The Cactus Trip Diaries

All good things come to an end, as indeed did our stay in Bahia de los Angeles.

We made four stops on the way to San Quintín, where we were looking forward to the luxury plus of the former Desert Inn.

S2233 and  S2234 were along the excellent road from Bahia de los Angeles to MEX1. We were looking for Dudleya but found none. All the other suspects reported in 2008 were still here.(Cylindropuntia sp., Ferocactus sp., Fouquieria columnaris, Pachycereus (Lophocereus) schottii, Pachycereus pringlei, Pachycormus discolor, Tillandsia sp. and Yucca valida)

S2235 was at the 2008 Echinocereus ferreirianus ssp lindsayi stop. This really brought home how much drier Baja was this time round when compared to our February and March 2008 visits. We found half a dozen plants without too much trouble but with a long drive ahead to San Quintín did not allow ourselves time for extensive exploration to get a better understanding of its distribution area. A good reason to come back sometime.

S2236 was still in the hilly stretch of MEX1 before the flat area south of San Quintín and was prompted by Eunice spotting D. pulverulenta. The weather had changed dramatically from the windy but sunny weather at Bahia de los Angeles to a light drizzle. It was threatening during this stop, but actually forced us to switch on headlights and windscreen wipers as we approached San Quintín.  The plant list for S2236 was again impressive: Agave sp.., Cylindropuntia sp. #1 and #2, Dudleya attenuata, D. cultrata, D. pulverulenta, Echinocereus engelmannii, E. maritimus, Ferocactus sp., Fouquieria columnaris, Mammillaria brandegeei, M. dioica, Myrtillocactus cochal, Opuntia sp., Stenocereus (Machaerocereus) gummosus and Yucca whipplei – 16 taxa!