Gardens of the Caribbees, v. 2/2: Sketches of a Cruise to the West Indies and the Spanish Main

In Short

This second volume captures an early twentieth-century sea voyage through Trinidad, Venezuela, Curaçao, Jamaica, Cuba, and Martinique. Traveling by steamer, mountain train, and horse carriage, the author records her impressions of tropical landscapes, colonial ports, and local traditions. The narrative moves from high-altitude capitals to quiet coastal havens, pairing vivid natural descriptions with observations of daily life. It has lasted as a clear window into a bygone era of steamship travel, offering readers a warm, detailed, and unhurried portrait of Caribbean flora, architecture, and civic culture before the advent of modern tourism.

The Story

The journey opens on the island of Trinidad, where the travelers wander through rich botanical gardens accompanied by a local guide named Manuel. They observe lush vegetation, exotic spice trees, and dense foliage designed by nature to withstand the blazing tropical sun. Leaving the gardens, the party ventures to the pitch lake of La Brea, witnessing the extraction of dark, oozing asphalt. Watching local women at work and children playing along the shore, the narrator reflects on the island's unique environment and its fragile social landscape.

From Trinidad, the vessel charts a course for the Spanish Main, arriving at the port of La Guayra. The travelers board a steep, winding mountain railway that climbs over three thousand feet into the clouds, emerging at the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. In Caracas, the author observes a city of striking contrasts: high mountain air and dusty streets, quiet cathedral doors and armed barracks guarding the residence of Dictator Cipriano Castro. The travelers explore local markets, taste wild-strawberry ices and spiced fruit drinks at a favored confectionery, and endure rough carriage rides out to diplomatic residences.

Continuing by train through the Venezuelan countryside, the group takes in flower-draped stations and mountain vistas before reaching the harbor of Puerto Cabello. The cruise then proceeds to Curaçao, where the Dutch architecture of Willemstad offers a sudden visual shift from the surrounding Caribbean environment. Bright yellow houses, narrow canals, and warm encounters with local residents frame their short stay.

Setting sail once more, the passengers brave late-night wake-up calls to view the Southern Cross shining near the horizon. They arrive next in Jamaica, where the dusty streets of Kingston prompt an excursion along the Rio Cobre and the scenic Bog Walk Road. The author visits a local exchange supported by an American philanthropist and reflects on the complex social fabric of the island under British colonial rule.

The final leg of the cruise touches upon Cuba and Martinique. In Havana, the narrator makes a quiet pilgrimage to the grave of the soldiers lost on the USS Maine, offering a reflective pause amidst the beauty of the tropics. The travelogue closes with distant memories of Martinique, leaving the reader with an enduring sense of gratitude for the light, color, and quiet moments of the summer islands.

How It Unfolds

Exotic shade in Trinidad Guided by Manuel, the party explores lush botanical gardens, marveling at clove trees, coffee plants, and impenetrable leaf canopies. The narrator contrasts the dense, protective foliage of the tropics with the open light of Northern woods.

The asphalt shore of La Brea The travelers walk up a sun-baked, pitch-covered hill to view workers loading asphalt onto a full-rigged merchant ship. Watching local families near the pools, the narrator contemplates the island's future alongside its rugged industrial reality.

Climbing the Venezuelan mountains A mountain locomotive pulls the carriage up thirty miles of steep track from La Guayra into the clouds. The passengers look down into deep green chasms before descending slightly into the high valley of Caracas.

Life in the Venezuelan capital The party navigates dusty streets, church bells, and bustling market stalls, sampling tropical fruits and icy confections at a local dulceria. They observe the heavy military presence around the presidential residence of Dictator Cipriano Castro.

Through the rural countryside Boarding the train once more, the group travels past flower-laden Maria trees and neatly kept stations toward Puerto Cabello. A brief moment of panic ensues when a fellow traveler is temporarily left behind before racing aboard.

A Dutch enclave at Willemstad The ship enters the narrow channel of Curaçao, revealing neat rows of bright yellow houses that resemble a piece of Holland dropped into the Caribbean. The passengers meet local families and American expatriates during their harbor stay.

Stargazing and Jamaican roads After waking at two in the morning to view the Southern Cross, the travelers land at Kingston, Jamaica. Seeking relief from the hot city streets, they take a carriage drive along the Rio Cobre.

Pilgrimage and quiet farewells In Cuba, the narrator visits the cemetery where the sailors of the Maine lie buried, gathering small flowers as tokens of remembrance. The book concludes with a quiet look back at photographs of Martinique and the lasting memory of the islands.

The People

• The Narrator: A keen, observant traveler who delights in natural beauty, local confections, and quiet reflection. She seeks authentic experiences off the standard tourist paths, balancing a humorously stoic attitude toward dusty roads with deep empathy for the people and histories of the ports she visits.
• Manuel: An attentive local guide in Trinidad who caressingly displays native plants and cuts fresh camphor wood for the travelers. He wants to share the hidden wonders of the island's botanical gardens, navigating the party through dense shade and fragrant spice trees.
• The Doctor: A sturdy, cheerful companion who endures the heat, explores city churches, and briefly causes panic when he misses a train departure after lingering too long over local sights. He approaches each destination with energy and good humor.
• The Jolly Friend from New Haven: A resilient fellow traveler who laughs off the scorching heat of the asphalt lake, playfully claiming to suffer from the cold while climbing dusty slopes.
• The American Expatriates in Curaçao: Two homesick Southern women living in Willemstad who eagerly wave the Stars and Stripes from their veranda. They crave news of their homeland and welcome the visiting travelers into their home with generous hospitality.

In Its Own Voice

"My thoughts fly back to our Northern woods. I see the sinuously graceful elms, with the sunlight streaming through their wide open branches upon an earth longing for warmth... But here, where the sun is a ball of redundant flame the year around, Nature bequeaths to her children a shaded forest, rigidly trunked, stolidly formed, thick-leafed, which no blazing sun can penetrate or sweeping hurricane desolate." Reflecting on the striking contrast between Northern forests and the protective canopy of Trinidad's botanical gardens.

"Up, up into the thin vapours, into regions of other trees still higher, whose tops again we pass amongst. The sun is hazy through a translucent veil of mist, and far away, the white horses of the sea dance up against the shore..." Describing the scenic railway journey from the port of La Guayra up into the cloud-wrapped mountains surrounding Caracas.

"Far from the city they rest, where none may trouble their deep slumbers. Their only monument a bare worn path where thousands of those who loved your boys and honoured their memory have trodden down the grass about the lowly bed." Standing in quiet reverence at the Havana cemetery where the fallen crew of the USS Maine rests.

What It's Really About

Beneath its scenic travelogue surface, the book explores the tension between natural wonder and human industrial intervention. The author contrasts the quiet permanence of tropical forests with the dusty, commercial activity of asphalt extraction and military rule. Throughout the narrative, she questions how colonial powers shape local communities, noting the stark economic divides and unkept infrastructure in colonial ports. The text also meditates on memory and distance—how travelers carry impressions of home with them while developing a deep, lasting attachment to foreign landscapes. At its heart, the book asks what it means to be a thoughtful observer in a rapidly modernizing world.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate classic travel literature, vivid descriptions of landscape, and historical snapshots of the turn-of-the-twentieth-century Caribbean will find much to enjoy. The prose is warm, fluid, and remarkably descriptive, conveying the physical texture of each port—from the cool mountain breezes of Venezuela to the bright yellow walls of Curaçao. It provides a tactile sense of steamship travel during an era when long-distance journeys required patience, curiosity, and adaptability.

Modern readers should be prepared for period attitudes and vocabulary typical of early 1900s American travel writing, particularly regarding race and colonial governance. The author occasionally relies on sweeping generalizations about local populations, yet her observations remain grounded in genuine curiosity rather than overt condescension. What lingers after reading is the book's sincere sense of wonder—a reminder of how travel can expand one's appreciation for the natural world and the quiet moments that connect people across ocean divides.