j 8 Travels and Adventures 



of Colombia, I may describe it as a mere track, worn 

 into existence by the continual passing of mules, with 

 packs and riders, often taking a roundabout way where 

 a near one is at hand, or climbing over a stony preci- 

 pice when, with the least forethought, it might have 

 been avoided ; besides, in the rainy season, the clayey 

 soil becomes impregnated with water, and works into a 

 kind of substance in which the mules sink up to the 

 saddle-girth, which makes it impossible for any other 

 beasts but such as are accustomed to these roads to 

 extricate themselves. 



On leaving El Naranjo the road lay through 

 numerous plantations of coffee, cocoa, and sugar-cane, 

 broken at intervals by large patches of scrub. The 

 farm-houses are supplied with numerous buildings for 

 drying tobacco, crushing sugar-cane, and preparing 

 what is called panela. This is the juice of the cane 

 boiled, poured into moulds, and left to cool. These 

 moulds are square, and the pieces of sugar are invari- 

 ably small cakes about the size of a box of sardines. 

 As the juice has undergone no process of refinement, 

 the sugar produced in this way is generally very dirty, 

 and of a colour as dark as roasted coffee-beans. This 

 is produced in very large quantities, and is entirely 

 consumed in the country, either for cooking or in 

 making the native beer, or gaarapo. After about nine 

 miles' riding, we came to a small village called Canta 



