198 



GUATAVITA. 



the variegated brushwood, forming a strik- 

 ing contrast with the bold shapes of the dis- 

 tant mountains, and the nearer rocky pro- 

 montories that at each moment rose on our 

 view. After a scrambling ride of three 

 quarters of an hour, we arrived at some 

 ranchaSy (small cottages,) where the Indians, 

 employed on the Lagoon, hve. Here we 

 dismounted, and giving our horses in charge 

 to an attendant, first visited a large rancha, 

 building for my friend P^pe and myself to 

 live in. It was on an oblong piece of ground, 

 purposely raised a little above the sur- 

 rounding soil, in order to keep it dry— the 

 rancha itself, formed of rough poles driven 

 deep into the ground, with strong beams 

 across, and a sloping roof, the whole well 

 thatched with a kind of long grass, obtained 

 from a neighbouring swamp. The inside was 

 divided into two bed-rooms, a sitting room, 

 and a servant's room. From thence we set 

 off for the Lagoon, accompanied by the 



