Throughout his entire journey through the Lower Orinoco the traveler faces only one danger: the natural rafts formed by drifting trees uprooted by the river. Woe to the canoes that at night strike one of these rafts of tangled lianas and tree trunks! When Indians wish to attack an enemy by surprise they tie several canoes together and cover them with grass to make it seem like a tangle of trees. Today Spanish smugglers do the same to avoid customs in Angostura.

The recommendations from the Madrid Court assured us that we were always well received in all the Spanish possessions. The Captain-General immediately gave us permission to visit the island. Colonel Armiaga, in command of an infantry regiment, warmly welcomed us to his house. We did not tire of admiring the banana trees, the papaw trees, the Poinciana pulcherrima and other plants usually seen only in greenhouses.