278 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



bamboo announced to the weary wayfarer that chicha was 

 for sale within, and all the travellers we saw religiously 

 stopped at each of these road-houses to slake their thirst. 

 At one point a wall of rock rises from the stream to a height 

 of three thousand feet; two condors were perched upon the 

 very tip, their black forms clearly outlined against the sky, 

 while two others circled swiftly above. We passed through 

 the towns of Yberta and Sacamolla without stopping to 

 rest, and after fifteen and a half hours' continuous riding 

 reached the home of the manager of the railroad, a Mr. 

 Taylor, with whom we spent the night. The place is 

 called Parotani, and we subsequently spent some time there 

 investigating its interesting fauna. At noon on the follow- 

 ing day we reached Vinto, which marks the beginning of an 

 electric tram-line to Cochabamba. We did not take ad- 

 vantage of this easy means of transportation, but contin- 

 ued the journey on mule-back, and two hours later found 

 ourselves at our destination. 



