Several vessels, called "galleons," laden with the precious metals, and with merchandise of other kinds, are every year sent, from this port, to Manila, in the Philippine islands; and others return, laden with the valuable productions of the East Indies. On the arrival of the latter, the town becomes populous and gay; and is then filled with the wealthiest merchants of Mexico and Peru. Such, however, is the general dread of its unhealthiness, that these do not sleep within the walls, but reside chiefly in tents in its vicinity. At some distance east of Acapulco, in a beautiful and populous valley, stands the town of _Guaxaca_ or _Oaxaca_; distinguished by the magnificence of its situation, the temperature and salubrity of its climate, the excellence of its soil, and its general majestic appearance. The streets are wide, straight, and well paved; and the houses are chiefly built of stone. The churches and monasteries are numerous, and richly decorated. On one side of the great square is the town-house, which is constructed with stone of a sea-green colour. The bishop's palace and the cathedral form two other sides of the same square: they are surrounded by arcades, as a shelter against both the sun and the rain. In the suburbs of Guaxaca are gardens, and plantations of cactus or prickly pear-trees, on which great numbers of cochineal insects feed. Guaxaca is not only watered by a beautiful river, but is abundantly supplied, by aqueducts, with pure water from the adjacent mountains. Its population, including Indians, mulattoes, and negroes, amounts to about twenty-four thousand persons. The _intendancy of Yucatan_ forms a peninsula, about a hundred leagues in length, between the bays of Campeachy and Honduras. A ridge of low hills extends along it, from south-west to north-east; and, between this ridge and the _Bay of Campeachy_, the dry and parched soil produces logwood in great abundance and of excellent quality. For nearly five months, during the rainy season, the low grounds are partially inundated: in February the waters are dried up; and, throughout the remainder of the year, there is scarcely any stream to be found. Hence the inhabitants can only be supplied with fresh water by pits and wells. The eastern coast of Yucatan is so shallow and muddy, that large vessels cannot approach within four leagues of the shore. The chief productions of this peninsula are maize, cotton, indigo, and logwood. The governor resides at a small inland town called _Merida_, situated on an arid plain, and containing about six thousand inhabitants. The principal sea-port is _Campeachy_, near the north-west extremity of the peninsula. This town has a good dock, and a fort which protects both the place and the harbour. The houses are chiefly built of stone. Campeachy has some cotton manufactories, and a trade in wax and salt; but its chief trade is in logwood.