If you haven't been in a Chilean forest, you don't know this planet. Pablo Neruda
If you have ever seen an ornamental tree called a monkey puzzle tree you would remember it. They are native here and yesterday we hiked in a forest full of them. We were in an old growth forest that has been preserved by private investors. These trees were thousands of years old and towering high and majestically. This species of trees has been around since Jurassic times. It was one of the most unique environments I have ever seen.
The view was decent too. We have three snow covered volcanoes surrounding us and many canyons and smaller mountains unfolding in every direction.
A nice treat after hours of hiking is to chose a hot springs and have a soak. Mighty fine even in the pouring rain.
And the birds... I have plovers, curlews and hawks that walk on my lawn. These are not little birds. The hawks are as abundant as robins and walk on the lawns pulling out worms. It is quite the sight. It startling to figure out that the bird walking around the edge of the pool in the morning was indeed a hawk. Hawks that walk. They are standing in fields everywhere after it rains.
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Susan,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so amazing. Monkey Puzzle trees are absolutely amazing, I can't believe you have an entire forest of them nearby! My ecology professor last year would talk about them every single class, no matter whether we were talking about deciduous forests or fire regimes in Montana. It was great, I learned so much about Chilean ecosystems.
All the birds sound amazing, too. You must be in birding heaven. I wanted to say hello, I'm so glad you made it safely! You guys were all anybody was talking about when I visited home last weekend! Hope you're all well, send my love to Richard and Henry, too!
-Hannah