CHOICE OF A ROUTE TO THE ANDES. 63 



during the morning hours, plainly dressed in black, 

 going either to church or on some business errand ; 

 but they were so closely wrapped up in a inanta as to 

 be completely disguised. 



On landing in Peru, the one question which com- 

 pletely engrossed my mind was whether or not it 

 would be possible for me, in the present state of the 

 country, to reach the upper region of the Andes. 



To a naturalist this great chain must ever be the 

 dominant feature of the South American continent. 

 To its structure and its flora and fauna are attached 

 questions of overwhelming importance to the past 

 history of our planet, and, however little a man may 

 hope to effect during a flying visit, the desire to gain 

 that degree of acquaintance which actual observation 

 alone can give becomes painfully intense. I was 

 aware that what had formerly been a long and rather 

 laborious journey had of late years been reduced to 

 a mere excursion by the construction of two lines of 

 railway, leading from the sea-coast to the upper 

 region. That which, if free to choose, I should have 

 preferred starts from the coast at Mollendo, and, 

 passing the important town of Arequipa, traverses 

 the crest of the Cordillera, and has its terminus at 

 Puno, on the Lake of Titicaca, in the centre of the 

 plateau which lies between the two main ridges of 

 the Andes. The region surrounding this great lake, 

 which here divides Peru from Bolivia, must offer 

 objects of interest only too numerous and too en- 

 grossing for a traveller whose time is counted by 

 days. Although the level of the lake is some 12,800 

 feet above the sea, the peaks of Sorata rise above its 



