On the following morning, after a slight shower, we started for Dali.
The narrow valleys were more or less cultivated with vines, and about
three miles from the halting-place we entered the fertile plain of Dali.
This is about six miles long, by one in width, highly cultivated, with
the river flowing through the midst. As far as we could see in a direct
line groves of olives, vineyards, and ploughed land, diversified by
villages, exhibited the power of water in converting sterility into
wealth.
I always make a rule that the halting-place shall be at a considerable
distance from a village or town for sanitary reasons, as the environs
are generally unclean. All travellers are well aware that their servants
and general entourage delight in towns or villages, as they discover
friends, or make acquaintances, and relieve the tedium of the journey;
therefore an antagonistic influence invariably exists upon the question
of a camping-ground. It is accordingly most difficult to believe the
statements of your interpreter: he may have old friends in a town to
which you believe him to be a stranger; he may have the remains of an
old love, and a wish to meet again; or he may have a still more powerful
attraction in the remembrance of an agreeable cafe where he can refresh
himself with liquor, revel in cigarettes, and play at dominoes. It is
therefore necessary to be upon your guard when approaching a town, which
should be looked upon as the enemy's camp.
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