Our journey was continued the morning after reaching Arce. We had secured a train of good, strong mules and expert Indian arrieros. The trail lay along the river-bed, which was very wide and paved with small pebbles. At numerous points Quechua women had put up small shacks of stones and reeds; they squatted within the makeshift shelters all day long. A white rag floating above from a tall bamboo announced to the weary wayfarer that chicha was for sale within, and all the travellers we saw religiously stopped at each of these road-houses to slake their thirst. At one point a wall of rock rises from the stream to a height of three thousand feet; two condors were perched upon the very tip, their black forms clearly outlined against the sky, while two others circled swiftly above. We passed through the towns of Yberta and Sacamolla without stopping to rest, and after fifteen and a half hours’ continuous riding reached the home of the manager of the railroad, a Mr. Taylor, with whom we spent the night. The place is called Parotani, and we subsequently spent some time there investigating its interesting fauna. At noon on the following day we reached Vinto, which marks the beginning of an electric tram-line to Cochabamba. We did not take advantage of this easy means of transportation, but continued the journey on mule-back, and two hours later found ourselves at our destination.
CHAPTER XVIII
CROSSING THE BOLIVIAN HIGHLANDS FROM COCHABAMBA TO THE CHAPARÉ
Cochabamba is one of the more important cities of Bolivia. In size it ranks next to La Paz, although it is not nearly so modern, and in point of activity it is far in advance of Sucre. The population is about thirty-five thousand.
The plain upon which the city is built was at one time the bottom of a lake, which fact is indicated by its ancient name of Oropeza, a Quechua word meaning “plain of the lake.” On account of its high elevation, which is approximately eight thousand five hundred feet above sea-level, the region enjoys a mild climate; the average annual temperature is 66° F. Rain falls in abundance during the months from November to April; and during the dry months irrigation is resorted to for providing water to the fields of alfalfa and grain. The country is naturally of a decidedly semiarid character.
The city boasts a number of fairly modern buildings, although by far the greater number are of the low adobe type with thatched or tile roofs; delightful little plazas filled with tropical trees and shrubbery relieve the monotony of the rows of white edifices.
The shops are filled with provisions and dry-goods at remarkably low prices; the city market is supplied with a superabundance of produce, flowers, and articles of native manufacture; the people are courteous and obliging, and the great numbers of Indians and Cholos give a touch of gayety and color to the throngs which fill the streets.
Among the city’s institutions deserving of special mention is the Cochabamba Institute, founded in 1911. The instructors are nearly all Americans of the type one meets all too rarely in South America, and who are really doing a great and noble work in furthering the educational and moral progress of the country. Several hundred students of both sexes, from many and remote parts of Bolivia, attend the literary and business classes of the college, live under the care and refining influence of its instructors, and, as I subsequently discovered, introduce into their homes the desirable and elevating qualities which they have acquired.
To the northwest towers the Cerro Tunari, a mountain over fifteen thousand feet high and of imposing appearance. It rises in majestic proportions above the uneven summits of the cordillera, in a manner befitting a snow-crowned monarch of the range.
We spent several days in the city, adding to our outfit and purchasing mules, and then started eastward en route to the Beni district; it was our intention to go slowly and stop at places which offered a suitable field for our operations.