Chap. VI. THE CORDILLERA TO PUNO. 89 



drained by the lake of Titieaca was the cradle of the civi- 

 lization of the Incas. 



The journey up the " Alto de los huesos " is very fatiguing, 

 and the change from the pleasant exhilarating air of Chihuata, 

 to the cliilling icy blasts which constantly sweep over the 

 upper region of the cordillera, was severely felt. As the 

 afternoon advanced a drizzling mist came on, and added to 

 the cheerless desolation of the plains it was necessary to 

 traverse before reaching the post-house of Apo. Occasionally 

 a drove of llamas, with their Indian driver, loomed for a 

 moment through the mist, and at nightfall we arrived at the 

 post-house of Apo (14,350 feet), tired, drenched, and cold. 



The rainy season of the cordilleras commences in Novem- 

 ber, and continues until the end of March, and dming most 

 of that time the discomfort of travelling is so great, and the 

 rivers so swollen, that a journey is seldom undertaken by an 

 ordinary traveller. In March, however, the rain does not 

 fall continuously or in any quantity. The early morning is 

 generally clear, but in the afternoon mists, rain, or snow 

 begin to fall, and continue until far into the night. From 

 April until October is the dry season, and in May, June, 

 July, and August a cloud is scarcely ever seen in the sky. 



The post-houses in the desolate mountains between 

 Arequipa and Puno are all of the same character. They 

 consist of a range of low stone buildings surrounding a court- 

 yard on three sides, and consisting of five or six rooms with 

 mud floors, a rough table, and a platform of stone and mud 

 at one end, which is intended for a bed-place. The roof is 

 badly tiled or thatched, and the doors are so roughly fitted 

 that it is impossible to close them. Both man and beast are 

 subject to a most distressing illness, caused by the rarefaction 

 of the air at these great altitudes, which is called soroehi by 

 the Peruvians. I had suffered from a sharp attack of illness 

 at Arequipa, so that I was probably predisposed to a visita- 



