Ted. On our
hike yesterday, I was constantly reminded that we were in a different part of
the world. Be it Argentina, Australia, Asia or Africa, everything is just a bit
different.
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| Coihue with coihue cane |
The trees of Patagonia are not the same.
The 150’ tall hardwoods that dominate the canopy here are called coihue.
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| Coihue forest |
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| Grandfather coihue |
Arrayans are small, cinnamon barked members of the myrtle family.
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| Arranyan forest |
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| Grandmother arrayan |
The most bizarre local, though has got to be the araucaria, commonly known the world over as the monkey puzzle
tree (since "it would puzzle a monkey to climb one").
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| Araucaria or monkey puzzle tree |
Patagonian birds fill common ecological niches just like their cousins in North America but with subtle alterations. When I spot a lonely
vulture soaring over a distant peak, I am reminded that it has to be the fabled
Andean Condor. Only a bird with a 10’ wingspan could be visible from so far
away. The hawks here don’t have red tails because they are chimangos.
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| Chimango |
When I hear
the slow hammering of a big woodpecker up in the tree tops, I remember
it’s actually a Magellanic woodpecker, not a pileated - same, same, but different. Closing my
eyes, I hear beautiful bird songs but none of them are familiar. Judy
speculates the ones with the loveliest melodies may be the plain grey little
finches we spot.
Once in a while, we begin to
feel a little smug. Hey, we’ve been around the world and nothing can surprise
us anymore. But then all we have to do is open our eyes and ears to be reminded of the
unbelievable diversity of this beautiful planet.
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