We followed Leo and Rudolf north along Ruta 5, until,
near the turn off to Cerro Colorado, they turned onto a track heading west. Not until
several miles from Ruta 5 was there a sign, in the middle of nowhere, to
indicate that we had just entered the Parque Nacional Pan de Azucar from the
east side.
We made three brief stops
S173, S174, and
S175, where Rudolf showed us three 'different' plants or plants that we
had not expected to find here - so far inland and out of the reach of regular
fogs. Although....., I had seen large notices on Ruta 5, warning drivers to
switch on their head lights during fog. The barren, bone dry landscape made
the signs seem quite funny, but perhaps fog is not such a rare occurrence here
after all. The first plant Rudolf showed us was Copiapoa hypogaea
barely visible in a crack in the rocks, but a huge tuber became visible once
the rock was removed. This plant is watered regularly - at least once
every 6 - 12 months, when ever Rudolf passes by, it receives about a litre of
the best drinking water (sin gas). The second plant, also growing in a crack
in the rocks, is still a mystery. It was quite large, with longish spines for
its size and very dark in body colour - probably due to its shaded location.
C. serpentisulcata is the most likely candidate in my reckoning, but
quite a distance from its mates and no other Copiapoa near by. The
third remains even more of a mystery, looking like a young plant intermediate
between C. serpentisulcata and C. marginata (C. bridgesii) if
such a thing exists.
Rudolf and Leo then went their own way for a day of
climbing and hiking, while we followed their instructions and aimed for two
hill tops visible when you approach Pan de Azucar from Chañaral which we had
christened 'Fog-net Hill' and 'Antenna Hill'. The difference was that we were
approaching these from inside the Park. On each occasion we judged the track
impassable for our vehicles some way away from our goal. Never mind - instead
we spent some time exploring at the point where it seemed wisest to turn
around.
But before that, our next break (S176) was a
comfort break (where the males in the party lined up along one side of the
track while the two ladies found large rocks on the other side). This brief
stop provided us with pictures of C. columna-alba and C. marginata
- although Benjy is keen to use the back-in-favour name C. bridgesii
for this northern form.
S177 just happened: as we turned a corner, the track had been dug
out through a low hill, making us eye-level with the gently sloping plain in
front of us with the densest population of C. columna-alba that I have
seen to date! There was no need to negotiate a stop - both cars pulled
up and we piled out with our cameras a great sight!
S178 was the point where the road to Antenna Hill seemed too steep.
We did not mind, as we were at the foot of a hillside covered with large
clumps of C. serpentisulcata. We tried for 'Fog-net Hill', but again,
used common sense (which later gained us the title of 'a troupe of girls'
blouses' from Leo and Rudolf) and turned around at S179. This spot
seemed less rewarding with a few miserable specimens of C. bridgesii
and C. columna-alba. But a more detailed inspection was rewarded by a
number little gems: C. hypogaea in its dark, rugose splendour, and some
small Eriosyce (Neoporteria) sp. most too shrivelled to identify, even
though some were in flower. The lichen on the Eulychnia
iquiquensis were blood red in colour and they too made for some interesting
shots. (Graham Charles was kind enough to point out that the woolly areoled
Eulychnia are now covered under this name, rather than E. breviflora,
which was the preferred name at the time of the 2nd Edition of the CITES
Cactaceae Checklist)
On my return home, I found that I had also taken some
pictures at another unnumbered 'loo stop', so these have been catalogued under
S179a, as I do not want to renumber all subsequent stops.
And so back to Hosteria Chañaral for a continuation
of the pool game of the previous evening, and the bar. Benjy sent me a comment
about yesterday's report:
Paul, you missed out a bit on your daily
report for Chañaral:
'Benjy / Rudolf doubles : Kings of the Pool
Hall, 5 games, all wins, no losses.'
'Misspent Youth', as Rudolf would say....
I say: 'SIMPLY THE BEST'.
Benjy
Benjy, Rudolf was right - I have corrected your
typos!
