First of all, getting to the botanical gardens this morning was an adventure in and of itself. We walked up to where we were supposed to catch our bus (which is four blocks up the hill from our usual pick up spot by the park). It was at the cross streets of Aguacate and Venustiano Carranza. There was a bus sitting there waiting, so we hopped on and tried to pay the bus driver (which is customary), but he didn't want our money, and just had us take a seat. This was not one of the nicer buses we have been on, and we found out later that these buses are referred to by the locals as the "chicken" bus. Soon after taking off, a man came around to collect our money. He asked where we were going and we told him the botanical gardens. He said 30 pesos each (about $1.50), so we paid him and sat back for the ride. Since we were on the "chicken" bus, there was no air conditioning, so the driver just drove with the door open to let a breeze blow through. It was a bit rough on the hair, but I have to admit that it felt pretty good.
We drove along the coast to the south, stopping periodically for people to get on and off. We passed the town of Mismaloya, and then the town of Boca De Tomatlin, and eventually highway 200 turned away from the coast and started heading into the mountains. Steve was watching our progress on his phone, just like he always does because it really isn't clear where you should get off if you haven't done the route before. As we started getting close to the gardens, the man that collected our money came and told us that the next stop would be ours, so we got up and headed toward the door so the driver would know to stop and let us off. It was really nice of him to do that since he didn't know that we were tracking our progress.
We jumped off the bus at the gardens, and headed in to the ticket counter. Tickets were 200 pesos each (about $11) and are good for two days. So if you don't get through the whole park, you can go back the next day to finish up.
As we entered the gate, there were two really friendly dogs waiting there for us. They showed us the way into the garden, and walked us down the path.
When we bought our tickets, we were given a booklet with a map of the gardens, so we decided to go to the restaurant and order a cup of coffee to enjoy while we planned our trip through the garden.
But of course, there is plenty to see on the way to the restaurant, so the two dogs showed us all of the beautiful sights along the way.
The two dogs finally left us at the entrance to the restaurant, so we went in to get our coffee.
The views from the restaurant are amazing. It overlooks the jungle, so we sat and watched the birds and butterflies as we enjoyed our coffee.
Our waiter brought us each a complimentary drink to enjoy while we waited for our coffee. The map of the park is behind our glasses. As you can see, the garden is huge!
This little hummingbird is named Pancho. He'll eat out of the waiters hand.
The restaurant seating.
We decided that we would take the "lower" loop first. It has about five different trails that meander through the jungle and down by a small creek.
So we came out of the restaurant, and the two dogs were waiting for us. Somehow they knew where we had decided to go, and they headed off in the right direction, leading the way for us.
At one point on this trail, the dogs headed off in a different direction than we wanted to go, and we were enjoying their company, so Steve gave them a whistle and they came running back to join us. They were the greatest dogs!!!
Walking these trails made us feel like we were back in the Amazon rain forest in Ecuador. The canopy wasn't quite as tall, but it was still very similar.
Coffee beans. They use these to make the coffee we dank in the restaurant earlier in the morning.
At some point the dogs got bored with our lolly gagging and headed off on their own, so we were left to fend for ourselves in the jungle!
These leaves look like they have leaves painted on them.
A small branch fell on this leave, and punctured it. Here it is from the top.
and from the bottom. It literally pierced the leaf. How does that happen!
Fungus.
We stopped for a few minutes by the river. It was a really beautiful and serene spot.
By the time we finished the bottom jungle loops, we were starving, so we made our way back to the restaurant for lunch. This time they brought us complimentary cucumbers with chili lime. They were delicious, and a very nice change from chips and salsa.
For lunch I ordered the rustic avocado salad.
And Steve ordered shrimp fajitas. This shrimp and grilled vegetables came wrapped in this hoja leaf.
Pancho came back to greet us again.
After lunch we went looking for the Jaguar trail. This is the trail that goes off in the other direction from the restaurant. The trail heads down beside this little building.
This should be called a spider orchid. Doesn't it look like a spider?
A beautiful gray squirrel.
This trail took us down to the river, which was beautiful!
What a nice hammock hanging by the river!
A very cool butterfly.
I don't know if you remember sensitive plants that they used to sell in the grocery store. I could never keep them alive, but I always thought that they were so cool. Well here in the botanic gardens, they grow wild. When you touch the leaves, they close us.
We finally made it back to civilization, coming up from the river just below the restaurant.
This guy was huge!, about four inches across.
When we finished at the gardens, we asked where we should catch the bus back to Puerto Vallarta, since we were dropped off right on the side of the highway, it wasn't really very clear. The ticket guy told us to cross the highway and walk up about 20 yards. And there is was. Our little bus stop.
Within about five minutes our bus showed up. This time it was more like a tour bus. It was really nice, air conditioned and reclining seats. You just never know what you are going to get here in Puerto Vallarta.
Bus # 1. The Chicken Bus.
Bus # 2. The luxury coach.
It was a huge day at the botanical gardens, so we'll just enjoy a nice quiet dinner at home, we think.
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