What am I looking at?

[Piper23]

Pics of two sides of the same orchid attached

Is the "woody" appearing growth around the stem normal?

The new growths from the stem- are they new roots? Stems developing for flowers? And how can you tell the difference between root and stem growth?

[estación seca]

I see healed, corked-over scratches. New roots have a light green tip, and are bright white past that. New spikes are the same green as the plant.

[Blueszz]

Plus in Phalaenopsis spikes always grow from the side, under a leaf, while roots can grow from any direction.
Indeed spikes grow in de same color as the plant but also, the tip isn’t rounded but have the shape of a mitten.