This is part two of Connor’s article The Mountains of Santiago, which ran in the Fall, 2024 issue of the Quarterly.

Lagunillas

I was worried about this location, as many natural areas have suffered significantly due to the 20-year drought the country has battled. Lagunillas was one of these which people had recently visited to find barren spots and heat-damaged plants. Luckily, we visited in a year with an abundance of water, ending the drought, and rewarding us with a spectacle of rare plants.