280 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA 



is the route that necessitates crossing the San 

 Marcos in its lower reach. Unless the day should 

 prove fine we had been duly warned of difficulties 

 in fording that already swollen stream. 



Leaving the finca house our path first led us 

 across the savanna to the extreme western end of 

 the Pan ; thence turning east it follows closely the 

 northern base of the mountain, a distance of about 

 two or three miles. This is a heavily forested 

 region. The character of these woods differs 

 markedly from any yet observed. Striking fea- 

 tures are the great number of trees bearing flowers 

 of vivid red (suggesting a species of Poinciana), 

 the prevalence of flowering shrubs, also the ex- 

 tensive areas of rose-apple {Eugenia vulgaris) now 

 in ripe fruit. The mountain can only be ap- 

 proached through exceedingly dense jungle, save 

 in a few spots where tobacco clearings have been 

 extended to the actual base. We availed our- 

 selves of all these openings. Along the entire 

 northern front the mountain is almost perpendi- 

 cular to a height of several hundred feet and thence 

 very steep to its summit. The extreme western 

 end is dwarfed into a sharp ridge of less inclination 

 and height, and there we made our first raid. We 



