Mexico Field Trip

Day 12 – February 25^th, 2005

 

Go to Pictures

Return

 

It was a bright but chilly start to the day after yesterday’s rain, as we left the hotel after breakfast. We achieved the plan of getting to Teotihuacan at 8am and spending until 10am sightseeing, although that was only just enough time. We were helped by the fact that we were amongst the first people there, and the tour parties hadn’t arrived by then. Especially common were school classes, all in uniform, being taught about their cultural heritage. Most were very well behaved as well. I climbed the Pyramid of the Moon, and from the top, everything was visible in the morning sun. Norbert, Laurent, Alain and Michel also climbed to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, a higher climb, but with clear steps all the way up. We then returned to the hotel to pack our backs and set off for Pachuca. After much asking the way, we found the road to Pachuca, which was fine and led through fairly flat country, and although mountains were visible around, they didn’t look especially high. I suppose we were at a fair altitude to start with!

 

Pachuca was a nightmare to get through, mainly because Philippe missed the turn which led to the North, although to be fair the signage was awful. However eventually, and with much Gallic hand waving and exclamations, we got out and up into the mountains of El Chico. Once up at El Mineral del Chico, we turned back onto the old road to Pachuca and stopped just before the big monument of Christ with hands outstretched. Scouring the hillside we found a good variety of plants:

 

PICT1589-90    -           Echinofossulocactus dicroantha

PICT1591-3      -           Echinocereus cinerascens

PICT1594-6      -           Mammillaria magnimamma

PICT1597         -           Coryphantha cornifera

PICT1598         -           Mammillaria magnimamma

PICT1599         -           Echinofossulocactus dicroantha

PICT1600         -           Coryphantha cornifera

PICT1601-2      -           Mammillaria magnimamma

PICT1603         -           Euphorbia ?

PICT1605         -           Echinofossulocactus dicroantha

PICT1606         -           Echinocereus cinerascens

PICT1607         -           Mammillaria magnimamma

 

The photos show the Mammillaria and the Echinofossulocactus plants we saw in flower. M. magnimamma is quite a pale shade of pink, with some darker markings as far as I could see. The spines are quite long, but the bodies relatively small for this species.

 

Just down the road we stopped again, this time at the foot of the hill on which the Statue is erected, and again scoured the hillside as far as we could. This is the habitat of Coryphantha clava and we did eventually find some groups of this almost columnar Coryphantha. There were also large groups of Coryphantha cornifera and more Mammillaria magnimamma, but also nice Ferocacti, perhaps hystrix.

 

PICT1609-15    -           Coryphantha clava

PICT1616         -           Ferocactus hystrix?

 

After this we set off again towards Mineral del Monte and the Parque Naturel del Chico. We saw the Echinofossulocactus high on the rocks just opposite the 7km mark, and I took a photo with my long lens. Laurent did the mountain goat bit and achieved a great shot of the flower, but it was a bit too steep for me.

 

PICT1617         -           Echinofossulocactus anafractosus With violet striped flowers

 

However we made a stop just a bit further on, on the MEX 14, and found again some new plants.

 

PICT1618-22    -           Echinofossulocactus anafractosus

PICT1623-5      -           Mammillaria discolour

 

We then headed on further into the Parque towards Mineral del Chico, but the clouds closed in and it started to rain. Shortly after, we joined a long immobile queue of traffic, which signified to us some accident further on. So we turned round and managed to cut across and join the MEX 105 going north east. We followed this as far as El Zoquital, and eventually found a side track that got us as close to the hills as possible. We spent quite a while searching but found nothing. When we returned to the cars, we were accosted by a couple of local people who wanted to know if we were collectors. We said no, just interested in the plants for photographic purposes and I showed them my photos on the Archos AV400. They went away satisfied, so we then drove back to Huasca de Ocampo and found our hotel.