Coastal region is well watered by the abundant rains form the Gulf; the rich soil produces rice, green beans, mangoes, pineapples and bananas. The luxuriant vegetation, with its tall tropical trees and multicoloured orchids is gradually disappearing at free range cattle farming requires more and more land to be cleared for grazing.

The landscape of Sotavento is often rather whimsical with its strange cattle, a cross between Swiss cows and Brazilian zebus, chewing the cud beneath the coconut trees.

Veracruz, the port open to the Caribbean, was founded in 1519 by the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes. This white town, which suffered numerous pirate attacks, became a major port during the nineteenth century as trading links were developed with European, the Caribbean, and the Spanish colonies.