“Yet a sailor's life is at best, but a mixture of a little good with much evil, and a little pleasure with much pain. The beautiful is linked with the revolting, the sublime with the commonplace, and the solemn with the ludicrous."
Richard Henry Dana~Two Years before the Mast
Where were you two years ago? Does it seem like a lifetime has passed? It sure does to me, because two years ago this week I was on the adventure of a lifetime. A tour of the Chilean Andes with renowned plantswoman Jane McGary, we drove 1500 miles south from Santiago to the lakes district and back taking every side road we could. We explored ski slopes, mountain peaks, hot springs, waterfalls, woodlands and riversides in search of the wonderful botanical flora that country has to offer.
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| Alstromeria umbellata |
The world was a very different place back then. It seemed small and everycorner seemed reachable. Reflecting back, navigating airports, from LAX to Peru, to Santiago, seemed less dangerous than a trip to the supermarket does now.
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Baccharis sp. High up in the Andes
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Mark Twain who I love to quote here, traveled a lot and he wrote about it alot. One of his best maxims is about how travel can be fatal to prejudice and bigotry. Oh I miss travel, I want to hit the road again, and explore so bad. I want to get on a plane and see places I've never seen. I'm hoping we are in the end game of this pandemic and it's going to be easier to get up and go soon.  |
Caiophora coronata on the ski slopes above Santiago.
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Chile was amazing, I haven't shared too many of the photo's on here as I was hoping to get out and share them with garden clubs, societies and botanical groups. We saw some great plants, and met some wonderful people. We spent new years at a family party at the end of a dirt road high in the Andes, and got to experience the local cultures celebration of another year which included eating cold chickpeas at midnight with shared spoon (unthinkable 2 years later), watched them dance the traditional hankerchief dance and drank way more brandy than one probably should before hiking above 9,000' the next day.
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| Rhodophiala rhodolirion |
So many great plants and so many different ecotypes. It's getting time to get back out there and explore and share the photo's with folks. If you have a garden club or a meeting group and are looking for a speaker. We can do zoom online and hopefully soon in person! Shoot me an email if your group would like a talk on a botanical adventure through the Chilean Andes.
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Chloraea virescens orchid
on the slopes of a Chilean Volcano.
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From Andean Condors to Adiantum chilense, this botanical adventure had it all. Dramatic landscapes, delicious food. Culture and natural beauty and wonder like I had never seen.
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| Monkey flowers and Mark in the wild. |
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Landscapes of the Andes
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It's almost time to set sail again, hopefully on new adventures!
Shoot me an email if you want a presentation for your garden club!
Mark Akimoff
illaherarebulbs@gmail.com
