Seru Nobo at the plantation Cas Abou

On Thursday the archaeology sleuths went for a search of traces of indian habitation on the Seru Nobo at the plantation of Cas Abou. Just under the top of the Seru Nobo we had seen a very interesting niche during a previous visit to the neighboring plantation Porto Marie. From the manager of Porto Marie we had permission to enter the plantation earlier than normal opening times and also from the owner of the plantation Cas Abou we got  permission to enter their property.

We went through the gate in the direction of Playa Dingo but took a sideroad towards the border with Cas Abou. There we parked our cars. We decided to go to the top in an indirect way. In this way we avoided a very steep slope. We had a rather easy walk through the vegetation although there were dense fields of Prickly pear and also though vines. To our surprise we found large and dense fields of the Mammillaria mammillaris. In one spot we counted a hundred of these cacti. In total we saw between 300 and 400 of this previously considered rare cactus during our walk. Most of these on the higher limestone rocks. We were looking for blooming but we didn't see any flowers. Several biologists in Curaçao and The Netherlands are interested to learn the bloom period of this cactus and to get some pictures of the flowers.

After a while we reached the niche under the top. No clear markings of indian habitation but it was a very nice place to take a rest. It is a large niche with a lot of shade. Time to drink water and eat an apple.

We continued our walk along the rather steep slope. But soon we couldn't go any further unless we would take unacceptable risks. The decision to descend was made easy because we didn't see any niches further along the hill. So we returned till we found an acceptable path downhill. We visited some more niches on our way down but none had any shells or indian tools. So we didn't find what we came for. But instead we found a few Mammillaria cacti with fruits. We all took pictures because this was already quite a find.

After the hike we went for a drink at the Willibrord snack.

The big surprise came later when we closely looked at our pictures. Carel saw it first. There were two flowers on the cactus with the fruits. None of us had seen that in the field. The flowers are small, whitish and hidden behind the spines of the cactus. Probably there were more cacti with flowers but we didn't know what to look for, so we didn't see any. Something for a future hike! Needless to say that the biologists were very happy with our find.

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• Our hike along the Seru Nobo in blue Our hike along the Seru Nobo in blue
• We are preparing for our hike We are preparing for our hike
• The top of the Seru Nobo with the interesting looking niche The top of the Seru Nobo with the interesting looking niche
• A jar of very old jenever (gin) A jar of very old jenever (gin)
• This candle cactus will soon bloom This candle cactus will soon bloom
• A field of Bromelia; one has a bloom stalk with new plants A field of Bromelia; one has a bloom stalk with new plants
• Another Bromelia Another Bromelia
• A field of Turk's cap cacti (Melocacti) A field of Turk's cap cacti (Melocacti)
• View from a subtop of the Seru Nobo View from a subtop of the Seru Nobo
• Several Mammillaria mammillaris Several Mammillaria mammillaris
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• A Melocactus with a tree Bromelia attached A Melocactus with a tree Bromelia attached
• More Mammillaria mammillaris More Mammillaria mammillaris
• Eddy and François in the large niche Eddy and François in the large niche
• View from the niche View from the niche
• The group is taking a rest in the niche The group is taking a rest in the niche
• John leads the way along the ridge (photo Fred) John leads the way along the ridge (photo Fred)
• Dirk on the small ridge next to the vertical slope Dirk on the small ridge next to the vertical slope
• We all go back along the ridge to find a path down (photo Fred) We all go back along the ridge to find a path down (photo Fred)
• We found a path down but Dirk and Fred can hardly be seen through the dense vegetation We found a path down but Dirk and Fred can hardly be seen through the dense vegetation
• A group of Mammillaria mammillaris with fruits! A group of Mammillaria mammillaris with fruits!
• Close-up of the fruit; I hadn't seen the flower yet Close-up of the fruit; I hadn't seen the flower yet
• An even closer look reveals the two flowers; Carel showed me where to look An even closer look reveals the two flowers; Carel showed me where to look
• Another look at the fruits Another look at the fruits
• John is taking pictures of the Mammillaria with fruits; these cacti are small (photo Fred) John is taking pictures of the Mammillaria with fruits; these cacti are small (photo Fred)
• An Epiphyt on a tree An Epiphyt on a tree
• A very large boulder fell from the hill in the past A very large boulder fell from the hill in the past
• Stalactites on the rock show that here has dripped water in the past Stalactites on the rock show that here has dripped water in the past
• Dirk is taking a rest in the small niche under the large boulder Dirk is taking a rest in the small niche under the large boulder
• François and Eddy in the small niche; Fred is taking a picture François and Eddy in the small niche; Fred is taking a picture
• Carel outside the niche Carel outside the niche
• An old hoe An old hoe
• Other artifacts - case bottles Other artifacts - case bottles
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