40 The Andes aito the Amazon. 



CHAPTEE II. 



Our Tambo. — Ascending the Andes. — Camino Real. — Magnificent Views. — 

 Guaranda. — Cinchona. — The Summit. — Chimboi-azo. — Over the Andes. — 

 Chuquipoyo the Wretched. — Ambato. — A Stupid City. — Cotopaxi. — The 

 Vale of Machachi. — Arrival at Quito. 



We reached Savaneta at 5 p.m. This little Yillas^e of 

 hardly twenty houses becomes the Bodegas, or place of de- 

 posit for the mountains six months in the year, for in the 

 invierno the roads are flooded, and canoes take the place 

 of mules from Savaneta to Babahoyo. Even in the dry 

 season the dampness of this wilderness is so great that the 

 traveler's sugar and chocolate are melted into one, and en- 

 velopes seal themselves. We put up at a tamho, or way- 

 side inn, a simple tw^o-storied bamboo hovel, thatched w^ith 

 plantain leaves without and plastered with cobwebs with- 

 in, yet a palace compared ^\dth what sheltered us afterward. 

 The only habitable part was the second story, wliich was 

 reached by a couple of notched bamboo sticks. A ham- 

 mock, two earthen kettles, two plates, and a few calabashes 

 constituted the household furniture. The dormitory was 

 well ventilated, for two sides were open. Our lodging, 

 however, cost us nothing ; travelers only pay for yerha for 

 their beasts. Though this has been the royal road to Quito 

 for three centuries, there is but onQjjosada between Guay- 

 aquil and Ambato, a distance of one hundred and fifty 

 miles ; travelers must carry their own bedding and provi- 

 sions. 



Leaving Savaneta at dawm, and breakfasting at a wayside 

 hut owned by an old negro, we struck about noon the Eio 

 Charriguajaco, dashing do^\m the mountains in hot haste 

 for the Guayas. It was refreshing to look upon living wa- 



