in the narrations of the early navigators who were driven more by guts than by scientific curiosity and struggled against the elements as they sought a new world in unknown seas.

On the 15th of July we reached the fundaciòn, or the Villa de Pao, established in 1744 and well situated as a depot between Nueva Barcelona and Angostura. Many geographers have mistaken its position, confusing it with other small towns. Though it was cloudy I was able to determine the latitude and the longitude from the sun. The astronomical fixing of Calabozo and Concepciòn del Pao are very important to the geography of this country where there are so few fixed points in the savannahs. Around about we saw some fruit trees, quite rare in the steppes. We also noticed coconut palms, despite the distance from the sea. I insist on this observation as some have doubted the veracity of travelers describing coconut palms, a coastal plant, in Timbuktu and in the heart of Africa.

Soon after entering the Nueva Barcelona llanos we spent the night in a Frenchman's house. He welcomed us very cordially. He came from Lyon, and had left home when still very young. He seemed quite indifferent to all that was happening across the ocean or, as they scornfully say here, 'del otro lado del charco' ('on the other side of the pond'). He was busy sticking large bits of wood together with a glue called guayca, used by carpenters in Angostura. It is as good as any glue made from animal matter. It is found ready-made between the bark and sap of a creeper of the Combretaceae family (Combretum guayca). It resembles birdlime made from mistletoe berries and the inner bark of the holly. An astonishing amount of this glue pours out from the twining branches of the bejuco de guayca when they are Cut.