Most first-timers to Ecuador really take to this place. I can see why.

It’s not like the butterflies do anything special. They just flit about and eat rotten bananas. Some find themselves, upside-down and wriggling, in puddles of their own amniotic fluid. Others get under foot and that’s pretty much game over.

And yet, simply to stand among these gloriously fragile and short-lived creatures – to have them light upon me with no invitation – must be one of the highlights of my existence. It’s absolutely delightful; such a pure thing – I can’t explain it.

Perhaps I shouldn’t try. Here are the photos.