VIEW OF BOGOTA'. 199 



the first glimpse of the capital of Colombia, 

 at a distance of about twelve miles. 



On advancing towards Bogota, the first 

 points that strike the eye are, the white 

 towers of the cathedral, and the monas- 

 teries of Montserrat and La Guadaloupe, 

 situated on the first rise of mountains in 

 the rear of the town. On our way along 

 the plain, we passed two bridges, which 

 are thrown over the small stream of the 

 river Bogota : we saw also, occasionally, 

 some cottages, and one or two small vil- 

 lages, but scarcely any trees. A consider- 

 able part of the plain was covered with 

 water. We could not discover corn-fields, 

 or grain of any description ; nothing but 

 pasture-land was to be seen, with some cat- 

 tle grazing. 



A new object now began to attract our 

 attention,— the costume of the men and wo- 



