Note 3 — Chapter VII · THE LLANOS OF COLOMBIA

I was curious to learn from him, a Llanero, and therefore an expert horseman, the shortest possible time in which the trip could be made to Bogotá from Barrigón. Some books I had read stated that the distance from the head of navigation on the Meta—and we had reached that point—to Bogotá was only twenty miles, while certain Venezuelans I had met had assured me that the trip could be made in two days. His answer was conclusive. “The shortest possible time without a relay of horses,” he said, “is four days. To attempt to cover the distance in less time would be fatal to the horse. I never try to reach Bogotá from here in less than four days, and even this means hard riding.”3