Coffee from Colombia_

As Colombia ranks next to Brazil in coffee, a brief description of its
transportation methods, which are unique, should be of interest to
coffee shippers. A goodly portion of Colombia's coffee exports comes
from the district around the little city of Cucuta, whose official name
is San Jose de Cucuta. It is the capital of North Santander, is situated
in a beautiful valley of the Colombian Andes mountains that is watered
by several rivers, and is only about a half-hour's ride by motor from
the Venezuelan frontier.

Due to its geographical position, Cucuta serves as the most convenient
inland port and commercial center for most of the department of North
Santander. For the same reason, it is forced to depend on Maracaibo as
its seaport, even though the Venezuelan government has a number of
annoying laws controlling the commerce thus conducted. The Colombian
ports of Baranquilla and Cartagena on the Atlantic are too distant from
Cucuta to be available; and a large part of the traffic would have to be
done on mule-back across one of the most formidable ranges of the
Colombian Andes, involving high cost and delay in transportation. Yet
its frontier position makes it possible for Cucuta to have important
commercial relations with the neighboring republic of Venezuela, and to
enjoy exceptional privileges from the Colombian central government.

[Illustration: COFFEE STEAMERS ON THE MAGDALENA, COLOMBIA]

A cargo of coffee leaving Cucuta has to go through the following steps
on its way to a foreign market:

1. From Cucuta, it travels thirty-five miles by railroad to Puerto
Villamizar, a Colombian river port on the Zulia river.

2. At Puerto Villamizar it is loaded into small, flat-bottomed, steel
lighters that are taken to Puerto Encontrados by man power. Puerto
Encontrados, belonging to Venezuela, is on the Catatumbo river; and the
trip from Villamizar takes from two to four days, depending on the depth
of water in the river. During high water, river steamers are also used,
and make the trip in less than a day.

3. At Encontrados the cargo is loaded on river steamboats more or less
of the Mississippi river type, which take it to Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Coffee is also carried to Maracaibo by small sailing vessels.

4. At Maracaibo it is taken by ocean vessel, which either carries it
direct to New York or to Curacao, Dutch West Indies, where it is
transhipped to steamers plying between New York and Cura