148 Travels and Adventures 



of trailing lichen, perfectly dripping with water, so 

 much so that, riding under them, our clothes were 

 quickly wet through. In these natural reservoirs the 

 Odontoglossums find their home at an altitude of from 

 seven to eight thousand feet above the sea, with a 

 temperature which often falls as low in the night as 

 50 Fahr., and I have never seen the thermometer rise 

 above 59 Fahr. at mid-day. 



Odontogiossum odoratum is most conspicuous as 

 well for its heavy-branched spike of flowers as for its 

 powerful smell, which fills the air until it becomes 

 oppressive. The plants are almost hidden from sight 

 in the trailing mass of lichen, and when they are not 

 in flower they are difficult to find. I arrived at night at 

 the hut called El Ortiz, after a toilsome ride, but the 

 whole journey had been made through a wealth of 

 orchids. Being informed by the natives that the 

 Odontogiossum crispum had all been taken away 

 from here, leaving only the Odontogiossum odoratum, 

 I was obliged to continue my journey over the top of 

 the mountain-ranee, alonof a track which is too bad to 

 describe, but, at the same time, the scenery is very 

 beautiful. 



After three days' journey, passing on the way a 

 lovely valley rich with patches of sugar-cane and 

 maize, and also a small village called Buenavista, 

 I struck into the forest, in the direction of the 



