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.     

Pura Vida

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Pura vida is the unofficial national motto of Costa Rica. It translates literally as pure life but it means so much more. It's about making the most of what live gives you in a generous and caring way, sort of carpe diem with a warm, soft touch. It is expressed in many ways, including the country's strong commitment to environmental preservation (although not its bad roads). The large national park system is evidence.

We took a day trip yesterday to Palo Verde National Park, which surrounds the Tempisque River. I'm no nature photographer but the subject matter was literally falling out of the trees. These photos are just a part of what I shot yesterday. I will edit more when I can and put them in the growing set of CR pictures on Flickr here.

Today is our last day here. We'll drive to the next village up the road where where there is supposed to be a festival. There may be bull riding or even a bull fight.

I want to take a minute to recommend Carolina's restaurant in Tamarindo. We had dinner there last night and twice when we were here 14 months ago. It's one of our favorite restaurants in the world. The food is incomparable - I had potato-crusted mahi mahi in a vanilla cream sauce that was simply amazing. Carolina, who received her culinary training in Switzerland, and her staff are the warmest, sweetest people you could meet. Pura vida.