Page:Appleton's Guide to Mexico.djvu/328

300 is a framed structure, with a loose board floor, and is not provided with beds nor mattresses. There are, however, earthenware pots, a few plates, and glasses—all of which are, of course, convenient even for a single night.

On arrival at Amecameca, the traveler should lose no time in engaging horses and guides, and he must also provide himself with blankets, provisions, and an alpenstock. Señor Francisco Noriega, who keeps a large store on the north side of the plaza, will assist the stranger in procuring the wherewithal for the trip. An extra servant, or mozo, should accompany the party, to take charge of the horses during the ascent of the volcano. One guide to each traveler will be necessary, and it is unadvisable for a party of three or four persons to climb the peak with a single one. The cost of each guide will be five dollars, and of a mozo three dollars. Horses can be hired for a dollar a day.

Having made the necessary preparations, the tourist will take the road leading out of the southeastern corner of the town, and travel nearly due east toward the Sierra. Fine wheat-fields are passed on the way, and the soil is well watered by the melting snow of the great volcano. The path soon rises, and enters a magnificent forest—a rare feature in the scenery of the table-land—where lofty pines, spruces, and firs abound. Proceeding farther, the trail from Puebla soon joins the main path from Amecameca. We now reach a growth of thick grass, and, after crossing the crest-line of the ridge and descending the eastern slope for about three hundred yards, the ranch of Tlamacas lies before us. The distance from Amecameca is about twelve miles.

In starting out for the summit of Popocatepetl, the tourist is advised to leave the cabin by 4, if possible. A horse may be ridden to the edge of the snow-line, about half a mile distant. The ankles should be protected with stout gaiters or pieces of flannel, and the boots should be