Arequipa was an interesting city with its picturesque arcades, its magnificent church of Spanish architecture with marvellous ancient wood carvings, and its prettily-laid-out gardens. I visited the astronomical observatory of Harvard College, a few miles from the town, where excellent work is being done in star photography from that eminently suitable spot for the study of the sky. The observatory was situated at an elevation of 8,060 ft. It worked in conjunction with the Harvard observatory in North America. By having thus one station north and another south of the equator, the observations made by that institution included the stars in all parts of the sky from the North to the South Pole. A 24-inch Bruce photographic telescope, a 13-inch Boyden telescope, an 8-inch Bache telescope, and a 4-inch meridian photometer were the principal instruments used at the Arequipa station.
I left Arequipa on the morning of February 9th, going through country of volcanic tufa and red sand, with immense furrows quite devoid of vegetation. Occasionally we came upon great masses of boulders cast by some volcanic force upon the surface of tufa and sand. Then the railway gracefully climbed in great curves over a plateau nearly 14,000 ft. high, where tufts of grass could be seen, giving a greenish appearance to the landscape.
We travelled along that great table-land, occasionally seeing a herd of llamas stampede away at the approach of the train, now and then observing circular stone walls erected by shepherds as shelters. A gable-roofed hut was occasionally seen. Picturesque natives in their ponchos and red or yellow scarves gazed, astonished, at the train throbbing along slowly upon the steep gradient of that elevated barren country. The cold seemed intense after the tropical heat of Lima. It was snowing hard. In the daytime I generally travelled seated in front of the engine, in order to have a better view of the landscape. In the train everybody suffered from soroche or mountain-sickness, which attacked most people when brought up quickly by the railway from the sea to such high elevations. I was driven away from the front of the engine by the cold rain and sleet beating with great force into my face, and obscuring the landscape to such an extent that I could see nothing at all.
When it cleared up we were travelling in a region of marshes and pools in the lowest point of depressions, then along a magnificent lake with green and brown fantastically-shaped mountains and hills in the foreground, and a high snowy range in the background. The effects of light when the storm was raging over the lake, with its conical and semi-spherical islands dotting the water, were intensely picturesque.
After that the plateau became less interesting. We descended gradually some 400 m. (1,312 ft.) to the junction of Juliaca, 3,825 m. (12,550 ft.) above the sea level.
At that place the luxurious car which had taken me there had to be switched off from the Puno Line to the Cuzco Line.
I had dinner in the hotel, and again was impressed by the great honesty of the Peruvian people in the interior, and their considerate manners. It was somewhat curious to see the Indian waiter—most clumsy, dressed up in uncomfortable and ill-fitting European clothes—waiting on a medley of strange passengers, such as red-faced Spanish priests, tidy, smooth, oily-haired Peruvians, and talkative commercial travellers. But all—whether fat or lean, rich or poor, Indian or Peruvian—were the essence of politeness and thoughtfulness.
Being able to sleep in the luxurious car, where I had two good bedrooms, my own kitchen, and a sitting-room, I was indeed extremely comfortable.
I left again on February 10th over a great flat grassy tableland, with hills terraced up for cultivation. We passed an old church with a wonderful dome, and behind it snow-capped blue mountains.
The women wore peculiar hats with flapping edges in order to protect their faces from the wind. A black cloth was generally worn over the women's heads under the hat, while over their shoulders hung dark green or purple ponchos.
