52 The Andes and the Amazon. 



Chimborazo, at an elevation of over twelve thousand feet 

 above the sea. As Johnson said to Boswell, " This is a 

 dolorous place." 



Gladly we left this cheerless tambo, though a cold, heav}- 

 mist was f alhng as we rode northward, over the seemingly 

 endless paramo of Sanancajas. Here, as throughout the 

 highlands of Ecuador, ditches are used for fences ; so that, 

 should the traveler wander from the path, he finds himself 

 stopped by an impassable gulf. In two hours and a half 

 we readied Mocha, a lifeless pueblo under the shadow of 

 Carguairazo. Slowly descending from our high altitude, 

 we gradually entered a more congenial climate — the zone 

 of wheat and barley, till, finally, signs of an eternal spring 

 were all around us — ripening corn on one side, and blos- 

 soming peas on the other. 



Late in the afternoon the road led us through a sandy, 

 sterile tract, till suddenly we came in sight of Ambato, 

 beautifully situated in a deep ravine, eight thousand ^xe 

 hundred and fifty feet above the Pacific. The city ranks 

 next to Quito in beauty. It is certainly an oasis, the green 

 foliage of its numerous shade-trees and orchards contrast- 

 ing witii the barren hills around. It is two degrees warm- 

 er than Quito, and is famous for its fruit and fine climate. 

 It is the Lynn of Ecuador, the chief articles of manufac- 

 ture being boots and shoes — cheap, but of poor quality. 

 It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1698. The houses 

 are built of sun-dried brick, and whitewashed. The streets, 

 with gutters in the centre, are at right angles, and paved, 

 and adorned mth numerous cypress-looking trees, called 

 sauce, a species of willow. The Plaza, which contains a 

 useful if not ornamental fountain, presents a lively scene 

 on Sunday, the great market-day. The inn is a fair speci- 

 men of a public house in Spanish America. Ai'ound the 

 court-yard, where the beasts are fed, are three or four 



