When it was dark, we made a fire beneath a little arbour of bamboos, fried our charqui (or dried slips of beef), took our mate, and were quite comfortable.

There is an inexpressible charm in thus living in the open air.

The evening was calm and still;--the shrill noise of the mountain bizcacha, and the faint cry of a goatsucker, were occasionally to be heard.

Besides these, few birds, or even insects, frequent these dry, parched mountains.
AUGUST 17, 1834.
In the morning we climbed up the rough mass of greenstone which crowns the summit.

This rock, as frequently happens, was much shattered and broken into huge angular fragments.