The giant blocks of bath pumice

One of a series of blog posts written during a Field Museum rapid inventory of the Kampankis mountain range in northern Peru in 2011.

"During a long stretch of the flight into our first campsite, the helicopter flew parallel to and just west of the Kampankis range. Out the windows to the left was the broad floodplain of the Rio Santiago, and out the windows to the right was a cliff face of chalk-colored rock all overgrown with green. The edge of that same cliff is now only a couple of kilometers from camp, and on our first day in the field I asked David if the strong desire I felt to see what was growing on it was scientifically defensible or just boyish enthusiasm. In his mild way he replied: 'I often find interesting things growing on the edges of cliffs....'"

Read the full post here.

Photo by Álvaro del Campo