• MMM in the Americas 24-25
    Beautiful temperate rainforest / Selva Valdiviana, in the TNC Reserve
    Coicopihue (Philesia magellanica), similar to Chile's national flower (copihue)Pretty leaves in the sunshineYummy berries! 😋. Not sure what these are. Not Murta ☺️Luma (Amomyrtus luma), also Myrtaceae, hence eucalypt-like barkAlerce/ larch / Fitzroyia cupressoides. Thought to be 2500 years old. Awesome 🤩More alerce; beautiful walk in the Reserve - we had it all to ourselves (with guide Oswaldo)Arrayán tree (Luma apiculata, Myrtaceae)Cows enjoying the view from the coastal ranges (National Park) looking east to the AndesAt 5,480 years, it's apparently the OLDEST tree in the world 😯That's it. No need to look pretty when you're older than the Egyptian pyramids 😊We had to visit this giant with a National Park guide, at a certain time and booked a week earlier😯Enjoying the forest and the giant old treeLos of alerce!Alerce all around, including beneath our feet. Lucky to see so much of this endangered speciesThat's them! And this is another Chilean dirt road...We made it up and down in our not-4WD, unlike the car stuck on the right 😯

    Temperate rainforest & OLD trees

    7. helmikuuta, Chile ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    The temperate rainforest around Valdivia is known as Selva Valdiviana. It's beautiful! It's also home to the oldest tree in the world: 5480 years! (It's age has been determined more recently than the ~4000-year old bristtlecone pines in California).

    We did 2 day-walks: The first was in the Reserva Costera Valdiviana (privately owned by The Nature Conservancy/ TNC) next to Chaihuin. The 2nd was from the eastern side of the Parque Nacional Alerce Costero, after meeting up with Molly again for a night at a family B&B near Rio Bueno. As this was to see a famous old tree, we had to book tickets online. That's why we spent so much time in this area - hadn't realised we needed to book a week in advance!

    Characteristic species include luma, arrayán, alerce, olivillo (Aextoxicon punctatum), coigue Chiloé (Nothofagus nítida), mañio (Podocarps nubigenus), canelo (Drymis winteri), ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia). See pics for other species names.

    As always, it was beautiful to be in the native forest. Unfortunately much of the surrounding forest has been cleared, in some places replaced by eucalypt plantations - much taller and with increased fire risk. In the TNC Reserve the eucalypt plantations had been abandoned 😯, leaving a management problem. The abundant weeds of gorse, blackberry, Acacia and eucalypt gave us the feeling of being in southern Australia, at times.

    Overall we were super grateful for the parts that have been protected, and that we got to see them and be in them 🙏🏼😃.    Lue lisää

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