Where in south America ?

[DansMaTete]

Hello, hello,

I gonna have 1 month free (october) from work and i'd like to go in south america to visit cacti in there original environment. Probably get some sample (seeds and cutting) to grow back home.

I think about Peru but any advice about where to go in south america (which country and where in the country) to find some good genetics is very welcome. I'm very open.

Do you think it's a problem to travel back with cutting ? (i'm not asking for smuggling tips and if this question is against forum's rules, let me know, i will edit this post).


Thanks and [̲̅ə̲̅٨̲̅٥̲̅٦̲̅] on you

 

[Bdevall158]

my cousin recently traveled through banos, ecuador and he hiked in the andes mountains and said the only cactus he saw where san pedro literally everywhere covering the mountains. I know you can find them in the high mountains anywhere from ecuador, peru, bolivia, and im sure many other places. their geographical location will more than likely determine the species, but they certainly cover a large portion of south america

 

[DansMaTete]

I just check my passport and it will be out of date in january 2015 so i can't go to Ecuador and Bolivia cause they ask for a valid passport 6 month after the last day in the country.
So, i guess it's gona be Perù.

If someone has a good adress there for a cacti amateur, please, hit me ! Same about surfing, if i can mix both it will be paradise for me

 

[Adjhart]

You can find San Pedro in Argentina, I've heard as far south as Catamarca, and definitely in the northen Salta region.

There's probably more in areas further south, along the Andes mountain range as it naturally borders Chile and Argentina.

I intend next year to see if they can be found as far south as Mendoza.

 

[mew]

im gonna be going down in a month i feel, if you're around ill be hitting up chavin de hauntar and possibly tarapoto

 

[DansMaTete]

I leave tomorrow and i will land in the north of Perù.
My plan (still very open) is to enjoy the waves on the coast and then go in the montains to meet some cacti.
And i have 6 weeks to do it. Pretty exiting

Time to pack my stuff !

 

[DansMaTete]

I came back with those buddies (not the seedling)

 

[dg]

awesome, pls do tell more about your adventure!

 

[jamie]

man Id love to surf Peru. I would probly spend more time doing that, if/when I ever go. Cacti would be a plus...and then surfing ON cacti ..don't do this at home kids!

 

[DansMaTete]

Not much to say about this trip, it wasn't very adventurous but still enjoyable .

I spend 1 month on the coast surfing good waves in cold water (16°C) which is hard for me because, home, water is between 24 and 30°C all year long. Advice for surf amateur going to Perù : it's easy to find board to rent but not so easy to find wetsuit at the right size with no holes so take your own in your luggage.

Jamie : i only surfed 3 different spots but peruvian coast is loaded with high quality waves (most of them are left). I surfed the longest wave (chicama 4km !) in the world... but Poséidon wasn't with me and i didn't have the right swell. And indeed, it was difficult for me to leave the coast, i had to kick my ass to move to the montains to see somethng else from Perù.

I went to Huancabamba (brought back a SP pup from over there) which is a famous place for "brujos" using San Pedro and sometime aya but i didn't partake in a ceremony but i saw them at "la laguna negra" a very sacred lake at ~3500m (altitude).
What else, some nice ruins (Kuélap, Chan Chan), mummies in cliff and the traditionnal sight like caves and waterfalls near Chachapoyas.

I didn't take San Pedro over there cause i didn't met the right people (i'm not good at connect with people:thumb_dow ) but i could test coca leaves (really efficient to climb and to surf too ). I've also took some cocaine, usualy i don't do coke but i was with a peruvian politician and he told me "this is the best coke you can find in Perù" so i tried it and you know what ? Cocaine is cocaine, even the best one.
The 2 cutting i brought back, i found them in the hudge market in Piura and it was a challenge to find them in this crowd with my bad spanish.

About San Pedro : i saw them everywhere, in gardens or in pots close to the door of houses because it's the guardian but i didn't see them in the wild (from 0 to 3500m altitude), each time i saw a columnar it wasn't a Trichocereus. If someone could chime in to tell where are they growing in the wild, i'll be thankfull

 

[mew]

i keep reading that triches are native to 2-4k meters which is like a mile higher than you were surfing. since you spent most your time there, i assume this is why you didn't encounter this species as abundantly as the other you predominantly saw.

the ancash region of peru has mountains covered in trichocereus. i mean you can see lines of cacti-tree's as they fell one stalk at a time and grew another tree tracing down the mountains. each tree being 4-10 columns, each column 6-7inch diameter and 5-12 feet tall.

there very well could be a half ounce of alkaloids in a single plant, with 25-75% being mesc (i love them all tho)