There are several ways to get to (not
so) 'Secret Valley' - a small Quebrada near Esmeralda, first used as a campsite
by Attila Kapitany and Rudolf Schulz in 1994. It is marked with a GPS reference
in their book 'Copiapoa in their environment'. From Chaņaral, the fastest route
to this spot would be along the Pan Americana, until a turning onto a track due
west. But this would have taken us past several earlier turnings, sign posted
for Parque Nacional Pan de Azucar and leading to a range of interesting
Copiapoa taxa - hardly fair to Alain on his first trip out here.
And so we approached the usual (main) southern entrance of the
National Park and stopped (S227) where some nice clumps of Copiapoa
cinerascens grew on dark rocks, with the blue Pacific Ocean in the back
ground - an ideal photo opportunity. The roads - yes, the term 'track' is no
longer appropriate for these tarmac roads, with signs warning of dangerous bends
and safety rails that prevent speeding motorists from taking a dip into the
ocean - had been improved beyond recognition since June 2003. Great, as we were
in a hurry, but a shame as the sense of exploration and adventure from previous
trips became a fading memory.
We stopped (S228)
at a site where in 2001 we had found a very healthy population (many plants of
various ages, including small seedlings) of Copiapoa columna-alba, and
were happy to find the plants in good shape.
On both previous trips, we had followed signs to El
Mirador, but, soon after the sign post, had found a chain across the track, with
a small car park near by, so that we had never travelled beyond this point. This
time the chain was gone and we followed the track to a magnificent view point (S229)
over the Pacific Ocean shoreline, from the sugar-loaf shaped island that gives
the park its name, in the south, to the heights of Las Lomitas to the north.
Huge shrubs of Euphorbia lactiflua were covered in flowers, while tall
stands of Eulychnia breviflora (was E. saint-pieana) were in (very
woolly) bud. The clumps of Copiapoa grandiflora looked less happy, as it
seemed that tourists enjoying the views were in the habit of standing on the
clumps. We also photographed an interesting Oxalis with relatively large
flowers, compared with the weed that plagues UK cactus collections.
As we drove on, Anne and I recalled a spot where in 2003,
Cliff Thompson, driving the lead car, had screeched to a halt as he had spotted
a sizeable Eriosyce rodentiophila (E. megacarpa) in an otherwise
lifeless landscape. We had recorded a GPS reading for the spot so I switched on
the machine and we spotted the plant as the reading on the apparatus clicked to
the reading taken 16 months earlier. Despite a more thorough look around this
time, it remained the only cactus found here (S230).
The foxes at Las Lomitas (S231),
a main attraction during previous visits, were out (gone shopping for more cream
crackers?). The cloud (camanchaca) that is responsible for creating this
fog-oasis in the desert, was just over our heads, offering us a rare view some
1,000 m. down to the beach below. It did not last long, and as the cloud base
lowered on us, a curious guanaco came to take a brief look, having its picture
taken before disappearing into the clouds.
We followed the track north along the cliff's edge,
careful as the track approached the crests of hills, where we were unable to
observe its progress beyond the crest - in case it lead straight over the edge
to the beach below (one kilometre!), until we reached the point (S232)
where in 2003 I had dropped of a group of fellow Copiapoathoners for their walk
down the hill to Esmeralda. A cold wind blew along the cliff's edge and we did
not stay long.
As we descended down a track (the tarmac roads from the
south side of the park were long gone!) and stopped (S233)
to take pictures of the very heavy spined Copiapoa columna-alba (is this
what Ritter called C. melanohistrix?) with stems measured by Alain up to
105 cm tall. As we reached the level ground of the Quebrada de la Cachina, we
made another stop (S234)
at a densely populated plateau of C. columna-alba, before driving through
the Quebrada Guanillos to pay our respects to Alan Craig (S235).
On the way back, we stopped (S236)
at the place where in 2001 and 2003 we had found the minute Copiapoa laui
in large numbers, but in the failing light, failed to find any. We'd take a
better look tomorrow.
Then it was off to Secret Valley
(S237) to put up our tents, build a camp fire from dead Eulychnia saint-pieana
wood and consume suitable quantities of Chilean wine to brave a night on the
hard desert floor.
We'd
have a big surprise on waking up the following morning......
