The doors of the houses open directly on to the pavement, if there is one, and a wall with a few windows, and sometimes none, is all that meets the eye of the passer-by. Inside, however, in all the older and better-built modern residences the short passage opens into a patio, generally full of palms, trees, and flowers, and having a fountain in the centre. Round the patio there is a covered veranda with doors opening into living-rooms and bedrooms on the different sides. From beautiful and elegant courts like this there is every grade to the bare yard, with perhaps only one or two banana-plants. At the back are the kitchens, and in general a second patio, without trees or shrubs, and having stalls for the horses or mules on one side; there are generally several pigs and numerous chickens running about here.
In the country places the furniture of the houses is very simple: a few chairs, some or all of which may be home-made and of hide stretched over wooden frames of all shapes, tables, and one or two stands for glasses, &c., complete the inventory for the ordinary rooms; pictures are rare and not infrequently are limited to lithograph calendars and coloured advertisements received from the more advanced business houses.
The stranger is not as a rule invited to join the family circle, but if he is admitted, on account of introductions from mutual friends, he will find the traditions of Spanish hospitality carried out to the full, and all that the house affords is at his disposal. The elaborate lace edging of the linen, particularly of the pillow-cases, is another characteristic shared in common with other Spanish peoples.
Maize forms the staple grain of the country, though in the east especially cassava is an equally important foodstuff, and sometimes entirely replaces corn, for a large proportion of the people. The maize flour is generally made with water into cakes (arepa), rather like curling-stones in shape, about 4 inches in diameter, which are lightly baked and brought to the table warm: a variation of these, generally considered somewhat of a luxury, are known as bollas, which are sausage-shaped rolls of fine maize flour. In the Andes dark-coloured bread (pan de trigo) of native wheat flour is generally eaten, and in every large town white bread made from imported flour can be had. The cassava root has its poisonous juices extracted in a long straw tube which contracts in diameter as it is extended in length, thus providing the necessary pressure; the dry material is ground to the consistency of oatmeal, and made into large flat cakes, which, when baked, are often two feet across and extremely hard. The broken cake as placed on the table is often soaked in water to soften it. Cassava bread, like arepa, is of more than one quality, according to the fineness to which the material is ground.
In the coast regions carne seca (dried beef) forms an important item in general diet, while carne de chivo (goat’s flesh) is a staple in Coro. Fresh meat is of course the rule in the towns, and fowls are everywhere abundant; the sancoche de gallina, a kind of rich stew made of chicken with herbs and oil, is very good if properly prepared. For other articles of diet, yams and frijoles (beans) are the commonest vegetables, with potatoes in the Andes, while fruit preserves and similar sweets are found everywhere. Last, but not least, the cheeses of the Llanos and foothills (of which queso de mano is perhaps the best) and the ubiquitous papelon (brown unrefined sugar) are an important item in the country fare.
OVEN: LA RAYA.
AN ANDINE POSADA: LA RAYA.
A refreshing and sustaining drink known as guarapo also consists of raw sugar and water, and this with the aguardiente, distilled from the fermented syrup, and coffee are to be seen everywhere. Cacao is less common, but is naturally largely drunk in the neighbourhood of the plantations. A light beer is made at the Carácas and Maracaibo breweries, and there is a multitude of sweet non-alcoholic drinks manufactured from fruits.