After leaving Guadix, we entered a vast open plain, traversed by deep ravines, and almost wholly abandoned to the Esparto rush: here and there, I noticed some feeble attempts at cultivation; and some flocks of sheep were feeding upon the lower acclivities of the Sierra, which bounded the plain on the right. The venta, fourteen miles distant from Guadix, was the first house we saw; and we therefore cease to wonder at the neglected state of a plain in which there are no human habitations. The venta at which we stopped furnished chocolate, and bread, and good wine; and with my ham and butter-jar, I feasted luxuriously. I noticed an improvement in the construction of the interior of this venta: there was a circular stone bench round the place where the fire is made upon the floor, large enough for a dozen persons; and it was indeed occupied by nearly as many when we entered it; for there was the old man and his wife, the son of the old couple and his wife, three children, and two great dogs. Two very suspicious looking men were standing, apparently about to leave the venta; but when I arrived, they sat down again; and one of them put a number of questions to me, as to where I had come from, where I was going, and if I had no companions. I had already received a hint from the honest muleteer, not to answer questions of that kind; and I pretended not to understand him. The muleteer, to whom he immediately afterwards put the same questions, told him that I had left Guadix an hour sooner than my companions; and that before we arrived at Baza, we expected to be overtaken by four of my countrymen. After leaving this venta, we continued constantly ascending, and soon reached a very elevated and exposed plain, bounded by snowy mountains; the cold was intense. I had never felt a more cutting wind in England; and unless by quick walking, and even running, I found it impossible to keep myself warm. Suddenly the plain terminates in an abrupt descent, almost a precipice, and Baza was seen at the foot, with a fertile plain stretching before it, and mingled with groves and gardens. The transition from this region of snow, to the sheltered valley of Baza, was luxury; and to my great surprise, I found myself soon established for the night in an excellent posada, kept by a Frenchman, who I need scarcely say, provided a supper that did not disgrace his country.