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 - 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 - 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.       

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.     

STL DPB On The Road - Mystical Torment

We visited someplace near Tamarindo that was new to us, La Senda (the path). It sounded interesting but turned out to be not so pleasant. In fact, Mrs. C characterized it as torture.

Two European women have developed this new-age-y, sort of mystical place not far out of town. There is a labyrinth (as opposed to a maze), about 3 km long with the path marked by cacti. It’s supposed to be designed around energy centers and sacred numbers, if that's your cup of tea (it's not ours). After a very cramped van ride from town, one of the owners gives an introduction and leads you to the labyrinth. 3 km is a long way after a day in the heat! The walk starts just before sunset and it’s dark by the time you finish. No one tells you to bring a flashlight. If I didn’t have one on my phone it would have been hard to get out safely. The whole thing was quite exhausting. We had to maintain a forced march just to get out, despite our fatigue. The experience reminded me of one of Ellie's favorite kid songs.

The second photo is one of the owners giving her explanation, but it could be a preview of the headache that awaited us. Then the inexorable march began. There was a pause at the first, um, vortex, where a woman played singing bowls - nice, but stereotypical. Visitors were invited to meditate (never a bad idea) or to make expressive paintings. After this short break the slog resumed.

Later, they served dinner to the visitors at one long table. Pretty good food but the table conversation with interesting people was better. Someone asked Mrs. C what her favorite part was. The exit, she said.   

Hardware Failure

My new Fujifilm camera, for which I had such high hopes, has been taken out of service. A few of the autofocus features just don't work and a couple of other things are malfunctioning. Looks like it needs warranty repair or replacement. I spent hours yesterday trying to troubleshoot it. No luck.

So it's my trusty little Olympus for the rest of the trip. Took it out with me to dinner tonight. We'll see what can do in the blinding sunlight tomorrow.  

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.    

Time To Move On

All good things must come to an end. (And, if you think about it, bad things, too. It's helpful to have at least a bit of a Buddhist attitude.) Time to wrap up the images from another trip to enchanting Costa Rica, with many thanks to our hosts, Dave and Julie. We hope we can go back next year. I'd really like to bring our daughter and granddaughter Madeleine (who will be back here on Monday). I can imagine her delight while observing the critters in the tide pools.

I don't have a single frame of new local material. Better get back out on the streets of St. Louis today and see what's going on.                

Eh?

What to do with your life: fly all the way to Tamarindo bloody Costa Rica, sit in Sharky's bar and watch a hockey game between the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers. Works for me.

No surprise, but there are a lot of Canadians in Tamarindo at this time  of year. The majority of people staying at the condo complex were from the Maritimes, Edmonton or Calgary. (There was one family from Wasilla, Alaska - you know, the town where a former vice presidential candidate ostensibly lives).  We were the southernmost people there. When we were returning to the airport Sunday we got stuck behind a long procession of identical Hundai SUVs, all flying the Quebec flag.

Sharky's is an odd little place. We went there for lunch a bit before noon and the alcohol was already flowing freely. Once again, pura vida.

Wish You Were Here

And me, too. It's been an awful week back at work. I'm looking for a way to ease out of my career of more than 40 years. Not that I'd hang out on a beach or learn to surf (that's a laughable idea). But I'm reminded of an old, bad joke - Question: Why do you keep banging your head against the wall? Answer: because it feels so good when I stop. There's none of that going on in Costa Rica. Pura vida, y'all.          

Tropical Moose Racing

Pictures on the wall of a motorcycle repair shop right on the beach in Tamarindo. Go figure.       

Wildlife

A tiny crab, not more than 4 inches/10 cm across, scuttling across Playa Langosta. Mrs. C found a bunch more on one of the lava rock formations jutting out of the water. They were wet and slippery, and I have a poor sense of balance (from creaky knees and trifocals?) so I decided to take her word for it.

Those are three tiny snails in front of the crab. I don't think it was interested in them as a snack. The crab found its way into a hole in the sand moments later. The bottom picture is a broad view of the area.              

Ocean Gate

Perhaps a piece of beach art. It invites us to use our imagination. Found on Playa Langosta.

            

 

Adios

Sunset at Playa Langosta. I hope this little movie is viewable. Don't know a thing about video editing and I've been wrestling with getting this done and uploaded.

Leaving Costa Rica today. Back to reality, which looks pretty heavy this week. Lacking any other material, I may have some more from here in the coming days.

             

La Luna, El Cocinero Y El Capitan

Almost time to go home. We went to dinner last night at the restaurant of a boutique hotel just down the road, Capitan Suizo. Our old friend, Jujo Molina, has become executive chef. He offers a tasting menu on Friday nights at a very reasonable price.

A just-barely-not-full moon was rising over the palm trees as Jujo and his staff served us culinary delights. There was a saxophone player making sure our blood pressure stayed low. It's going to be hard to leave tomorrow.    

Sorry no post yesterday. I shot some video of the sunset Thursday evening but I don't know a thing about editing them movin' pitchers and it took me hours to figure out the basics of iMovie. Then it took three hours to upload the clip to Blogger, and then it didn't work. It may show up here yet.  

Angry Birds

At least that's how the first one strikes me. A snowy egret, I think, with a bad attitude. Mean claws, too.

We took a two hour boat ride on the estuary between Tamarindo and Playa Grande with a local guide, Gerardo Santana, who knows his stuff. Almost all of the waterway is undeveloped and wildlife is left to itself but for a few small tourist boats. At one point we went up a small side channel, pulled up to the shore and walked through the forest looking for howler monkeys.

The bird taking off is a great blue heron. My traveling companion and family naturalist tells me that the third is a yellow banded black heron. Not sure about that - the beaks are so different.

Oh, and not a good idea to take a swim here.