To my huge disappointment, the display areas were securely roped off from the adoring public. I was not allowed to climb into these mesmerizing blooms of fantastic shape and color. Don’t they understand that I need to get close, really close, to take my pictures? Great efforts had been made to supplement the existing lighting in the hall, but I experienced some trouble with snapping pictures nevertheless. Most often a flash was too bright, while the beautifully arranged booths, recreating natural settings for many plants, proved a little too dim. Therefore the colors in the pictures on this page, don’t quite match the impressions received through our eyes. This might be a little annoying to knowledgeable orchid lovers, but I couldn’t help it. Yet more disconcerting is the fact that I neglected to record even a single species name. ¡Disculpe! I was just having fun!