El Parque Botánico Orchidarium

There is a lot to know about orchids! This large temperature, humidity controlled greenhouse has 1,500 species of orchid from all over the world and 5,000 types of plants. The orchids nestle in amongst shrubs and semi-tropical perennials as they would in the wild. The structure was opened in 2015, and the plants have had time to establish themselves. We spent about an hour in the orchidarium, there were more leaves and plants in airy pots than flowers and the waterfall was closed for renovation but it was interesting to see what they grew the orchids in and how they supported them, many on the cork bark grown here in southern Spain.
Some orchid plants can survive for over 100 years. Orchids grow in every country except Antarctica. They have been around for over 100 million years, and there are over 25,000 species with more being discovered every year.
The bond between orchids and certain species of insects is tight and highly specialized. Petals have similar shape and color to imitate female insects to attract males and ensure pollination. The Bee Orchid, lures male bees with its enticing smell and bee-like appearance. Substances isolated from orchids are used in the perfume industry, as spices and in traditional Asian medicine. Vanilla comes from the pod of an orchid, It is difficult to grow, requiring high humidity, bright but indirect sunlight and warm temperatures, which is why it so expensive.

The neighborhood around the Orchidarium shows many of the over 60 murals that Estepona has all over the city and some by the same artist who decorated the plaster garden walls at Casa Olina. The apartments in this area varied, some quite modest others quite modern; a constant theme is people here love their balcony and really use the space (much less square footage in most cases than we have on Lequime!) for growing flowers, storing bikes, drying clothes in addition to often being the location for the air conditioner (?what would strata think about that!). Today, an elderly lady was feeding pigeons from her 3rd floor apartment. Seemed to be a lot of seniors strolling or wheeling about in this quieter area. Not a touristic area, you could see individually owned small stores ie fruiterria (fruits and veg), carniciera (butcher) and people walking back home with their groceries of the day, often with company or in company of a small dog. Dachshunds and lower slung elongated dogs seem quite popular, along with chihuahuas here. Older people and dog walks generally go along with early in the day activities, so perhaps we were wrong in our perceptions as most restaurants and stores have yet to come to life at 9 in the morning!

We were back home by noon after Google and Nancy had us going around in a circle in an industrial area for 15 minutes after taking the wrong exit out of a roundabout. Of interest was a roundabout that had a stoplight at the entrance along with a cross walk (often a round about and cross walk co exist); usually roundabouts here have two lanes entering them and may have five exits....lots to watch out for! Made it home with only one honk from an annoyed local....there was a service vehicle parked in the right lane inside the round about forcing us suddenly into the left lane.....fun, right!!??Read more