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?          

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.           

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 - We Never Tire Of It

We are not a couple who like to lie out on a beach, avoiding consideration of the co-pays for melanoma treatment. This is a sunny place, though, that is so beautiful we return again and again. This our tenth trip to Costa Rica and our eighth in the Tamarindo - Playa Langosta area.

Thanks to some wonderful people who own a beachfront condo, we have the benefit of the ocean and beautiful accommodations. If anyone is interested in coming here, we can put you in touch with the right people. You do have to book well in advance for this particular property. We have our week for February, 2019 reserved.    

Sailing, Sailing, Over The Bounding Main

for many a stormy wind shall blow e're Jack comes home again.

Or 6 o'clock, whichever comes first.

The afternoon sail is a nearly obligatory activity in Tamarindo. We took the Marlin del Rey this year, a large catamaran. It takes you out around a point northwest of town to a cove where you can swim or snorkel. There is an open bar (boy, those Canadians can knock back the brewskis) and a buffet lunch. On the way back you can sun yourself or watch for whales. We saw some. Bad pictures to follow.

A word of advice for those with northern European genes, like, say, an Irish-Polish blend. Wear sunscreen whose SPF number is about the same as the population of New York City. I didn't get badly burned but felt miserable last night. Is there such a thing as sun poisoning? I should have worn a burnoose.

The last two photos are particularly for my friend Olivier. There were many interesting characters on board. We'll see some of them tomorrow.                  

Land's End

.

We can get Internet access at the visitor's center in Forks, Washington, a logging town in the middle of the forest. The second and third shots were taken from just outside our cabin on the bluffs at Kalaloch. The first and fourth are at Ruby Beach, 10 minutes north.

I'll do a post for tomorrow morning now. Back to Seattle Wednesday afternoon.