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“Just Hangin’ Out” or “Chilling” is a good thing when it’s such a cool place!
Sometimes you gotta just chill. You gotta chill your thinking process. ~Ghostface Killah
¡Pura Vida!
Good morning Costa Rica! It’s another beautiful day! Here’s today’s sunrise from the beach at Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Caribe Sur. And if you like photos of sunrises and sunsets, check out my gallery: Vistas and while I post I’m watching a Gray-cowled Woodrail build a nest just below my terrace. Cool!
“Good morning . . . It will smile at you if you smile at it”
¡Pura Vida!
It is called Finca la Isla Permaculture Farm and Botanical Gardens. It reminded me of the old hippie organic gardening farms we had a few of across the states. Though they were picking fruit for tomorrow morning’s Farmers’ Market, they obviously aren’t making much money at farming or with tourist visits. The only other visitor there this morning was a really nice Indian Doctor/Surgeon from Trinidad who drove me to my hotel after our visit and snack of fresh fruits. He grows tropical fruits in Trinidad as a hobby and was collecting seeds from Costa Rica. Interesting! I continue to have such serendipity people experiences like him and the French family at the Sloth Sanctuary yesterday! It’s a small world in Costa Rica! 🙂
The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.
— Alfred Austin
!Pura Vida!
This morning before going to the organic botanical gardens in Puerto Viejo, I walked a ways down the beach road behind Banana Azul along Playa Negra or Black Beach because of some black volcanic sand in places. Its a forest walk or drive and the trees are as impressive as the beach. Here’s a few shots.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.
¡Pura Vida!
I finally got up early enough for sunrise on the beach – wow! I won’t miss anymore! 🙂
Before the sun actually rises may be my favorite time.
¡Pura Vida!
Today is a rainy day but I went ahead and visited the Sloth Sanctuary in Cahuita, Costa Rica and really glad I did! We had light rain the first part of the canoe trip and thus I did not take out my big camera until near the end, missing a lot of birds, but I have all of them from other places and enjoyed someone else paddling the canoe! 🙂
The canoe trip is to see where the sloths live in the wild before we go into the building to see the rescued sloths. We saw howler monkeys & lots of birds but no wild sloths. A VERY EXCELLENT TOUR that I highly recommend to anyone in this area! I sure learned a lot about sloths!
Banana Azul provided transportation to the sanctuary, about 15 minutes away. It is just as good as the Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto Viejo and the Ara Project Manzanillo I had already visited here in the South Caribbean. I highly recommend all three! They all do great work saving animals and our environment! Part of the culture of Costa Rica! 🙂
🙂
¡Pura Vida!
I know – it is not like “Hyper Charlie” to just sit or lay on a beach for any length of time when there are things to chase with my camera – but I did after deciding to postpone my trip to the Sloth Rescue Center until tomorrow. The hotel is not full (low season) and the big group here went white water rafting today, so only me and one young couple on the beach and one bored young hotel waiter from whom I ordered a Strawberry-Pineapple-Mango Smoothie and talked for an hour or more about birds, sloths, and his old beat up Hyundai. He was glad to have someone to talk with. 🙂
I also read about three chapters in my latest Agatha Christie mystery, so a nice afternoon chilling out, watching the ocean and I even got these photos! 🙂
Now it is raining again and so refreshing . . . as I sit on my big deck with my computer! Next is a great dinner tonight! 🙂
- An ocean breeze puts a mind at ease. …
¡Pura Vida!
These 4 species of birds were finding their breakfast as I ate mine on the patio of Hotel Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica this morning. How fortunate I am to live and travel in such a beautiful, peaceful little country! ¡Pura Vida!
“The sky’s gone blue: azure, the ocean bluer: cerulean, the trees are swirls of every hella freaking green on earth and bright thick eggy yellow is spilling over everything.”
― I’ll Give You the Sun
🙂
¡Pura Vida!
I guess this is becoming typical of me, too many photos the first day of a trip. There just seems to be so many photo possibilities that I can’t stop. To not look overwhelming, I’ve grouped them into slideshows. Pick the one that interests you! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
I like this new welcome video Banana Azul has commissioned for its website! It’s casual nature kind of depicts the casual nature of the place that is popular with young American Backpackers staying in hostels, as well as more traditional tourists like me. Be sure to click the “Full Screen” Icon in lower right corner while watching:
I will be doing another personal post later as I share my arrival here! Though the featured photo at top is mine showing how American advertisers are welcome to spend their money here! Ha, ha! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!