Unexpected treasure for a plant hunter

From: PTemple001@aol.com
Date: Fri Sep 12 1997 - 11:00:43 PDT


Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 14:00:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: PTemple001@aol.com
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg3513$foo@default>
Subject: Unexpected treasure for a plant hunter

OK, as forewarned, a mail not directly to do with CP's.

Those with a brain capable of more than mine (i.e. all of you) may have
managed to notice I've been on holiday quite a lot. Twice to Cuba and 4
times to the Dominican republic, all within 2 years. You may have thought me
terribly rich (oh how I wish it were true), but I'm afraid I'm not. The
travelling bug started to become really serious about two years ago when my
"marriage" failed and I started going through the mechanics of separating.
 (I don't recommend this to anyone. It's horrible and is a full time job -
thus my difficulty in finding time to meet promises to people).

So, having chosen Cuba and the dominican Republic (Doh-min-EE-ca, emphasis on
EE, as the locals call it), clearly there were special Pinguicula to collect
there and that is why I first chose to visit both islands. But my likes
extend far beyond CP. Indeed, I don't know any CP collectors who are limited
just to liking CP's. So other things captured my attention, one flower in
particular. So with this in mind, as I hinted I would do in my earlier
travel reports, I went back to the Dominican Republic to study one particular
flower.

The plane to New York (from the UK) was fine. The connecting flight was
taken out of service resulting in a 5 hour delay. We got an $8 voucher for
lunch which bought onre sandwich - what a rip-off (English for "legalised
theft") !!! And we could only buy lunch from one restaurant so first I had
to join 300 other people in a queue and then there was no seating!!!

The 5 hour delay at New york meant I arrived late in Dominica. Like a fool,
I collected my hire car and drove straight to Constanza. This may seem
sensible unless you know the road. By now, I had been travelling for about
18 hours and the road to Constanza is via the Caribbean's third highest
mountain. At night there is no light (obviously!!!), it is covered by cloud,
often raining and the road can be washed away or suffer rock slides. But, I
drove through it. My friends waited up until midnight but I arrived at 2
a.m. so I went straight to my hotel, sad to miss them even for just one
night.

Next day, around mid-day, I went hunting. No point being too early - some
flowers are best not visited too early in the morning as they become more
radiant later in the day. Having made this trip before, I knew exactly where
the flower should be. Up the hill from Constanza in a little village called
La Secadora. I went straight there. Found what I was looking for straight
away - rare (unique), beautiful, in full bloom, a wonderful coffee colour.

She's called Sol. I met here when I first visited the Dominican Republic to
look for a Pinguicula. She distracted me from my purpose that first visit
and has distracted me ever since. So much so, it actually took me three
visits to Dominica before I managed to find the Pinguicula I wnt there for!
   This time, I was there to collect Sol and bring her back to the UK so she
could see if she wanted to live here permanently (with me hopefully!). And
now that's where we both are now; at home in the UK, where Sol is still very
much a distraction, but one that I'm rather happy to be distracted by!

So be warned. Plant hunting is a wonderful hobby (especially if you take
photos). But it can lead to very unexpected results. I expect my time will
be spent less on email and more with Sol for a while. So be warned fellow
travellers. The same could befall you. (Watch out Fernando!!). Still, I
can think of worse fates!!!!!!!!!

I'll still be reading email, though a little less often. And I will now make
time to spend mailing seeds (or plants) to all those people who waited so
patiently for me to fulfil my promises.

Sorry if you didn't appreciate this mail but I just thought it might appeal
to my friends, those with a little more romanticism, those with a liking for
the unexpected side of life and those who wer kind enough to mail me about my
earlier writings.

Gotta go now. It's Friday night and Sol has never seen London (nor any big
city).

Ciao

Paul



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