The Cactus Trip Diaries

Friday, 14 February 2014 – San Ignacio to Loreto

Finaly, signs of life (just) from your intrepid explorers. Finally a wifi connection that does not fall over every few minutes. And finally enough paracetemols to sink a battleship!

Thursday, 13 February 2014 – Guerrero Negro to San Ignacio

As some of you may know, I’m due to give a presentation on the subject of FOG later this year.  In an attempt to limit the scope, it’s about locations where fog – clouds that touch the ground –  are regular and produce moisture to support a flora that would otherwise be doomed. Such fog deserts are common around Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn when accompanied by a cold gulf-stream passing by off-shore. Such situations exist in Baja California where the Tropics of Cancer pass near the town of Guerrero Negro where we spent last night.

Not much of a surprise then that when we woke up for an early morning Whale Watching trip, the scene outside was best described as a pea-souper, or what is known locally as a whale-souper.

Fortunately, when we reached the launching station for the pangas, the air had cleared so that we could now see the end of the panga, the end of the landing to get to the boats and a number of resting Grey Whales  bopping in the waves while their calves were performing antics around them.

So not only did we have a wonderful morning out on the water, studying the ‘other succulents’, but I also managed to add more fog-themed images to my presentation archive – fog images filed as S2988.

With the whaling tripout of the way, Angie & I drove along the east of the Vizcaino Desert, an extremely dry area where regular fogs make a significant contribution to the moisture available to plants. All images recorded as Stop S2989.

S2990 was a stop along Mex 1 as it crossed through the eastern end of the Vizcaino Desert. Pachycereus pringly looked extremely dry, with deepd grooves between the ribs. Yucca vallida was here, with some individuals showing their stress due to lack of water by stems that were doubled over, apex touching the ground. Mammillaria dioica was hiding under leafless shrubs. Closer inspection showed that not all the Mams where M. dioica, Mammillaria lewisii was also here, as was Stenocereus gummosus, and various Cylindropuntia that were later identified during a visit to the Mision building and Gardens in San Ignacio, where a selection of these plants were being grown under a selection of labels including Ferocactus peninsulae and Ferocactus p. ssp rectispinus.

We booked into the Desert Inn that much to Angie’s surprise was a carbon copy of La Mison in Catavina and San Quintin.

Tuesday, 12 February 2014 – Bahia de Los Angeles to Guerrero Negro

S2984 and S2985 were along the road from Bahia de Los Angeles back to MEX1, particularly on the hunt for the red flowers of Ferocactus gracilis, about the only cacti in flower. Unlike the UK, California was in the middle of a severe drought which seems to extend south into Baja. There might have been some recent rain, to encourage the Fouqueria and Pachycormus discolor to leaf up, but the cacti had not joined in so far, except F. gracilis.

S2986 was a leg-stretch stop and S2987 records our arrival in Guerrero Negro with the impressive giant flag that marks the border between Baja Norte and Sur. It is also a prompt to change your clocks by an hour.

We took a drive to the old lighthouse but again did not see the millions of birds, mostly waders, that we had seen here around the same time in February, 2008. These must have been migrating birds and although the timing was the same, weather conditions must be different. I wonder which one is the norm.

Tomorrow we’ll study the other succulents – whales!

Monday, 10 February 2014 – San Quintin to Catavina

Angie has been much impressed by the quality of accommodation here in Baja, bordering on the luxurious compared to our usual haunts in South America. Here in Catavina, it is a matter of ‘no choice’ it’s the only place in town.

We enjoyed the usual Baja stops. Having seen all the plants before, it was an opportunity for Angie to live the experience for the first time while I looked for special settings to take that ‘killer picture’ that we miss so often when under pressure to move on.

I’ll add stop details later as the wifi connection outside the manager’s office at the Mision Catavina is a come-and-go event. Heading off for a couple of nights at Bahia de los Angeles, but no boat trips planned here.

Saturday, 8 February 2014 – Amesbury to Carlsbad, CA, USA

Just a brief report of today;s adventures. Got up at 6 a.m. in the UK and dropped off to sleep at 8 p.m. in Carlsbad. That might not sound too long a day, but there is of course an 8 hour time differences to add on.

The original plan had been to drive to San Diego and spend another night in the Motel 6 on the Pacific Highway, ‘The Motel at the End of the Runway’ but the storms battering the UK had delayed most flights coming in and so had delayed our departure time by an hour or so. As a result we were driving in the dark, not my favourite, once we got out on to the I-5, with 5 lines of oncoming traffic with their bright headlights making the experience very unpleasant. Around Camp Pendleton I pulled off at the viewpoint and reprogrammed the Sat Nav for Motel 6 in Carlsbad, another favourite from previous trips. The Denny’s across the car park was still there, so I managed to eat at 7, my preferred time, although the brain still thought that it was 3 a.m. – confused.

I should have mentioned that we were met at LAX by Eunice Thompson, travel companion on many previous trips and citizen of Bell Flower. She had bought a SatNav for me with US & Mexican maps, as my model is now obsolete and not able to download any new maps. Thanks Eunice!

Immigration had gone very smooth, our luggage came through almost as soon as we reached the luggage collection hall and picking up the car from Dollar went very quickly too. Dollar are one of the few – perhaps only? US car rental companies that allow you to drive their cars into Mexico.

We’re almost right along the I-5 so no problems in getting on the road to the border – in the past we have managed to get lost from The Motel at the End of the Runway back to I-5, so will make up some time there.

Today will be much of a driving day, aiming to reach San Quintin for the night

Off again

Since my return from last November’s Cactus Trip to Chile, the UK has experienced almost non-stop rain. The TV news has an endless series of reports of flooding and the misery that brings with it, interrupted by forecasts for more rain.

Every cloud has a silver lining and mine is that next week, 8 February, Angie and I fly out to California and there head south into Baja California. Hopefully Europe will have dried up a bit by the time she flies back on 1 March.

After a few more days in California, I fly to Mexico City where I meet Cliff Thompson and Ian Woolnough who can report on UK weather conditions before we head north into Mexico for a look along the Siera Madre Oriental – the list of potential cacti to cross our lenses is mouth-watering!

As usual, the intention is to post daily on-the-road reports here, where ever internet access permits.

I would not be surprised if by the time I return on 3 April, the news will be dominated by the introduction of drought control measures as the country has not benefited from any rain since 9 February!

Cheers
PK