I saw a beautiful effect of mirage near the lake in the vicinity of Oruro, as I was on the railway to Antofagasta. We were going through flat country most of the time. It had all the appearance of having once been a lake bottom. Perhaps that great Titicaca Lake formerly extended as far south as Lake Poopo, which is connected with Lake Titicaca by the River Desaguadero. In fact, if I am not far wrong, the two lakes formed part, in days gone by, of one single immense lake. The mountains on our right as we went southwards towards Oruro showed evidence that the level of the then united lakes must have reached, in days gone by, some 150 ft. higher than the plain on which we were travelling. The low undulations on our left had evidently been formed under water in the lake bottom.
The junction of Oruro, from which the Cochabamba railway branches, was quite a large place, of 8,000 inhabitants, but with no particularly striking buildings. Tin and silver mining was carried on in the surrounding mountains.
From Oruro I continued the journey to Antofagasta via Uyuni. Immense deposits of borax were to be seen all along the line from the station of Ulaca; then we came to a most beautiful sight—the volcano of Ollagüe, 12,123 ft. above the sea level. It looked like a giant dome, snow-capped, and smoking on its southern side. Its slopes were fairly regular, and of most brilliant colouring, red and blue. Near the volcano were mounds of mud and shattered rock. Ollagüe stood on the boundary between Bolivia and Chile.
On the Andes.
After passing San Martin, the first station on the Chilian side, the railway skirted the bed of an ancient lake, an immense circular flat stretch with deposits of sand and borax, in which could be seen occasional pools of stagnant water. On the west side stood a high three-peaked mountain covered with snow, while at the southern end of that plain was a charming lakelet. We had no sooner left this beautiful view than we had before us to the south-west an immense conical mountain, flat-topped. It looked just like the well-known Fujiyama of Japan, only more regular in its sloping lines.
We passed the works of a Borax Company, which were between the stations of Sebollar and Ascotan. There was to be seen another immense lake of borax, some 40 kil. (24 miles) long.
I arrived that evening at Antofagasta, and was fortunate enough to get on board one of the Pacific Mail Line steamers the next morning on my way to Valparaiso. We were now in the height of civilization again—very hot, very uncomfortable, very ambitious, very dirty, the hotels abominable. Had it not been for the kindness of friends I should have fared badly indeed in Valparaiso, for the place was invaded by a swarm of American tourists, who had just landed from an excursion steamer and rendered the place unbearable.
From Valparaiso, as soon as it was possible to obtain accommodation, I travelled across the Andes and as far as Buenos Aires by the Trans-Andine railway. The scenery on this line was most disappointing to any one who has seen the Andes in their real grandeur farther north; but for the average traveller the journey may prove interesting enough, although hot, dull, dusty, and not particularly comfortable.