Chilean escape [part one]

 Who hasn't looked at pictures of Torres del Paine and wondered, can they really be that spectacular? That certainly was one of the things that motivated us in creating this trip for Denver Botanic Gardens. The first few days, cloudy weather prevailed--we only caught a few glimpses of this peak or that. Needless to say I was nervous!

But on our last day the clouds lifted, and this remarkable mountain range in Chile's slice of Patagonia revealed itself in all its glory. I can't imagine how many pictures we all took of the towers from various angles...

Anarthrophyllum desideratum

But this was a botanically focused trip. Although I'd been to Patagonia twice before, it was always in parts of Neuquen and Rio Negro where the scarlet gorse didn't grow. We saw dozens of fabulous clumps our first few days, alas! All of them in seed. But our last day our wise guides took us up several thousand feet into the foothills of Sierra Baguales where they were blooming gloriously! Whew!

Oxalis enneaphylla

In among the scarlet gorse we found lavish clumps of this gorgeous Oxalis--which you musgt admit, contrasts rather harshly! Fortunately, they grew a few feet apart from one another!

Embothrium coccineum

I had hoped we'd find Chilean firebush...I needn't had worried. Some places it was hard to photograph a vista without it cluttering the foreground! It was everywhere, and in our second half of the trip, it grew into handsome trees. We found out it was the pioneer plant that colonized lava flows after volcanic eruptions! It would be worth living next to a volcano just to have this pop up all over one's garden!

Alstroemeria patagonica

Another Southern Patagonian plant that had eluded me was this diminutive lily: I am not sure I can live without it henceforward! It was too cute for words. We found it several places--growing by the hundred!

Pure bliss for a miniature plant lover like me!

Calceolaria uniflora (darwinii)

Another South Patagonian plant I've always yearned to see was this. How shocking to see it growing in masses, all over the grasslands for miles! I think this is something one might succeed with in Colorado--at least at higher elevations!

Acaena magellanica

I know there are those who recoil at the thought of bidi-bidis (as they're known in New Zealand). I am a huge fan--and though we saw dozens if not hundreds of "choicer", rarer plants on the trip, I can't resist sharing this photo!

Azorella monantha

And I'm a sucker for any azorella--this was by far the commonest in the area we visited.

closer up

and even closer

Chloraea magellanica

As luck would have it, we were in Chile at the height of orchid season--we found them in abundance in all areas of the country, several genera. I was particularly taken with this lurid colored species we saw again and again.

Lama guanicoe

And there were critters too! We were lucky to travel with knowledgeable birders (and two of our super guides were keen birders to boot)....I'll spare you my blurry pictures of birds, but it was hard to miss with guanacos!  I wish my camera was handy when a Patagonian gray fox sauntered right in front of us...one of our party even saw a Kodkod (Leopardus guigna).

Alejandra Diaz

We had three outstanding guides, and Alejandra was the botanist who accompanied us through both segments of the trip. As a practicing ecologist, her knowledge not just of plant species, but their role in the landscape gave us a rich context. Her fluent English, patience and charm made a special trip even better!

Here is the crew who made the trip happen. Aside from all local guides, all were from Colorado except Christine Marshall and John Cowley (seated far upper left) two true connoisseurs from California. I don't think I've traveled with a more congenial, friendly or appreciative group--and I've travelled with a LOT of people! 

This is a perfunctory taste of the first few days of our trip. To do it properly would lead to Tolstoyan lengths of prose, which neither you, nor I, have time for! If you are indeed DESPERATE for more pictures, I've uploaded quite a few (a lot more to do) on my I-Naturalist account you can access at the very bottom of this screen.

But hang in there--we'll fly soon in another Blog post to the enchanting Chilean lake district. Surely one of the worlds most dazzling tourist destinations that doesn't seem to have been discovered much yet...perhaps I should keep mum?