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. — DoorAvays. — 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- 



14 



