DEPARTURE FROM BOLONCHEN. 



157 



CHAPTER IX. 



Departure from Bolonchen. — Lose the Road.—Sugar Rancho. — A 

 new Section of Country. — Rancho of Santa Rosa. — Annoy- 

 ance from Fleas.— Visit to the Ruins of Labphak.— A lofty 

 Structure.— Apartments, &c.— Staircases.— Doorways.— Inter- 

 esting Discovery.— Courtyard.— Square Building on the second 

 Terrace.— Ornaments in Stucco.— Oblong Building on the third 

 Terrace.— Colossal Figures and Ornaments.— Centre Apart- 

 ment.— Tokens of recent Occupation.— Ground Plan of the low- 

 er Range of Apartments.— Sculptured Bas-reliefs.— Builders 

 adapted their Style to the Materials at Hand.— Abode at the 

 Ruins.— Wants.— Moonlight Scene.— Painting.— Circular Holes. 

 — Range of Buildings. — Staircases. — Ornaments in Stucco. — 

 Rain.— Love of the Marvellous. 



Early the next morning we resumed our journey. 

 On leaving the village we were soon again in the 

 wilderness. Albino remained behind to breakfast ; 

 we had not gone far before we came to a fork of the 

 road, and took one of the branches, by which we 

 missed our way, and rode on over a great plain cov- 

 ered with bushes above our horses' heads, the path 

 finally becoming so completely choked up that it 

 was impossible to continue. We turned back and 

 ,took another ; and, keeping as near as possible, by 

 the compass, what we understood to be the direc- 

 tion, came out upon a muddy aguada, covered with 

 weeds, and beyond this a sugar rancho, the first we 

 had seen in Yucatan, indicating that we were enter- 

 II 14 



