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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!   🙂

Botanical Gardens Photos

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!

That is the title of the latest book I am reading To Bless the Space Between Us by John Donohue, which is a book of Celtic Blessings. With this collection of blessings and his discussion I see how anyone can be a blessing to me and how I in turn can bless anyone.    🙂

It might be summed up in 3 lines from his printed “House Blessing:”

“May you have the eyes to see

That no visitor arrives without a gift

And no guest leaves without a blessing.”

~John Donohue

And thus I leave in the morning to the airport with my driver Cristian who’s positive spirit always blesses me and I end up later in the morning at one of the most welcoming and relaxing of all hotels in Costa Rica,  Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo.

After a delicious breakfast on their patio watching birds, I will walk down the beach to central Puerto Viejo  (I always arrive too early for my room to be ready, so I leave my bags and do my first photo-walk).    🙂    Yes, this is an annual pilgrimage for me – always full of blessings!

In this quaint little Caribbean town I will walk, greet people, and discover new beauty every few meters, to behold and photograph both as art and pura vida people blessing me! I hope in my first walk to find focus on this year’s set of Caribe photos and the photo book to follow, as I record the beauty of the “graciousness of the destination,” inspired by another John Donohue quote shared last week:

“When the destination becomes gracious, the journey becomes an adventure of beauty.”

-John O’Donohue

People Who Blessed Me Last Year

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May I accept each of their blessings and may I bless them!

Join me on my journey as I blog blessings daily from Puerto Viejo.

¡Pura Vida!