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At two o'clock, under a brilliant moonlight, and with a single
guide, we started for the Pacific. The road was level and wooded.
We passed a trapiche or sugar-mill, worked by oxen, and before
daylight reached the village of Masagua, four leagues distant,
built in a clearing cut out of the woods, at the entrance of which
we stopped under a grove of orange-trees, and by the light of the
moon filled our pockets and alforgas with the shining fruit.
Daylight broke upon us in a forest of gigantic trees, from
seventy-five to a hundred feet high, and from twenty to twenty-five
feet in circumference, with creepers winding around their trunks
and hanging from the branches. The road was merely a path through
the forest, formed by cutting away shrubs and branches. The
freshness of the morning was delightful. -from Chapter XIII As a
Special Ambassador to Central America in 1839, American diplomat
and writer JOHN LLOYD STEPHENS (1805-1852) witnessed civil war,
explored Mayan ruins, and even bought a city for $50. He turned his
real-life adventures in the jungles and villages of that fabled
land into this classic of travel literature. Originally published
in two volumes in 1841-and followed up by 1843's Incidents of
Travel in Yucatan (also available from Cosimo)-Stephen's
enthralling exploits introduced American and European readers to
the mysteries of the Maya sites. Complemented by beautiful
illustrations by English artist and architect FREDERICK CATHERWOOD
(1799-1854), also included in this new edition, Stephens' evocative
prose reads like the best adventure fiction, and continues to
delight readers today.
At two o'clock, under a brilliant moonlight, and with a single
guide, we started for the Pacific. The road was level and wooded.
We passed a trapiche or sugar-mill, worked by oxen, and before
daylight reached the village of Masagua, four leagues distant,
built in a clearing cut out of the woods, at the entrance of which
we stopped under a grove of orange-trees, and by the light of the
moon filled our pockets and alforgas with the shining fruit.
Daylight broke upon us in a forest of gigantic trees, from
seventy-five to a hundred feet high, and from twenty to twenty-five
feet in circumference, with creepers winding around their trunks
and hanging from the branches. The road was merely a path through
the forest, formed by cutting away shrubs and branches. The
freshness of the morning was delightful. -from Chapter XIII As a
Special Ambassador to Central America in 1839, American diplomat
and writer JOHN LLOYD STEPHENS (1805-1852) witnessed civil war,
explored Mayan ruins, and even bought a city for $50. He turned his
real-life adventures in the jungles and villages of that fabled
land into this classic of travel literature. Originally published
in two volumes in 1841-and followed up by 1843's Incidents of
Travel in Yucatan (also available from Cosimo)-Stephen's
enthralling exploits introduced American and European readers to
the mysteries of the Maya sites. Complemented by beautiful
illustrations by English artist and architect FREDERICK CATHERWOOD
(1799-1854), also included in this new edition, Stephens' evocative
prose reads like the best adventure fiction, and continues to
delight readers today.
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