Peten can be reached from Yalchilan either by going up the Usumacinta, which a few hours beyond takes the name of Rio de la Pasion, or through the woods on the abominable old Indian road described by every traveller. We elect the latter, which, although longer, is easier for our men, who will have mules to carry the heavy baggage.
About noon we come again upon Pépé Mora, who looks worse than ever; but far from thinking of leaving his post, he has thoughts of founding a colony here, and has begun by planting orange-trees and red chermoias. He gives us a sac of smoked dry boar, we tender our thanks and bid good-bye to the good old fellow, whom in all probability we shall never meet again, and about four o’clock in the afternoon reach our first encampment.
The small river which has been our guiding mark is barely 3 feet deep, but its banks are so high and steep that our mules will only venture in after much coaxing, but once in the stream they feel so nice and cool that they are persuaded with great difficulty to leave it. As for the Mariposa entrusted with my wardrobe, notes, and plates, she laid down and completely disappeared all but the head. I thought it was all over with my documents, and was not able to refrain from a cry of horror; it was a false alarm, which, however, obliged us to spend the best part of the night round the fires to dry both clothes and photographs. In the evening we reached the spot where we had left some of our supplies; everything was exactly as it had been left, but we could hear nothing of the wretched horse which had been abandoned.
Next day we took the Peten road, and arrived four days later at Sacluc, now Libertad, the chief town of Peten, and the last inhabited place in Guatemala. It is but a wretched village, like all we have seen in these warm regions; it lacks everything, and we should literally have starved, but for some clerks, who gave up to us an azotea (flat roof) and part of their supplies.
Our road led east-south-east up to this point; but now its direction is north as far as Flores, some thirty miles beyond, which stands on an islet of the lake of Peten. This road is not far from the Sacpui lagoon mentioned by Bernal Diaz in his account of Cortez’ expedition to Honduras, when the Spaniards “_passed a village surrounded by a great lake of fresh water_. Near it was a river emptying in the lake, which was used by the Indians to go to the Sacpui lagoon (Chaltuna) and Tayasal, capital of Peten-Itza.