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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From The Embarcadero To Cumana The
Distance Is Only Twelve Nautical Leagues.
On quitting the little
town of Cariaco, we proceeded westward along the river of
Carenicuar, which, in a straight line like an artificial canal,
runs through gardens and plantations of cotton-trees.
On the banks
of the river of Cariaco we saw the Indian women washing their linen
with the fruit of the parapara (Sapindus saponaria, or soap-berry),
an operation said to be very injurious to the linen. The bark of
the fruit produces a strong lather; and the fruit is so elastic
that if thrown on a stone it rebounds three or four times to the
height of seven or eight feet. Being a spherical form, it is
employed in making rosaries.
After we embarked we had to contend against contrary winds. The
rain fell in torrents, and the thunder rolled very near. Swarms of
flamingoes, egrets, and cormorants filled the air, seeking the
shore, whilst the alcatras, a large species of pelican, alone
continued peaceably to fish in the middle of the gulf. The gulf of
Cariaco is almost everywhere forty-five or fifty fathoms deep; but
at its eastern extremity, near Curaguaca, along an extent of five
leagues, the lead does not indicate more than three or four
fathoms. Here is found the Baxo de la Cotua, a sand-bank, which at
low-water appears like a small island. The canoes which carry
provisions to Cumana sometimes ground on this bank; but always
without danger, because the sea is never rough or heavy.
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