It was already dark when we crossed the Orinoco bed for the last time. We meant to spend the night near the small San Rafael fort and begin the journey across the Venezuelan steppes at dawn. Nearly six weeks had passed since our arrival at Angostura, we dearly wanted to reach the Cumanà or Nueva Barcelona coasts to find a boat to take us to Cuba and then on to Mexico. After several months on mosquito-infested rivers in small canoes, a long sea journey excited our imaginations.

In the colonies skin color is the real badge of nobility. In Mexico as well as in Peru, at Caracas as in Cuba, a barefoot man with a white skin is often heard to say: Does that rich person think himself whiter than I am? Because Europe pours so many people into America, it can easily be seen that the axiom 'Todo blanco es caballero' (All whites are gentlemen) must wound the pretensions of many ancient and aristocratic European families. We do not find among the people of Spanish origin that cold and pretentious air which modern civilization has made more common in Europe than in Spain. Conviviality, candor and great simplicity of manner unite the different classes in the colonies. (72)

In several families I found a feeling for culture. They know about the great works of French and Italian literature; music pleases them, and is played with talent, which like all of the arts unites the different social classes. The exact sciences, and drawing and painting, are not as well established here as they are in Mexico and Bogota', thanks to the liberality of the government and the patriotism of the Spanish people.

There is a saying that a mountain is high enough to reach the rhododendron and befaria limit, in the same way one says one has reached the snow limit. In employing this expression it is tacitly assumed that under identical temperatures a certain kind of vegetation must grow. This is not strictly true. The pines of Mexico are absent in the Peruvian Andes. The Caracas La Silla is not covered with the same oaks that flourish in New Granada at the same height. Identity of forms suggests an analogy of climate, but in similar climates the species may be very diversified.

The valley of Tacoronte leads one into a delicious country glowingly spoken of by all travelers. In the Tropics I found places where nature is more grand and richer in its varieties; but after crossing the Orinoco, the Peruvian cordilleras and the valleys of Mexico I admit that I have never seen a more attractive, more harmonious view in the distribution of greenery and rocks than the western coast of Tenerife.

As the inhabitants of Cumana prefer the freshness of the sea breeze to forests their favorite walk is along the open shore. The Castilians, accused of not being fond of trees or birdsong, have transported these tastes and prejudices into their colonies. In Terra Firma, Mexico and Peru it is rare to see a native plant a tree just to get some shade, and, excepting the great capitals, tree alleys are almost unknown. Time type ="abs" value = "1799/07/31/19/00"/>The arid plain of Cumana provides an extraordinary phenomenon after violent rainstorms. After being drenched with rain the earth is heated by the sun and gives off that musky smell common to many different tropical animals like the jaguar, the small tiger-cat, the capybara (Cavia capybara), the gallinazo vulture (Vultur aura), the crocodile, viper and rattlesnake. These gases seem to emanate from mould containing innumerable reptiles, worms and insect remains. I have seen Indian children from the Chaima tribe pick out 18-inch millipedes from the earth and eat them.

Experience has shown that the mild climate and light air of this place are very favorable to the cultivation of the coffee tree, which, as is known, prefers altitudes. The Capuchin father superior, an active, educated man, introduced this new plant into the province. Before, indigo was cultivated in Caripe, but this plant, which needs plenty of heat, gave off so little dye that its cultivation had to be stopped. In the communal conuco we found many culinary plants, maize, sugar cane and a large area of coffee trees promising a rich harvest. In Caripe the conuco looks like a large, beautiful garden: Indians are obliged to work there every morning from six to ten. The Indian alcaldes (or magistrates) and alguaciles (or bailiffs) watch over these tasks. They are the high functionaries, who alone have the right to carry a walking-stick, and are appointed by the convent superiors. They are extremely proud of their status. Their pedantic and taciturn seriousness, their cold and mysterious air, and the zeal with which they fulfil their role in the church and communal assemblies make Europeans smile. We were still unaccustomed to these nuances of Indian temperament, found equally on the Orinoco, in Mexico and in Peru, among people totally different from each other in customs and language. The alcaldes came to the convent every day, less to deal with the monks about mission matters than to learn about the health of those travelers who had just arrived. As we gave them brandy, they visited us more than the monks thought proper.