“I think that too, Frank. Well, if he went too far, he’s had to pay for it,” returned Sam.
All told, the stay at the coffee plantation had been full of interest and the boys thanked Enrique Morano over and over again for his kindness to them.
“If you ever come to New York we’ll do all we can for you,” said Mark, heartily, and the others spoke in a similar strain.
The next day found them back to Caracas and here they stopped but a few hours before taking a train for La Guayra. Arriving at the seaport arrangements were made for a side trip, so to speak, to the Gulf and the Lake of Maracaibo, situated to the westward. But the vessel was not to sail until two days later, so while waiting they took a little run over to Macuto, located not far from La Guayra.
“Macuto is the Bar Harbor, Asbury Park, and Coney Island of Venezuela,” explained the professor, while the party was on the way, along a highway skirting the ocean. “It is only six miles from the seaport, and is a great resort for the folks in Caracas and La Guayra who wish to escape the extreme heat of those towns. It gets a constant breeze from the north and as a consequence is usually ten to fifteen degrees more on the side of comfort.”
On arriving at Macuto the boys were somewhat disappointed to find the greater part of the beach highway given over to drinking places and general stores, while the hotels were further up on the hills behind the sand.
“Can’t we go in bathing?” asked Sam. It was a sport he enjoyed exceedingly.
“Yes, there is a bathing spot, at the end of the highway,” answered the professor, and thither they made their way. The bathing pavilion was built in the shape of a castle, standing in the water at the end of a long wharf.
The boys were soon inside, and each paid his medio for a bathroom and the use of a towel. They soon discovered that the men bathed in one place and the women in another, and that but few suits were used. But suits were to be had at an office in a corner of the building and they procured these and all went in, including the professor, who was an excellent swimmer.
“Tell you what, this is something like!” cried Sam, enthusiastically, as he splashed about and then scooped some water up over Frank’s head. “Come on, I’ll race you!”