We started
the day by filling up the fuel tank - petrol stations are a lot more difficult
to find than we are used to in Europe and become less frequent as we drive
into the less densely populated northern part of the country. Petrol prices
increase as stations become less frequent as the distribution costs so far
north are argued to be greater. Most modern Chilean roadmaps have petrol
stations clearly marked on them and it is wise to fill the tank when the fuel
gauge still reads half full.
First
cactus stop of the day (S010)
was along Ruta 5 near Los Hornos, where most of the Copiapoa, Echinopsis
(Trichocereus) and Eulychnia had seen better days, with many of the
plants dead.
The
'different' cactus that we spotted from the car and persuaded us to stop (S011)
proved to be Miqueliopuntia miquelii, as we had our first experience of
the camanchaca, the coastal fog phenomenon for which the Atacama Desert is
renowned. It was a strange experience at 9:30 in the morning to see a wall of
fog come quickly towards us, envelop us, before disappearing as quickly as it
had come, leaving our clothes slightly damp to the touch and water droplets
hang from the spines of the Eulychnia - a strange experience in a place
where the scenery told you that moisture was a precious commodity.
After
another stretch of Ruta 5, we turned east, south of El Trapiche, onto a track
leading east (S012). Here
we found a much more varied selection of cacti: Copiapoa coquimbana
(Ritter's var. domeykoensis?), Cumulopuntia sphaerica, Eulychnia sp.
and Eriosyce (Neoporteria) sp. as well as Oxalis gigantea. Doing
his usual mountain goat impersonation, Leo reported some crested plants
growing on top of the hill. Beyond this stop, the road climbed until some 10
km further the ceroids disappeared from the scenery. The road climbed to 1,250
m altitude, providing spectacular views of the snow capped Andes in the
distance.
Our next
stop (S013), with the GPS
indicating an altitude of 1,150 m was disappointing with just some
Cumulopuntia sphaerica growing beneath shrubs. Back onto Ruta 5 and
heading north we pulled into the village of Domeyko to top up our coffee and
bananas supplies and on again until we turned west at the turning to Caleta
Carrizal. The scenery at S014
again indicated how dry it was and had been for a very long time, with
Eulychnia, Cumulopuntia and Miqueliopuntia as well as Copiapoa
sp. looking better than the landscape might suggest.. Again, our mountain
goat - this time with Marlon in his slip stream - reported some Eriosyce
(Neoporteria) growing at the top of the hill. Given ourlocation, we
concluded that we were still looking at forms of Copiapoa coquimbana
but some of the flowers showed more than just a hint of red. Was this
Copiapoa rubriflora? No, because this was reported by Ritter from just
south of Taltal and is now regarded as belonging to Copiapoa rupestris.
So, is the epithet rubriflora perhaps appropriate for more than one
Copiapoa taxon?
From here
the road descended to about 400 m altitude, where, at
S015 we found more
Copiapoa, presumably still C. coquimbana although looking back at
the pictures now (2003, after my second trip to Copiapoa Country), I wonder if
there is more than a hint of C. megarhiza in these plants. Two crested
stems were dully photographed by all and we observed that the parasitic
Tristerix aphyllus here was also 'feasting' on the Copiapoa and
Miqueliopuntia.
I still
find cacti growing with an ocean as back ground a fascinating sight - such a
contradiction between the dry and the wet! So our next stop (S016)
near Carrizalillo seemed to promise a real treat. But was it Copiapoa
coquimbana, C. echinoides, C. megarhiza or C. carrizalensis
that we were looking at? The geography would suggest C. coquimbana, but
once again towards the edge of a taxon's supposed distribution area, its
features can blend into those of its neighbours. The plants were growing at
the base of a low - some 30 m. high - ridge to the east (inland) from the
road. The sun was getting low to the west, so it was almost impossible to take
any cactus & ocean pictures, especially as the east facing sides of the clumps
were also the most marked and least attractive. Never mind, there would be
other opportunities and we had to move on to get to Vallenar for the night.
