More of our "English Family" is visiting Fuengirola this week (Truly Great Nephew Jack's grandparent's and his aunt, our niece, Ericka). Today, we rented a car and drove to the Mariposario
(Butterfly Park) of Benalmádena, the town just east of us along the coast. We had heard good things, so were looking forward to the visit. But, to say we were pleasantly surprised just doesn't cut it. It was, as Ericka so perfectly put it, "lovely." From the outside, the building is Thai in style with many of the structural elements brought from Thailand. Inside, Paradise.
No need to bore you with the details of the 2,000 m2 (more than 21,000 sf) building or the more than 1,500 butterflies. The plantings are beautiful. The butterflies have the company of iguanas (we didn't see them) and tropical birds. I took 105 photos, but somehow managed to not display them all here. (And, let me tell you, that wasn't easy.)
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| BIRDERFLY (NOT REALLY). |
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"THE CATERPILLAR DOES ALL THE WORK, BUT THE BUTTERFLY GETS ALL THE PUBLICITY."
— GEORGE CARLIN
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| CLICK TO ZOOM. |
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MY FAVORITE, THE PERFECTLY NAMED GLASSWINGED BUTTERFLY.
(CLICK TO ENLARGE.) |
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VIEW OF SOME OF THE INTERIOR FROM THE UPPER DECK
(WHERE WE DIDN'T SEE THE IGUANAS WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO TOUCH.)
CLICK FOR THE BIGGER PICTURE. |
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THESE ARE REAL! EDWARDS ATLAS MOTHS FLY ONLY AT NIGHT; MALE AT TOP.
AT 25 CM (9.8 INC.), THEY'RE ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST SPECIES. |
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| POSING ON THE FLOOR (IN THE SUN) AS WE RELUCTANTLY SAID "ADIOS." |
Absolutely wonderful, Mitchell! Glad you're having a good visit :) There is just no end to the cool things you two find in España. (Happy 4th of July to you, by the way ;) )
ReplyDeleteJudeet:
DeleteButterfly House a definite must-see. I was tempted to go back today. Happy 4th to you, too. Oddly, no fireworks in our neighborhood!
OH MY! Now that would be a difficult place to leave! Thanks for this Mitchell and great photos.
ReplyDeleteJim:
DeleteI was truly blown away. Will enjoy going back throughout the year.
Wonderful! I'm hoping to see some similar beauties tomorrow at the Indianapolis zoo, where they have a butterfly sanctuary. Now, I'm pretty sure it isn't in a cool Thai building!
ReplyDeleteMichelle:
DeleteI hope you enjoy the butterflies as much as we did. They had a new butterfly house at San Diego Wild Animal Park during the time we lived there, but I happened to see it twice when there were very few butterflies. So, I wasn't prepared for the display we saw yesterday. Brilliant!
This is unreal, Mitch! I went to a place in Edmonton of all places with lots of butterflies but nothing like this. Love the colours. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteRon
Ron:
DeleteAnd some of the most amazing butterflies refused to pose for pictures!
We once visited a butterfly garden in Key West.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful peaceful place.
Your pictures took me back there!
Bob:
DeleteKey West would be a great place for a butterfly garden. Either it wasn't there yet when we were there in the '80s or we just missed it. Too bad!
I love butterfly gardens, bird sanctuaries, botanical gardens etc... no matter where they are. As Ericka say... Lovely, just lovely.
ReplyDeleteSharon:
DeleteI do too and this one was exceptional. If it weren't so warm inside, I would have wanted to stay all day. Can't wait to go back.
This looks like paradise if you happen to be a butterfly. Such amazing diversity. Nice pictures.
ReplyDeleteStephen:
DeleteWhat a way to live your several days on the planet.