Argentina

November 6-29, 2009

November 21: Vólcan lanín: The Monkey Puzzle Tree Forest

At 1253m Paso Tromen (also called Paso Mamuil Malal) is one of the most scenic border crossings on the continent. It lies at the northeastern foot of Vólcan Lanín. We decided to drive as close to the border as we could just to say we'd been there.

Afterwards our mission was to try and see if we could actually walk in a monkey puzzle tree forest. We'd seen several groves of these beautiful trees and fairly close to the border we saw a little path heading in the direction of the volcano towards such a grove. With some hesitation we parked the car at the side of the road and prayed no one would think we were suspiciously trying to cross into Chile cross-country.

The nagging doubts about the car aside, we had a lovely time. Christopher was happy to be out of the carrier and he and his big sister Samantha had a fabulous time walking among these wonderful trees and exploring their branches, bark, leaves, etc. We even stopped to have a little picnic and to just enjoy the sunlight filtering through the trees.

The following is a little bit of information about monkey puzzle trees from our guide book:

--The araucaria, or monkey puzzle tree--

The distinctive and beautiful araucaria (Araucaria araucana), more commonly known as the monkey puzzle tree, is one of the world's most enduring species of trees. It grows naturally only in the cordillera of Neuquén Province and at similar altitudes in Chile, where it favours impoverished volcanic soils at altitudes between 600m and 180m. This prehistoric survivor has been around for more than one hundred million years.

Araucarias grow incredibly slowly, though they can live for over 1000 years. Young trees grow in a pyramid shape, but after about a hundred years they start to lose their lower brances and assume their trademark umbrella appearance - mature specimens can rach 45 m in height. their straight trunks are covered by panels of thick bark that provide resistance against fire. The female trees produce huge, head size cones filled with up to 200 fawn-coloured pinenuts called piñones, some 5 cm long, and rich in proteins and carbohydrates.

Known to the Mapuche as the pehuén, the tree was worshipped as the daughter of the moon. Legend has it that there was a time when the Mapuche, though they adored the pehuén, never ate its piñones, believing them to be poisonous. This changed, however, during a terrible famine, when their god, Ngüenechén, saved them from starvation by sending a messenger to teach them both the best way of preparing these nutritious seeds (roasting them in embers or boiling), and of storing them (burying them in the earth or snow). Piñones became the staple diet of tribes in the area (principally the Pehuenche, named for their dependence on the tree), and have been revered by the Mapuche ever since.

An area of significant run-off from the volcano.

An integrated tourist map of parks, lakes and volcanos. It is interesting to note that for serious hikers in the area, they are warned to check with authorities and always register for a hike because some of the volcanos in the area are active and so the hiking trails have to be moved/closed accordingly.

Argentine customs at the border to Chile.

The volcano with a monkey puzzle forest at its feet.

We found a little unmarked trail heading towards the monkey puzzle forest so we parked the car next to the road and started off, hoping our car wouldn't get towed away by suspicious border patrols in the meantime.

A close-up of the tip of a monkey puzzle tree branch.

Once again we find a whole group of horses, with no farm in sight, no fencing anywhere...

They seem only mildly curious as to who we are.

Walking in a monkey puzzle tree forest.

The huge amount of lichen growing on the trees attests to the fact that the air here is very clean and rich in oxygen.

It felt absolutely magical... and we were the only people around.

Samantha enjoyed exploring the forest.

Samantha's keen eyes spotted this little lizard sunning himself on the log.

An interesting shot... it either demonstrates how small the lizard was...
or how large the monkey puzzle tree seeds are (see brown seed in top right corner).

Samantha liked the tree tips which looked like flowers to her.

Christopher finds a forest of mini-mousey puzzle trees!

The monkeys trying to climb the trees... but it's a puzzle that can't be solved. ;-)

Christopher had a fabulous time running around here.

The bark on the monkey puzzle trees was really bizarre.

Samantha finds some pieces of bark that have fallen off a monkey puzzle tree. They reminded us of cork.

The kids enjoyed trying to touch the prickly trees and then giggling like crazy.

Don't touch it Sam!

Monkey see, monkey do!

Tree with female pine cones.

Christopher and a monkey puzzle tree. (One of my favourite photos of Christopher!)

Bye horsies!

Rubby leads Sam back out on the trail... by this time he was getting quite worried about the car.

The kids having a great walk together.

Brother and sister.

Sam is eager to spread her wisdom and Christopher happens to be listening today.

Big sister Sam leading her brother.

The umbrella shape of a mature monkey puzzle tree.

A zoom in on the volcano shows lots of blowing snow on the mountain side.

The adventures of two kids, a volcano and a monkey puzzle forest.

Back at the car, a relieved Rubby is happy to share his (Milka) Joy.

Driving through an area of monkey puzzle trees.

Yikes... must have been a forest fire here!

A bunch of "rusted" monkey puzzle trees.

It looks like the fire was enough to make the monkey puzzle trees turn brown
but not big enough to completely burn them down.

You can tell that the road wiggles a bit to get around some of the trees.

The pricking game continues to amuse the kids in the car.

Driving back along the Rio Malleo.

The area is known for its great fly-fishing and sure enough we saw someone fishing down in the river.

An odd roadside shrine/piece of artwork.

Sam looked at this picture and yelled "sheep!". If you look closely, there ARE sheep in the background but we were more interested in the Red Deer - Ciervo colorado (Cervus elaphus). Recent DNA evidence indicates that the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) and the East Asian and North American Elk (Wapiti) (Cervus canadensis) represent two distinct species.