Brazilian expedition 8 ( +- )

From: ss66428 (ss66428@hongo.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp)
Date: Thu Jul 10 1997 - 01:05:01 PDT


Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 17:05:01 +0900
From: ss66428 <ss66428@hongo.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg2593$foo@default>
Subject: Brazilian expedition  8 ( +- )


--------

To all,

        Sorry I haven't been able to keep the postings about this trip very
regular and sorry also to those who answered my requests for plants. I just
haven't had time to sit in front of the computer! I'll start by taking care of
the next chapter in this saga and maybe next week I'll begin answering a few
of the replies to my plant requests.

        I left Diamantina early in the morning and headed for the small town
of Itacambira, located further north along the Espinhaco Mts. I had been to
this town once before and had found an abundance of CPs. The vegetation there
is quite different from Diamantina, or maybe I should say the CP flora is
different. Apparently there is/was some sort of a 'break' between these two
areas which permitted the evolution of separate species/varieties.
        One of these is the recently described D.graomogolensis (which had
previously been called D.villosa var.graomogolensis) which is known to grow
around Itacambira and 2 other nearby towns (Grao Mogol and Botumirim). It is
similar to D.villosa, but forms spectacular columns of dead leaves like
D.roraimae and has long flower scapes with large flowers. The D.graminifolia
native to this northern part of the Espinhaco Mts. are also different from the
ones found in Diamantina and at the type location (Caraca Mts), being larger
in all aspects.
        I wanted to see D.graomogolensis and chose to visit Itacambira instead
of Grao Mogol and Botumirim because it was the richest in CPs, both in number
of species and abundance. Itacambira is the southernomst of these 3 towns,
closest to Diamantina. Not only had I found at Itacambira all the species
present in Botumirim and Grao Mogol, but I had also found some of the ones
present in the Diamantina region, suggesting it was a transition area.
        The problem is that this whole region is complicated to get to because
of the mountainous terrain and the lack of asphalted roads, which become
especially trying in the rainy season (summer). There is also the additional
problem that many of the roads cross rivers which overflow during the summer.
Often there are no bridges and you are forced to cross through the river
itself, hoping that the water is low enough to permit a crossing. In other
cases there are bridges, but these are often old and falling to bits (enough
to make even an atheist pray while crossing over it, hoping it won't come down
while you're on it!).
        Instead of going directly from Diamantina to Itacambira, which would
only take me a few hours, I decided to take a scenic route through some other
mountains to the northeast, where I had never been before. I wanted to check a
mountain where D.graminifolia had been collected, imagining that other CPs
would be present as well. It would take a few hours more, but would still get
me in Itacambira before nightfall. Or so I thought!!
        The 'scenic route' did truly take me through some very beautiful areas
and I saw plenty of mountains worth exploring in the future. Except most of
these were not of very easy access from the road and it would take at least a
full day's hike to reach and explore the tops. So I just drove on, recording
everything in my memmory for the future.
        The road I had chosen started out well, but in an hour or so I was
going further and further downhill, entering rainforest areas. This meant that
the road became muddier as the soil changed and with more water accumulating
into huge mud puddles. Progress was slowed to a crawl and a distance that
would've been covered in less than an hour on a good dirt road (circa 50km)
became a torturous few hours where my driving skills were tested like never
before. My concentration could not linger from the road for more than a second
and my whole body soon began aching with the strain.
        I could not risk getting stuck in mud, for I was alone and although I
often encountered people along the road, these were usually women and children,
who would be of little help if I needed to be pushed through mud. Luckily, the
only time I really did get stuck was near the entrance to a small village and
there were plenty of men sitting around willing to help the funny-looking
tourist (a rare sight in that area for sure). I also had difficulty climbing a
few hills and sometimes had to make several attempts before getting through.
        Most of all though, I was afraid of getting into an accident because
of the mud and having to give up on my whole trip. Some of the precipices I
passed by on that narrow road made me wonder if I wouldn't have to give up on
life itself if my car happened to skid at that point!! Yet I was extremely
surprised at how well my car dealt with all the mud. Either Fiat Unos are very
good in mud or I had little by little become a mud-expert over the years and
hadn't noticed!
        Anyways, by the time I finally reached the asphalt, physically and
mentally exausted, it was already early afternoon and I still had quite a way
to go before arriving at Itacambira. I went by the shortest asphalt route as
indicated on my road map, breaking all speed limits (only by a very bad stroke
of luck would there be policemen anywhere around this isolated region!),
carrying at least a few extras kilos of mud which had turned my white car
completely brick-red. Even the inside of the car hadn't escaped and was dotted
with caked mud. Lacking an air conditioner, I had decided I preffered getting
mud in the car than having all the windows closed and frying to death!
        So on I went, whizzing through the almost-deserted roads of NE Minas
Gerais, encountering only a few heavy trucks trudging along or an occasional
car, leaving them quickly behind wondering where that mud-on-wheels had come
from. Heading west, I passed a few more interesting mountains along the way,
then entered a wide, flat valley and soon spotted the Espinhaco Mts. straight
ahead. Jumping in my seat with excitement I began trying to pick put the exact
mountain on which Itacambira lay, without success since I had never seen them
from this angle. I turned north and drove parallel to the Espinhaco Mts.
        Still far off to my left, glancing through the trees along the road, I
caught quick views of these striking mountains. A series of tall, jagged peaks
rising above the plains, partially hidden in the distance by numerous heavy
afternoon thunderstorms. What a beautiful sight!
        At one point I had to leave the asphalt again and turn west towards
the mountains. As tiring as it was to drive on even more dirt roads, I knew
that it would only be for another 40km or so, over higher ground which would
not be as muddy either, or so I hoped. About 15 km later came the terrible
blow. Just when I was beginning to cheer up, seeing how good the road was,
thinking that it would not take much longer to arrive at Itacambira, I arrived
at the Jequitinhonha River, one of the largest in SE Brazil. It should've been
the last important landmark I'd pass before arriving at Itacambira, something
to commemorate, but what I saw was devastating. I wanted to cry!!
        At that moment, I remember well, as I looked with despair at what lay
ahead, it began raining hard. It was nature's way of saying "Touche, I got ya!"

To be continued.....

        JUST KIDDING! I won't stop here! What happened was that the old bridge
over the river was completely hidden by the churning muddy water flowing right
over it!! The heavy rains of the past few days had simply brought the water
levels too high and there was no way I could get across! I took a photo to
remember that moment and in despair headed back to the nearest village, where
I asked if there was no other way around that bridge. They only confirmed what
my road map showed, that the shortest alternative routes to Itacambira would
take me on dirt roads for another 100km or so.
        Considering how much I had already driven that day, especially through
all the mud, this was out of the question. I did not want to risk driving over
unknown dirt roads for such a long distance especially because it was already
around 3pm and it would surely get dark while driving through one of these. A
further problem is that these roads often bifurcate much more than maps show
and at night it would be much easier to get lost and harder to find people to
ask for directions.
        So the only way was to head back south and take a wide loop of several
hundred km passing west through Diamantina and over the Espinhaco Mts., then
driving up along the west side of these highland. Believe it or not, this was
the nearest asphalted road which crossed over the Espinhaco Mts. To the north,
it only became increasingly more unpopulated and wild all the way to southern
Bahia state.
        Thus, dreading the long road ahead, I turned around and headed south
along the quick route to Diamantina, where I would probably spend the night
before continuing in the morning. I would end up where I started earlier that
morning, having wasted a whole day. About an hour later, I stopped by a
roadside restaurant for a good ol' and much needed strong (as well as sweet)
Brazilian coffee. Sleep and wearyness were trying to catch up on me, which
wasn't so hard in the mood I was in.
        I shuffled my feet moodily up to the dusty bar, ordered a coffee,
gulped it down, and ordered another. I wasn't really in the modd to talk, but
I guess the guy must've asked me where I was coming from or headed (he probably
saw me pulling into the parking lot and wondered where I had picked up all
that mud). I quickly explained my misadventures that day while sipping my
second glass of coffee and told him that I was thus taking the loop through
Diamantina. What he answered me made my eyes go wide and suddenly I had all my
strength back (it was not the double coffee).
        Right across from us, on the other side of the road, there was a dirt
road heading west. He guaranteed this dirt road was in very good shape and was
even partially asphalted. It was one heck of a shortcut, cutting my intended
route through Diamantina by more than half and I decided to go for it. With
luck I would be in Itacambira before the end of the day!!
        I was delighted to find out it was true, that the dirt road was very
flat and with few holes, as well as very wide. Although you should never trust
dirt roads and always drive slowly, since holes pop up before you can do
anything about them, I wasn't in the mood to go slowly and pushed on at a
reckless 90-120km/h. And I was even more delighted to find out that
approximately half of this road had already been asphalted.
        I crossed over the Espinhaco Mts. at a point around midway between
Itacambira and Diamantina. Although the road did climb fairly high, I noticed
that this section of the Espinhaco Mts. was quite different. To the N and S I
could see rocky peaks, covered with the typical low campo rupestre vegetation.
Yet the section I was on was just a tall, smooth hill covered with savanna type
vegetation growing on reddish soil. Although it interconnected the two rocky
areas of the mountains to the N and S, it was probably the barrier I had been
looking for, which had allowed the different speciation paths followed by the
CPs in the Diamantina area and the ones found around Itacambira, Botumirm, and
Grao Mogol. I was imagining a geographical (altitude) barrier, such as a wide
valley, and not simply an ecological/geological one such as I found.
        Anyways, I was over the mountains in about an hour and arrived at the
city of Bocaiuva. From there I decided to risk taking a dirt road N which would
be a good short cut if I could get through it safely and quickly instead of
circling around by asphalt through the city of Montes Claros. Unfortunately
this road wasn't as good as I hoped, with lots of mud, dangerous bridges to
cross, and many confusing bifurcations to choose from.
        I finally arrived about an hour later at a small village called Pau
d'Oleo, at the base of the Espinhaco Mts. I stopped to ask for directions and
was also informed that there were still around 40km to go before Itacambira. I
was dead tired, but decided to get it over with and went on. It was already
night as I pulled out of the town and began the steep ascent of the mountains.
        To my total surprise, I discovered that once on top of the mountains,
the road was extremely flat and straight. I had passed by here when I'd come
to Itacambira in '94, but I had come by bus then and had slept most of the way,
so I hadn't noticed the road was so good. Thus, overriding common sense once
again, I pressed my foot down on the accelerator and turned the headlights on
'high', concentrating on the deserted road ahead and getting only faint
glimpses of what I passed by along the way. Unfortunately not all of the road
was this flat and straight, but it was all pretty good and it must've taken me
less than an hour to get to Itacambira. FINALLY! After +- 650km (maybe half
through dirt roads) and circa 12h at the wheel, I had finally arrived!! Boy
did I need some sleep!!!!

To be continued......

Fernando Rivadavia
Tokyo, Japan



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