> Hello,
> I am fortunate enough to have a business trip to Caracas and Rio at
> the end of August. I plan on taking some vacation at the end of the
> trip and was hoping to take some sort of a tour into the rain forest.
> I did this once in Australia and had a great time. The Nature
> Conservancy leads a trip that sounds great but the timing is bad for
> me.
In Caracas, you'll find that the vegetation is drier than you'd
expect, it's like a transition between savanna and rainforest. But while
you're there, you should could to the top of the Avila, a mountain next
to the city. I think the funicular is still broken and you can only drive
up the dirt road with a 4-wheel-drive, so that leaves you with a nice
trail to sweat your way up to the top.
While in Rio, other than visiting the Corcovado and Sugar Loaf,
you have to visit the Tijuca Forest (a rainforest park right in the
city). I don't know if you'll find CPs in this forest park, but I know
you'll find them at the Corcovado and Sugar Loaf, if you know how to look
for them. I know that at least U.reniformis and U.longifolia can be found
at these 2 places.
If you have time, go to Teresopolis, and from there you can take a
trail up the Organs Range. This mountain range is fantastic, really
beautiful, and full of CPs too. The trail from Teresopolis climbs to the
highest point (I think) of this range and on the trail (after around
1500m of altitude I think) you should begin seeing Utrics and D.villosa. I
should warn you though, that the trail is VERY long and tiring, but is
well worth it.
The trail begins from a park covered with beautiful rainforest (I
don't think I've ever seen such thick epiphytic covering on the trees as
in this park!). Even if you get tired on the way up and decide to return,
the rainforest is enough to make the trail well worth it, the CPs being a
detail.
> Has anybody taken a rain forest tour in Brazil or Venezuela? Ideally
> the tour would be led by a botanist or somebody knowledgable about the
> local flora and fauna. I am interested in seeing orchids, animals, and
> of course CP.
Botanist? You wish!! Remember that parks unfortunately don't get
too much $$ nor are very organized in 3rd world countries!
One more thing, while in Caracas and Rio, don't forget that it's
dangerous to walk around alone, even in the Tijuca Park and the Avila
(but not in Teresopolis). Gringos are always easy to identify!
FERNANDO RIVADAVIA
Sao Paulo, Brasil
P.S. for Jan:
> As almost always with "strict" rules (e.g. "there is no selection of
> genotype"), they do not completely fit experience without further
> explanation. At least the caryotype (composition of the genome of specific
> chromosomes and chromosome numbers) is a phenotype even if the chromosomes
> themselves are carrying the genotype. Still a (simplistic) model of
> evolution can be applied: (1.)mutations leading to (2.)genotypic variation,
> leading to (3.)phenotypic variation, leading to (4.)selection of "favoured"
> phenotypes starting again with (1.) (with 2. & 3. being very close to each
> other in our case).
> Jan
Sorry, my mistake. I got mixed up and switched genotype with
karyotype. I studied that the latter is selectable, and not the former.