Chap. VIII. ESTEEO PANALOYA — THE JICARALES. 117 
the lake and was bounded in the distance by the moun- 
tains of Juigalpa, towards which our journey tended. The 
sky above this bright landscape was of unmingled purity, 
the impression being heightened by here and there a 
Tijereta, or Frigate, soaring without any perceptible motion 
of its wings, high above the surface of the water. This 
bird, of which there are two kinds here, corresponding to 
two different species of Tachypetes or Pregata, is an 
essential feature of Nicaraguan lake scenery. The Spanish 
name is derived from tijera — a pair of scissors — designat- 
ing the two long feathers in the tail of the bird. 
At a little village, called Los Cocos, the road leaves the 
shore and enters a forest of tall trees, amongst which are 
many palms with fan-shaped leaves, and trees with their 
roots dividing at a considerable elevation above the ground. 
Passing through this forest we arrived at the Estero Pana- 
loya, a long, deep, and narrow branch of the lake, which, 
as long as the Rio de Tipitapa was running, formed the 
mouth of that river. The name Panaloyan, according to 
Mr. Buschmann, means a ferry, from the Aztec verb pano 
— " to ferry over." The Spanish name of the locality is 
Paso Real — the King's ferry. 
Our passage across the Estero was connected with some 
difficulties arising from one of our horses being unable to 
swim and threatening to sink the ferry boat. We suc- 
ceeded, however, in safely reaching the other side, where 
we continued our journey without delay. The road led 
through tracts of forest and extensive Jicarales, where I 
was astonished to see some globular cacti with small red 
fruits growing on a soil which, for at least three quarters of 
the year, is a morass ; though at that time the ground was 
dry, with deep cracks running through it in all directions, and 
hard as a rock. This was a section of the Jicaral region 
