Fruit Snacks

The area we visit in Costa Rica is full of iguanas. We often see them sunbathing on the lawn behind the condo where we stay. There were plenty around the estuary when we took our ride.

The boatmen always have a quartered pineapple in a cooler. During the trip they slice it into bite-sized pieces, providing the passengers with a tasty snack. Our pilot threw the rinds to the iguanas. They were pretty interested.           

STL DPB On The Road - Bite Me

There is an estuary on the west side of Tamarindo that runs a mile or two inland. You can take a ride with a local boatman who points out the many form of wildlife. There are lots of species of birds and sneaky predators like this crocodile. 

No running your hand through the water from the boat. However, I have seen boys swimming around the area where the boats are moored. Perhaps as a result, the sign was recently installed.

DINNER AND A SHOW

There's a really nice beachfront hotel called Capitan Suizo near where we stay in Playa Langosta. The name is Spanish for the Swiss Captain. Their excellent restaurant, El Barco, is open to the public. We've gotten to know the executive chef, Jujo Molina, over the last few years. We always contact him before we head south to see what's going on.

There was a Costa Rican barbecue buffet and entretenimiento costarricense. The food, as always under Jujo's supervision, was wonderful. The entertainment was fun but almost all backlit. Tough shooting.     

STL DPB AT SEA - BOOZE CRUISE

Now that I have your attention...

There is still some Costa Rica material to go through. Since I'm not real mobile these days, I need to use what's on hand. 

There are a couple of afternoon boat rides out of Tamarindo. Every few years we go out with Blue Dolphin Sailing on a trip everyone calls the booze cruise. They run a big catamaran that goes around the point in the bottom picture to a cove where you can snorkel. There is a buffet and an open bar - all the wine, local beer and cacique punch you can hold. Cacique is the local sugar cane-based white lightening. When mixed with sweet tropical fruit juices it's dangerous. Where were those life jackets?          

STL DPB On The Road - Street Photographs

Posts and picture have been low because I still have significant mobility problems. I can walk some but uneven surfaces (plenty of them here) are a problem. Plus I have a pretty bad cold (and yes, those of you who watch out for me, I went to la pharmacia and la doctora prescribed an expectorant-decongestant, being very careful to tell me how much and how often). Not sure how much good it's doing. Some.

So I utilized a time-honored street photographer's technique. We went to find a place to sit at  an Argentine place called Patagonia. We were early so we had our pick of tables. Many Tico restaurants are open sided so we went to corner seats, I flipped down the LED screen so I was not conspicuous and fired away.

STL DPB On The Road - If 6 Was 9

Now if 6 turned out to be 9
I don't mind, I don't mind . . .
Dig, 'cos I got my own world to live through
And I ain't gonna copy you.

Jimi Hendrix, 1967

A memory of being young on my sixty-ninth birthday. The first two lines are profound if you think about it a bit. I've had a privileged life that lately has seen some, uh, physical wear and tear. Walking on sand with a cane is not advised. (Maybe there are snowshoe-like canes?)

Went into town to look for a place for a drink with sunset views. Bingo. Way better compared to the condo, which has nothing interesting in the foreground. Still, I had to throw in a Playa Langosta picture with Mrs. C. doing the beachcomber thing.

STL DPB On The Road - Tough Day In Paradise

Shot almost nothing yesterday. I feel too much like I did in France last year - weak, sleeping way too much. Many pharmacies here have a physician attached to them so if I don't get better soon I'll check one out.

Got down to the pool before sunset and tried to take some handheld shots. They were awful. This one is tolerable. Lots of people go down to the beach for the show. We will try to get down there today, where there is always something to shoot.     

Endless Summer

It feels like that when you are a repeat visitor from the north but it is not really so. There are two seasons here, hot and dry and hot and wet. Nobody comes to Costa Rica to get soaked.

Very little shooting yesterday. Since I'm moving slowly, it took a while for us to repack and get out of the hotel in Samara. Then a couple of hours drive to Tamarindo, condo not ready so go look for lunch (click over to Facebook for the most famous part of the menu). It took twice as long as it would in the US but we're on Tico time. Go with it. It's good for your blood pressure. Then the usual supermarket run. Later, down to poolside to meet new people and say hello to old friends. 

The only shots I got were from the beachside edge of Eat At Joes. The group under the tree is a surfing class. All young, muscular and beautiful.             

STL DPB On The Road - Catch of the Day

Given my walking limits we thought a boat ride would be nice. The hotel signed us up for a 3.5 hour trip out of Playa Carillo east of town. It is a sweeping crescent of powder and nearly empty. Our guide, Esteban, told us there were always plenty of dolphins and if we were lucky we might see some whales.

It was the other way around. A female and two juveniles stayed around the boat while we tried to keep a respectful distance. Esteban said this was unusual since these humpback whales only have one calf at a time. His guess was that something happened to one of the mothers and the other was allowing both of the young ones to nurse.

This was a very lucky shot. I could not stand for more than a couple of seconds when the boat was out on the water so I sat on a bench and tried to twist around. The photo gods bless the patient. 

And not a dolphin to be found. Over to Tamarindo today.           

STL DPB On The Road - They Told Me To Take It Easy

And what choice do I have? I get around but standing and walking are limited. Sitting and lying are not so off we go.

We're not crazy about Samara. It's okay and has what you need but access to the main beach is isn't easy. It is beyond the shoreline development and parking is tough. Tamarindo has lots more options. On the advice of the hotel, we took a look at Playa Camaronal west of town, which was pretty empty. I don't sit on a beach since I'm as white as they make 'em but it was pretty and peaceful. The caretaker, though, has an attitude about you and your best friend.

Since I can't hike we are taking a boat ride to look for dolphins this morning. Might do me some good to get into the water.

Today's traveling with a handicap note: Ticos, as the locals call themselves, have been ever-gracious about my limitations. It's the Americans that can cause problems. This is a new issue to me. We were entering a restaurant last night that had a single person wide step from the street into the entrance. One of my countrymen stood there and stood there while I was bent over my cane, blocking my way until I barked at him, "Excuse me, sir. I need the step." A fair number of Americans don't see me or just look through me. The Ticos never do that.

       

STL DPB On The Road - Pura Vida Una Vez Más

Greeting from our more-or less home from home, the northwest coast of Costa Rica. If you have ever visited, you know that the national slogan, pura vida, means much more than pure life in English. It's a pervasive attitude, a way of life.

Yesterday was a tough travel day. Those of you who know me personally know that my spine and joint problems have been up and down over the last year and at the moment they are really UP. We usually spend a week near the busy town of Tamarindo but we started this trip with three nights down the coast at the much smaller town of Sámara. This is out in the sticks and impossible to navigate in the dark. The hotel clerk recommended a few restaurants, none of which we could find (we got pretty lost on the dirt roads). We chanced by what looked like a Mexican restaurant and tequila bar. Ho hum, but we were tired and hungry. And so we went into La Catrina, which was a blast. Wonderful people, wonderful food. In our opinion, best margarita and daquiri we've  ever had.

Maybe I could say more later, but for now let me note that they have a miniature pet pig named Simone, who loves to squeal loudly. 

STL DPB On The Road - The Sad Mariachi

There are many restaurants in Tamarindo near the beach. On all of our visits we found mariachi bands going from one to another, playing a few Mexican songs and asking for tips. It's optional but I always give them something. The music is pretty good and it seems like a hard way to make a living.

As a rule, the performers are pretty cheerful. However, the affect of this accordionist told me that something was weighing him down. He never smiled, but he still played well.       

Lizards And Leftovers

I need to run through some more images from Costa Rica until there is an opportunity to shoot new material back here. (There is something on  tomorrow.) Going back over the files, I found this. For some reason it got past me on my first review. This was taken during a night walk in the Monteverde cloud forest with a superb local guide. How he finds these little critters in the dark, even with a flashlight, is beyond me.   

City Dailly Photo Theme Day - Play

I managed to come up with something from Costa Rica for CDP theme day. This was taken at just about the same place as the photo in yesterday's post.     

Endless Summer

Costa Rica is about half way between the Tropic of Cancer and the equator. The Pacific coast is warm all year round but there is a wet and dry season. It's hot every afternoon at this time of year and rarely rains. From April-May until around November it rains pretty much every afternoon, sometimes in torrents. The tourist authorities euphemistically call that the green season.

Big slap in the face getting back to work this week. Editing and posting time is limited so I'll pare down the content. This scene is a couple of hundred meters down the beach from the condo where we stay, as sunset approaches.      

STL DPB On The Road - A Parade In Liberia

After our walk around in Liberia we found that there was a local festival starting. Not sure what it was about but there was a parade at noon that Friday. Worst possible light and fill flash wasn't up to the job at a distance. Still, it was a lot of fun. Some of the horses are trained to prance, almost to dance. Note the Los Angeles car wash and parking lot. This is Costa Rican cowboy country.     

STL DPB On The Road - People in The Market

The power was out here last night for about four hours during the time I usually edit photos. We were lucky to find a small restaurant that had a propane stove where we could get carry out dinner. These pictures were difficult to work with because  the vendors all had green translucent awnings over their tables, creating a color cast that was beyond my Photoshop skills.

Some people were cheerful, others not. It was hot and the market wasn't very busy. The boy in the second picture is wearing a variation on a St. Louis cardinals cap.

Home late tonight. Long layover in Miami. May get more editing done. There is more to see.   

STL DPB On The Road - Farmers Market

We took a tour yesterday of Liberia, a city of 57,000 and the capital of the province, Guanacaste. It has a Walmart now. (Sigh.)

One of the highlights was a walk through the farmers market, bursting with color and unusual flavors. We don't know what the things in the top picture are. I think the second has plantains, not bananas. More to come.       

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - RIO TEMPISQUE

Note carefully the horizontal shape at the bottom of the first picture. The snowy egeret doesn't seem worried.

We took a day trip with a guide yesterday to Palo Verde national park, including a long boat ride on the Rio Tempisque, the principal waterway in the area. If you will pardon an overworked phrase, the place is teeming with wildlife. These guides have amazing vision and experience, picking out things I could never see on my own.

We'll do a few birds today. I lost track of all the names. The second one is a boat-billed flycatcher. One of the other two could be a dag nabbit bootie shaker for all I know.

Many thanks to my photography patron saint, Bobbi Lane, for suggesting a work-around for using the Fuji until the problem is fixed.