My guides took their principal meal about noon. A portion of the paste was taken out of the leaf and placed upon the palm of the left hand, a small quantity of water was then mixed with it until it became slightly fluid and then it was eaten. In the evening they usually took more pozole and a tortilla, after which they would drink some water mixed with enough of the pozole to make it become the colour and consistency of thin milk. In this manner they avoided drinking pure cold water. This was the daily food of my Indians, upon which they could go long journeys carrying considerable weights, and they never appeared to be tired.[78] The cargadores are trained from boyhood to carry heavy burdens over great distances. Don Pepe expected them to travel eight leagues a day. But when carrying lighter loads they will sometimes travel for several consecutive days at the rate of nearly forty English miles a day. When the cargo-bearers were moving in single file with their burdens, they looked like the Tamemes bearing tribute to Montezuma as represented in the ancient pictures. It is probable that these men were enduring labours similar to those that had been performed by their ancestors for centuries before the arrival of the Spaniards. In the morning the Indians proceeded on their journey towards the coast. We followed a path leading in another direction, through open and wooded lowlands. Finally after a ride of four leagues we reached the savannah upon which is situated the village of San Domingo del Palenque. Never have I known a moment of more keen pleasure and satisfaction, than that when José pointed out to me this beautiful spot. I had become fatigued by the hardships of the previous days, and the buoyancy of mind that was felt in getting at last into a region of life and sunshine cannot be adequately expressed. We stopped to ask where Doctor Coller lived, and were shown the position of a low, thatched cottage, at the door of which stood the only European living in the village.[79] I was received by him with friendly welcome. My hammock was placed under the shade of the projecting thatch. The mule was set free to wander at will amongst the plains, and I was advised to take twenty-four hours complete rest. On the following forenoon I made arrangements for proceeding to the ruins, and a few Indians were sent there to open the path, and to clear the inner courts of the palace from weeds and brushwood. San Domingo del Palenque is placed upon a rising grassy slope studded with fine trees. The church was in ruins and roofless. The population consisted chiefly of Ladinos. The Indians lived in secluded places near the outskirts, where they cultivated their milpas or cornfields. There was a charm about this sunny fertile savannah and the simple habits of life of its inhabitants, which must be attractive to men of sensitive temperaments. The land is fertile, corn is abundant, and cattle, horses and mules wander over the green pastures in freedom.