La Guaira—Heat—Port works—The Brighton of Venezuela—Sugar plantations—Streets and _botiquins_—_Guarapo_—La Guaira-Carácas Railway—A great engineering feat—Carácas—Climate—Population—Streets—Buildings—The Salón Elíptico—El Calvario—El Paraiso—“La India”—Water-supply—Trams and telephones—Lighting—Industries—The Guaire Valley—Coffee—Miranda—Ocumare del Tuy—Petare—Central Railway—Vegetable snow—Carenero Railway—Rio Chico—Los Teques—Great Venezuelan Railway—La Victoria—Sixteen-fold wheatfields—Maracay—Grazing lands—Cheese—President Gomez’s country house—Villa de Cura—An epitome of the State—Lake of Valencia—Cotton—Carabobo—Valencia—Cotton-mills—Montalbán—Deserted vineyards—Wild rubber—Puerto Cabello Railway—The port—Meat syndicate—Club—Ocumare de la Costa—What is bad for man may be good for cocoa—Mineral resources. For obvious reasons the central region of Venezuela, round about the capital, is that most frequently visited by Europeans, and generally even those travellers who, at the call of science, commerce, or pleasure, penetrate to other parts of the country first come into contact with it at La Guaira, the chief port of the republic. The first settlement in the neighbourhood was established some eight miles to the westward, and was known as Caraballeda, the present town being founded in 1588, shortly after the seat of government was removed from Coro to Carácas. Standing as it does on a narrow strip of more or less level land, at the foot of the cordillera which here rises from the water’s edge to the height of about 5,000 feet, and extending up the precipitous slopes of the bare mountain, the town is terribly hot at times. In early days the roadstead must have been very unsafe, for the swell running on this coast at all seasons prevents secure anchorage outside the harbour. The existing port works belong to an English company, and cost £980,000 to complete; and even so, the rise and fall from the swell is merely reduced, not neutralised. The contract for the La Guaira harbour was given to Messrs. Punchard & Co., who decided, in view of the fact that the roadstead was open to the waves to north and east only, that a straight east and west breakwater would prove most effective. The length of this was to be 2,050 feet, and the design allowed for the enclosure of 90 acres of water of an average depth of 30 feet, 3,100 feet of quays, and 18 acres of reclaimed land. There are seldom severe wind-storms, and the strong swell with the resulting huge waves which break upon the coast were the principal difficulties to be met. Unfortunately, as we have said, the movement is not entirely kept back by the breakwater. The work was commenced in December, 1885, but the first breakwater was destroyed by a particularly heavy swell in December, 1887; the second was commenced in July, 1888, and finally completed, more or less as it stands to-day, in July, 1891.