Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 2 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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MOUNTAINS WHICH SEPARATE THE VALLEYS OF ARAGUA FROM THE LLANOS OF
CARACAS.
VILLA DE CURA.
PARAPARA.
LLANOS OR STEPPES.
CALABOZO.
The chain of mountains, bordering the lake of Tacarigua towards the
south, forms in some sort the northern shore of the great basin of the
Llanos or savannahs of Caracas. To descend from the valleys of Aragua
into these savannahs, it is necessary to cross the mountains of Guigue
and of Tucutunemo. From a peopled country embellished by cultivation,
we plunge into a vast solitude. Accustomed to the aspect of rocks, and
to the shade of valleys, the traveller beholds with astonishment these
savannahs without trees, these immense plains, which seem to ascend to
the horizon.
Before I trace the scenery of the Llanos, or of the region of
pasturage, I will briefly describe the road we took from Nueva
Valencia, by Villa de Cura and San Juan, to the little village of
Ortiz, at the entrance of the steppes. We left the valleys of Aragua
on the 6th of March before sunrise. We passed over a plain richly
cultivated, keeping along the south-west side of the lake of Valencia,
and crossing the ground left uncovered by the waters of the lake. We
were never weary of admiring the fertility of the soil, covered with
calabashes, water-melons, and plantains. The rising of the sun was
announced by the distant noise of the howling monkeys. Approaching a
group of trees, which rise in the midst of the plain, between those
parts which were anciently the islets of Don Pedro and La Negra, we
saw numerous bands of araguatos moving as in procession and very
slowly, from one tree to another.
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