Hello again from Argentina! We’re currently sitting in an apartment on the shores of the of Lago Aluminé on a rainy afternoon listening to the Avs playing the Penguins . . . when the internet is working. Tweeted Conor McGahey and got a mention on Avalanche radio!! I should also mention that we’ve had a house guest all day–a sweet white little girl cat with piercing blue eyes. We made friends yesterday with a saucer of milk, and she came back today to wait out the rain by sleeping on our bed!
We’re in Villa Pehuenia to see if there really is such a thing as a monkey puzzle forest. Pehuenia is the native name for Araucaria, or the monkey puzzle tree, which has a storied history locally. Check out the link to Wikipedia for more info about the village and native people. Typically a novelty tree at home, we read in the Rough Guide that this region is unique for entire forests of Araucaria, with some trees more than 1,000 years old. Of course, we had to visit. We were expecting to have to hike into the forest to see this wonder, but as soon as we turned off Ruta Provincial 23 on Friday to drive around Lago Aluminé we saw them everywhere. The area offers a loop route around several lakes with monkey puzzle trees lining the roads, hillsides, cliffs, riverbanks, and lakesides.
The weather, after a fabulous 70+ degree Friday afternoon when we checked in, was sketchy on Saturday. The forecast for our day of exploring was rain in the afternoon and low 50s. We got out in the late morning and made the 3-hourish drive around the region’s lakes and rivers and returned to our current home for lunch just as the rain, and the cat, arrived. The forecast actually includes possibility of snow tonight!
The weather held for us, and it was an amazing day filled with amazing landscapes. We took countless photos and couldn’t really capture the experience of the unusual and frankly alien landscape. The crazy shaped trees (really almost like spiky palm trees in the mountains) everywhere really mess with your reality.
Not much else to say except to let the pictures talk for themselves. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
The trees look like a weird mix of palm and pine/fir trees. Fascinating that the flora (and fauna) are so different when you are in a mountainous region seemingly similar to here in CO! Love that you had a kitty visitor! Is that mullein growing outside the window???
It certainly is Mullin. Our cow visitor wouldn’t eat it or the thistle.
Trees are very interesting 🤔 look like giant mushrooms!! Your house guest is so beautiful she must of known you are cat lovers!! Love the pictures!!
Beautiful landscapes! Cats and trees are such good friends. I’m loving catching up on your travels!
Glad you found us! We’re staying with cats in Slovenia now.