Crossing a range of rocky hills, we entered a plain, which extended to the banks of a large lake, with the little town of Arapa built along the shore. Dark mountains rise up immediately in the rear. I believe that I am the first English traveller who has ever visited this lake, and M. de Castelnau, who obtained some information respecting it at Puno, says that it is not to be found in any map.[347] Along the shores there were long rows of flamingos, standing like a gigantic regiment, with a few skirmishers thrown out fishing. There were also _huallatas_, ibises, ducks, and a stout-built stunted sort of crane. Journeying on, we began to cross a vast plain which extends for many leagues round the north-west corner of lake Titicaca, and is dotted with walled _estancias_ and flocks of sheep. At length we reached the ford over the river of Azangaro, in sight of the little village of Achaya, to the left. The water came above the mules' bellies, and, crossing half a mile of swampy ground, we came to another ford over the river of Pucara. The two rivers, uniting just below Achaya, form the Ramiz, the largest feeder of lake Titicaca. We continued our way for many hours over the plain, until we reached an Indian's hut long after dark, having been twelve hours in the saddle, at the slow tedious pace of a tired mule. The cargo-mules had played every kind of vicious trick throughout the day, running off in different directions at every opportunity, and constantly trying to roll. Starting at daybreak on the 22nd, we forded the river of Lampa, crossed the road between Lampa and Puno, passed over a rocky cordillera and a wide plain, and reached the little town of Vilque by four in the afternoon. The place presented a very different appearance from the time when we passed through it in March, on our way to Puno. It was now the time of the great yearly fair, when buyers and sellers from every part of South America flock to the little _sierra_ town. This great gathering was first established in the time of the Spaniards, and it is not improbable that the Jesuits, who once possessed the great sheep-farm of Yanarico near Vilque, and who always looked well after the improvement of their property, may have been the great promoters of the fair.