Page:Appleton's Guide to Mexico.djvu/31

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Owing to the configuration of the country, it is important that the tourist should select the proper seasons for traveling in the different zones.

The best time for visiting the tierra caliente, or hot land, south of latitude 22 degrees, is in the winter months. Northers blow from November to March, thus cooling the atmosphere; and the vomito, or yellow fever, rarely breaks out during this period. Tourists had better visit Vera Cruz in winter, if possible.

The tierra templada, or temperate zone, and the table-land, may be frequented at any season, although the winter climate of the former is somewhat preferable.

If the tourist wishes to avoid the clouds of dust that rise on the great plateau of Mexico, he should travel in the rainy season, i. e., June to September. However, as many parts of Mexico can only be reached by the diligence lines (excepting on horseback), it is proper to state that both the summer and winter months have their advantages and disadvantages. In the rainy season the air is delightful, but the roads are in such a condition, owing to the very heavy showers, that they are often almost impassable. Sometimes the stage-coach will sink into the soft mud of the highway, so as to render it impossible to proceed. In such a case, the coachman will walk to the nearest hacienda and borrow a yoke of oxen to aid the mules in dragging the vehicle upon firm ground. These occurrences may cause a delay of several hours. In some places the road will be flooded for perhaps a quarter of a mile, and in crossing such a spot the diligence is occasionally imbedded in the yielding soil to an extent that makes further progress utterly impracticable, and the passengers may be compelled to spend the night in the coach. This latter event occurs only in a mountainous region. In short, the traveler can not