A Walk Through A Valdivian Jungle; Parque Nacional Alerce Costero

   Continuing on our adventure in and around Valdivia we made a day trip to the fairly new Parque Nacional Alerce Costero.
   This is an area of Chile that was devastated by the lumber industry that clear cut almost all of the native forests and then replanted Eucalyptus trees that grow fast so that they have a crop every ten years or so to cut down. These type of forest take hundreds and thousands of years to grow and the Alerce tree itself will only grow 1 centimeter per year. The Alerce is the smaller equivalent of the American sequoia tree and can grow thousands of years old and become over 200 feet tall and taller. These are the images of the life inside the 'Valdivian Jungle' which is thick, green and wet.  " Chile contains the largest zone of costal forest remaining in the southern hemisphere, and is the only country to have all four coastal temperate rain forest types within it's national boundaries. Chile's temperate rain forests are the most species-rich in the world, due to a complex landscape which produced diverse habitats and species composition.
(C.weber, 1990, Corporacion Nacional Forestal, per. comm.)

archive.ecotrust.org/publications/ctrf.html

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alerce_Costero_National_Park) 

My wife Lidice standing in front of a 100 year old Alerce tree. One centimeter per year is all this tree grows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdivian_temperate_rain_forest

 Into the forest we go.

  A few green lizards were spotted hanging out in sunlight coming through the canopy.

 The overview of the National Forest from a wooden tower with yours truly.

 Lidice kept thinking this structure was moving and was shaking in her tennis shoes....

Copihue; Lapageria rosea is a genus of flowering plants with only one known species. Commonly known as Chilean Bellflower or Copihue(co-pee-way) is the national flower of Chile, and grows in forests in the southern part of Chile, being part of the Valdivian temperate rain forest's flora.

A pretty spider came out of the forests on a mission. 

A lone mushroom came up seeking sunlight.

Lidice finishing up her hike.

Finally, the Alerce grove. It was pretty small and the guide gave me like five minutes to take pictures so I worked as fast...   Unlike the Coastal California Redwoods and the Sierra Nevada Sequoias these ancient trees are covered with thick moss, vines and other clingers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzroya

On A Boat Around Valdivia And Then Into Jardin Botanico de la Universidad Austral de Chile

Hi again, this is my second part to my journey down to Valdivia, Chile. We got on a boat to tour around five rivers that converge on the little city in a boat like the one below.

This is the infamous the $30 million bridge that was supposed to go over the rio Cau Cau and connect Valdivia with the island of Teja but they workers built the structures backwards or upside down; I have read both accounts in various articles.

A couple of lovers on the boat ride.

 Some of the pretty willow trees that line the rivers.

 A large hotel in Valdivia seen from our boat.

 Valdivian waterfront.

Some cool street art back along the waterfront in Valdivia.

 Fishing is a main staple for jobs in this area what with five rivers converging into the city which sits on the Pacific Ocean.

  The entrance to the Universidad Austral de Chile, which houses a very nice
botanical garden which we went to visit. This is a link to a nice article that explains what approach the University is taking in implementing their garden.

https://stmarys.quickschools.com/?ausername=ltobar@stmaryscatholicschool.net

Their main objects of the Valdivia Botanic Garden are:

To show the region's indigenous plants, especially those with conservation problems;

To make people realize this it is not enough to conserve species without also conserving the environments in which they grow:

To show the range of growth forms of plants;

to demonstrate the adaptions of plants to their surroundings;

to show the main ways in which flowering plants have evolved;


 With the lush wet climate in Valdivia the plant life is abundant.

 Park rules.

 My wife hanging out in front of a large tree.

 Even the dirt grows moss here not just on the north side but all sides.

 Lidice along the riverfront.

 These are cormorants that are hanging out over the river in some willow trees.