Sometimes They Bloom On Saturday Surf & Culture Report
Lost Boys & Co...
Oscar Barahona, had heard that there was a fantastic botanical garden on the way out to his mom's place. Instead of turning right to go to mom's, you turn left and go about a mile or so and then there's this dirt road that leads off into the bush. You get to a gate that says, "Hacienda Moran." From that point on, it's kind of unbelievable... There's a small parking lot and then, there's a restaurant and a relatively spacious area that could be used for receptions or dancing. Around the perimeter and throughout the property were banks of potted plants and hanging ferns, bromeliads and all manner of climbing vines. Most spectacular were the orchids and anthuriums (of which he had several rare strains.) There were literally hundreds (maybe thousands?) of plants. There were areas dedicated to the propagation of the various species and various means of watering specific plants.
The most amazing thing was that in all of the thousands of plants we viewed, we didn't see one brown spot or withered leaf! It started to be a contest to see if anyone could find the slightest anomaly... Nothing, they all appeared to be perfect...
Our host was the ebullient Adam Moran (#4), who built this spectacular garden mostly on his own. He also runs the restaurant and schedules the venue for wedding and celebrations. We had dinner with him this evening and afterwards he showed us his Bonsai collection of which he is deservedly proud. Hacienda Moran is becoming a real destination in the Metapan area and if you find yourself in this part of the world you have to make the trek to see it for yourself. Before we left the Professor couldn't help himself, he had to ask how he kept the plants in such pristine condition... Señor Moran leaned in conspiratorially and said, "Chemicals!"
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"When the surf breaks, we'll fix it"The Professor!!
