116 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS. 



Consuelo. I carried my camera under my arm, and took various 

 views as we went alonp-. It was with feelino-s of resret that I 

 took the last hackward look at Guaduas, as we turned to go over 

 the crest. Before us stretched a magnificent view. The valley 

 beneath us was filled with clouds, but above them we saw the glit- 

 tering snow of Tolima and of the Paramo del Ruis. I tried several 

 views from this point Avith my camera, but much to my disappoint- 

 ment, when the plates were developed, the blue sky and the white 

 peaks both came out white, and there was no contrast between the 

 two. 



At Consuelo we said good-by to Mr. Bain, and waved an acknow- 

 ledgment to Don Clemente's " feliz viaje." We traveled along com- 

 fortably as far as Las Cruces, where we stopped for breakfast and to 

 rest. For about twenty-five cents w^e got some bread, rice, and 

 eggs, all nicely cooked, and some of the most delicious coffee that 

 I ever tasted. From this point, as we descended, the heat increased 

 until it became almost unbearable ; however, as we wished to reach 

 Honda before night, we had to push on, as the ferry stopped run- 

 ning at six. The distance from Guaduas to Honda is some sixteen 

 miles, and we were traveling for about seven and a half hours. 

 The latter part of the road was made doubly disagreeable by thick 

 clouds of a suffocating dust in which our mules sank to their ankles 

 at every step. We had no drinking water along the road, and all 

 suffered from heat more or less. After an irritating delay at the 

 ferry we finally got across, and about five o'clock I w^as relieved by 

 once more reaching in safety Mr. Bowden's welcome hotel. Mr. 

 Child, who had preceded us from Guaduas by several days, had 

 engaged good rooms for us, so we were soon comfortably fixed. 

 After supper Cabell and myself took a short walk through the town, 

 and I purchased for fifty cents a very pretty tiger-cat's skin. 



Shortly after passing Las Cruces, as we were riding along through 

 a parched bit of scrubby woods, I heard a loud rustling noise as if a 

 high wind were approaching ; but in a short while I discovered that 

 the noise was made by an immense swarm of grasshop23ers creeping 



