While Paul's sister was out here visiting us recently, we had a pretty bad stretch of weather -- two typhoons in two weeks, with lots of rain, wind, and clouds in between. The island's usual showcase of activities (boating, whale watching, snorkeling, hiking, diving, biking) were out of the question, so we had to get a bit more creative with our adventures.
We took a gamble and headed up north to the Tropical Dream Center, an arboretum/greenhouse/fish extravaganza. Even 48 hours after being hit by a massive typhoon, the outdoor gardens were still beautiful, and the untouched indoor portions were simply stunning. Their website claims to have over 2,000 orchids in bloom year-round, and after being there, I'd say that is a conservative estimate!
Orchids are my favorite flower, and Avery seemed to like them, too!
Besides orchids and other tropical flowers, there are also several fish ponds, with everything from the usual catfish and koi to piranhas and giant amazonian river fish to inspire your nightmares. And crazy trees! I'm not one to get carried away about trees, unless of course they are growing chocolate, which these ones are. They also had avocados, papaya, mangoes, bananas, dragon fruit, and all sorts of exotic fruits I had never dreamed of. Cucumber tree, anyone? How about a sausage tree? (That one you have to see to believe).
I can't wait to return in the spring, when the flowers are blooming in full and haven't yet been abused by any typhoons. The only thing I would do differently is wear bugspray!
