TOWARD THE END OF THE DAY

 

A photography teacher once told me that outdoor light was good enough to shoot if the angle of the top of an object to the tip of its shadow was at least 45 degrees. That's surely the case here, winding up our trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We question when or if we will be back. We're getting old and physical activities are becoming a challenge. The arthritis in my lumbar spine is worse, and I needed a bunch of airport wheelchairs last weekend. Having a super duper pain management procedure that has helped before, but it's not for three weeks.

So I need to search for something new. Suburban Kansas City this weekend for a family event.                

NOT IN THE SCRABBLE DICTIONARY

 

We rent a mid-size SUV when we go to Costa Rica. Although the roads have improved a lot over the years, it's never a bad idea to have all wheel drive. However, when we arrived at the agency hours late, they didn't have what we booked. They offered an "upgrade", this behemoth. I didn't like it. I mean, the thing had mood lighting on the inside that changed when you played music. The name is like all those mysterious Chinese products you see on Amazon. Someone puts a bunch of Roman consonants and vowels in a box, shakes it, and sets out any short string that is pronounceable in a European language. I half-expected someone to say "bless you!" after I said the name.                     

GOOD FOR WHATEVER AILS YOU

 

Got a problem? Any problem? This is the place to come. Pharmacies in Costa Rica work more like those in Europe than in the U.S. No giant chains like Walgreen's or CVS here. They tend to be tiny and independent. You have to talk to the pharmacist about your muscle pain or diarrhea, and they will you tell you what to take. No vast selection of over the counter stuff like here. This one, though, seems to eliminate any need for a physician.  

STOP; OR I VISIT HOUSTON FOR THE FIRST TIME (SORT OF)

A nicer than average house in Granada, Nicaragua. No light coming in from the front. Windows traditionally face an interior courtyard.

We have not had a good flying experience on this trip. As I mentioned, both our STL - DFW and DFW - LIR segments were four hours late. Not too much inconvenience, as we had planned to overnight at DFW anyway. On Saturday, our inbound plane to Liberia was on time. However, The Liberia CR airport is so far over capacity in high season that the plane had to wait a long time for a gate to open, so much so that the pilots timed out and can't fly all the way to Dallas. So we are landing in Houston to get another crew. Customs and immigration there, then on to Dallas, where we will miss the last flight to STL of the night. 

Never been to Houston. We've visited Kathmandu, El Calafate, Alice Springs and X'ían, but never America's fourth largest city. I could do without.                       

FATHER AND SON

 

Another scene on Playa Langosta. Dad needs to keep a careful watch among the waves and rocks. Looonnnggg day trip up into Nicaragua  today. They are picking us up at our condo at 4:15 AM. Hope we can drag ourselves out in time.                  

SURFER'S PARADISE

 

Back to our old haunts on Playa Langosta. Lots of surfing here and at next-door Playa Tamarindo.The waves are big enough to be interesting but not so much as to be dangerous - with one exception. This was shot just short of high tide. Lots of the beach has sharp, black volcanic rock, mostly submerged at this time. You really need to know where you are going or wait for low tide.               

CITY DAILY PHOTO MARCH THEME - WHITE

Seems like every city has a Ferris wheel these days. This is ours, at St. Louis Union Station. Bright white in the daylight, but covered with colored, pulsing, changing LEDs at night.               

 

   

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - DAY’S END

 

Just past sunset on Tamarindo beach. There was a group of young women in fancy tropical dresses waiting at water’s edge. Perhaps there was a seaborne soiree. It may  be time to go back to The Lou but more Costa Rica at https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobcrowe/albums/72177720324696670/ and more to add in the next few days.                

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - SHIPWRECK

 

Tamarindo beach, where the day trip boats anchor. Dinghies shuttle the passengers to and from the beach. This one has seen better days. No way to tell whether it broke up here or out at sea and then washed in. It’s a bit of an exaggeration to call it a shipwreck but it still looks a bit scary.

Home yesterday. I’ll stick with these for a bit until I find some local stuff.                        

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - CHILL OUT

 

Seen on the lawn of our condo development between the pool and the beach. As Mrs. C and I get older we wonder what there is to do here if our granddaughter isn’t with us. We don’t sit on the beach. I’m as pale as they come and I’ve already had melanoma once. The pool is okay (Ellie loves it) but it doesn’t do much for us. People used to bring books and read on the lawn. Now they have tablets. Will there be a next time?                 

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - RATE OF EXCHANGE

 

Somehow I think this supposed to be a joke. Seen at a little taco restaurant in Tamarindo which is, in fact, cash only. By the way, the ahi tuna tacos were smashing.                    

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - BLACKHAWK

 

Another must-do when we come here is a boat ride on the Tamarindo Estuary, a body of salty to brackish water separating the town from sweeping and little-developed Playa Grande. Thar be crocodiles. The guides are sharp-eyed and experienced, picking out wildlife in the surrounding mangroves that I would never see. We were told this is a blackhawk. I’ll take the guides word.                

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - FIRE DANCERS

 

It’s on the to-do list for every trip to Tamarindo. After dark, groups of dancers who play with fire go from one beachfront restaurant to another, performing to pounding music. The shows are spectacular. They do it for tips, and we tip generously.                                 

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - THE OBLIGATORY SHOT

 

Have to do this one every time we come here. Taken from poolside at the condo development, Playa Langosta, near Tamarindo.                          

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - PLAYA LANGOSTA

Lobster Beach, although I’ve never seen any lobster fishermen here. Parts of the beach are littered with black rock from ancient lava flows. This is where we come year after year. I don’t know how much longer we will return. We’re old and my balance on sand is insecure; I did not make it far down this land and seascape. But as long as my granddaughter wants to keep coming...                       

STL DPB IN COSTA RICA - MADELEINE MONDAY

 

Happy to be at the end of the road. Dinner at Ellie’s favorite local restaurant, El Sapo (the toad), where they serve the kitty pizza. The kid is in heaven. She has her two lambies and a pair of plush sloths (there’s a concept) she talked me into buying her at the supermarket. One is tan, one is brown, and they are held together by velcro. She named them Costa and Rica.      

OH, AND I FORGOT - Saturday was this project’s 18th anniversary. 6,749 posts to date.     

STL DPB IN THE AIR - HEADING SOUTH

 

The kid’s spring school break comes up next week. We are taking Ellie back to our favorite place in Costa Rica. She’s been there a couple of times and just loves it. The scene here is sunset at Tamarindo beach. Flying to Dallas-Fort Worth this afternoon, overnight there, and then onward Sunday morning. It might be good to get out of the U.S. for a while.             

CITY DAILY PHOTO JUNE THEME - OUTDOOR CAFES

I have a problem with this month's theme. We don't dine al fresco much, generally preferring the comfort and, in the city, quiet of an indoor dining room. A search of my archives turned up nothing appropriate from the local scene. We regularly dine outdoors, however, during our frequent trips to Costa Rica. In fact, there are few opportunities to eat indoors in the beach town of Tamarindo that we usually visit. This will have to do. BTW, I wouldn't be caught dead in that  shirt.  

See other CDP members' favorite open air spots at https://citydailyphoto.org/category/theme-days/

                

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - OLD HIPPIES

Well, so much for scouting out eclipse viewing sites. My car had a nail in one of its tires and I couldn't drive any distance until it was fixed. By then it was too late to hit the road.

So back to Costa Rica. I mentioned that we took a drive to Playa Grande, just north of Tamarindo but 45 minutes away because there is no bridge across the estuary. At the end of the road sits The Grateful Hotel and Sugaree's Bar and Grill, sort of a 60s-70s fantasy for old Deadheads. The restaurant is a decent lunch stop. Was our trip long and strange? Eh, not so much.                

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - TROPICAL BOUNTY

At the Feria Tamarindo again. We see this produce vendor every time we visit and the bounty seems never-ending. We rarely buy something since we go out to dinner almost every night.

As most North Americans know, there will be a total eclipse on Monday, April 8, running from southwest Mexico to Texas, parts of the U.S. Midwest, northern New England and then the Canadian Maritimes. St. Louis will be close to but not quite in the path of totality. I expect to spend much of today driving around looking for someplace right down central that might not be too crowded (thinking Walmart parking lot or similar). I'll keep my eyes open for images, too.