Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 1 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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Tracing The Granitic Coast Of La Guayra Westward, We Find Between
That Port (Which Is In Fact But An Ill-Sheltered Roadstead) And
That Of Porto Cabello, Several Indentations Of The Land, Furnishing
Excellent Anchorage For Ships.
Such are the small bay of Catia, Los
Arecifes, Puerto-la-Cruz, Choroni, Sienega de Ocumare, Turiamo,
Burburata, and Patanebo.
All these ports, with the exception of
that of Burburata, from which mules are exported to Jamaica, are
now frequented only by small coasting vessels, which are there
laden with provisions and cacao from the surrounding plantations.
The inhabitants of Caracas are desirous to avail themselves of the
anchorage of Catia, to the west of Cabo Blanco. M. Bonpland and
myself examined that point of the coast during our second abode at
La Guayra. A ravine, called the Quebrada de Tipe, descends from the
table-land of Caracas towards Catia. A plan has long been in
contemplation for making a cart-road through this ravine and
abandoning the old road to La Guayra, which resembles the passage
over St. Gothard. According to this plan, the port of Catia,
equally large and secure, would supersede that of La Guayra.
Unfortunately, however, all that shore, to leeward of Cabo Blanco,
abounds with mangroves, and is extremely unhealthy. I ascended to
the summit of the promontory, which forms Cabo Blanco, in order to
observe the passage of the sun over the meridian. I wished to
compare in the morning the altitudes taken with an artificial
horizon and those taken with the horizon of the sea; to verify the
apparent depression of the latter, by the barometrical measurement
of the hill.
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