White Angled Sulphur Butterfly

White Angled Sulphur Butterfly 
In My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica

 

White Angled Sulphur Butterfly 
 In My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica

This was difficult to identify. I photographed one in 2015 and was a little unsure then, but with my new Mexico butterfly book I am certain now and confirmed it on the internet. Different!  🙂

See my Butterflies Photo Gallery.

Un día tranquilo en el pueblo.

Un día tranquilo en el pueblo.  —  A quiet day in the village. 
 Atenas, Costa Rica
 as seen from my hilltop walk this morning. 

Several of my Photo Galleries include images of Atenas: 


Walking in Atenas  (mostly flowers & trees)
Vistas  (1st 3 sub galleries are of Atenas)
Atenas, Costa Rica (General, of buildings & people)

Costa Rica Birds  &  Other Wildlife  include many photos made in Atenas! 
Now that’s more info than you wanted, but hopefully it shows how complete my total Costa Rica Photo Gallery is as you drill down into different levels of galleries. It is true as named: 

And in many ways my main website now as a retiree in Costa Rica. Check it out! It is what I like doing more than anything now, making interesting photos of different aspects of Costa Rica. 

Nesting Material

Rufous-naped Wren
Resting in a Cecropia (Guarumo) Tree
With nesting material from a Nance Tree
For the nest being built in my tallest palm tree.
Atenas, Costa Rica

And more birds in photo gallery:  Costa Rica Birds (238 Species)  

This particular wren is one of the most visible around my house and the most common one to fly inside my house as two did yesterday until I waved a towel for their exit.

¡Pura Vida!

Independence Day 2017

Lots of Bands!
See more in the Photo Gallery

Lots of Traditional Dancing! 
 See more in the Photo Gallery

Lots of Children! 
 See more in the Photo Gallery

It is my new approach to the blog, not putting 12 or more photos for one event, but rather linking to those many cool photos in my online gallery. You will especially enjoy some of the faces in this new photo gallery:

South Caribbean — The Book!

Just click the image above to go to the online preview of the book in my online bookstore. Free!
Or if you just want to see photos of my latest trip there, go to the TRIP Gallery below or one of the other trips made to this area of Costa Rica.
STILL CONFUSED ABOUT ME LIVING NEAR THE CARIBBEAN?
If you still find the word “Caribbean” confusing, think of it this way: All those islands south of Florida (Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rica, Haiti, Virgin Islands, etc) are in
THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA
And me, Costa Rica, all of Central America, part of southern Mexico, Columbia in South America are all on
THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA
Does that help with geography? Now to complicate it a little more, all of us in Central America (except El Salvador) have an east coast and a west coast. Our east coast is the Caribbean Sea (I think technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean) and our west coast is the Pacific Ocean. So I just spent 5 days on an Atlantic Ocean beach and in December I plan to spend 6 days on a Pacific Ocean beach. But still always in Costa Rica!  🙂

I’m in Central America — Not on an Island in the Caribbean! :-)

Think of us as near the Panama Canal!
And South America!

We are between Nicaragua & Panama.
Only Panama separates us from Columbia, South America.
And there is a big Colombian influence here
including 1 airline, restaurants, and my barber!  🙂

And there are 5 totally different worlds between us and Mexico!
 And only Panama separating us from Columbia
and South America!
Costa Rica is NOT Puerto Rica, an island in the Caribbean sea just south of Florida USA. (This seems to still be a point of confusion for a lot of my American friends who are geographically challenged!) So I was nowhere near the Hurricane Irma that just ravaged the Caribbean Islands and Florida. There was also a smaller hurricane and earthquake that hit Mexico. I am 5 countries south of Mexico, so no where near their recent hurricane and earthquake either. (But thanks for the prayers anyway!) For more on our location with maps, see Costa Rica on Wikipedia. 
Now, for the last week I’ve been talking about my visit to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica because our east coast is on “The Caribbean Sea” which is really a part of the Atlantic Ocean I think, and I’m right near where ships move from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal. Again study the above maps. Sorry if my visit last week to our Costa Rica “Caribbean” confused you! And by the way, Sept-Oct are the two driest months in our Caribbean and I had no rain there, though I flew back through rain clouds to San Jose where the central valley is in its two rainiest months now! The opposite of our Caribbean coast. So I travel where the weather is good!  🙂
¡Pura Vida!

Leaves As Art

Many Dead Leaves
were on the path walking through Cahuita National Park
and I decided they were beautiful, even “underfoot.”
Cahuita National Park, Caribe, Costa Rica

I forgot to share another category of photos made on this week’s trip. And I know, I pick strange things to photograph sometimes, but I think you might like this little sub-gallery in my trip gallery: 

A Photo Gallery
And yes, they were underfoot on the trail through the Cahuita Park. Since I wasn’t seeing many birds, I started noticing the different kinds of fallen leaves and even one flower which I have since learned is called a “Beach Hibiscus.” So that flower and this collection of leaves are a part of my memories of Cahuita National Park on the Caribbean Sea in Costa Rica! 
Beach HibiscusCahuita National Park, Caribe, Costa Rica

And see the full trip gallery called: 

Simply enjoying life and 
the great pleasures that come with it. 
~Karolina Kurkova
¡Pura Vida!

Finishing My Caribe Report with Galleries

For my last morning’s sunrise I watch fishermen go out. And . . .
Below are four categories of my photos not shown yet
all linked to sub-galleries in this trip gallery with
more bikes, birds, nature and culture photos.
Caribe Bicycles
The Major Mode of Transportation
Puerto Viejo, Caribe, Costa Rica

Masked Tityra
Samasati Reserve

Actually we walked down a rural road in front of the reserve.
Near Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

3-Toed Sloth
Cahuita National Park 

 Near Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Interesting Signs
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica

These all represent things I found interesting in the Costa Rica Caribe and made a lot of photos of each. The linked title takes you to a sub-gallery on that subject with most birds in the Samasati gallery. Or to just thumb through my whole Caribe Trip, go to the trip gallery:

Hotel Banana Azul

Too many clouds for a traditional sunrise this morning, but I thought this shot to left of the sun was okay.
Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica

 

The Garden I face from the Dining Room  —   Bird feeder off to the right
Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica

 

This morning I decided to not keep posting so many photos on the blog, thus began my trip photo gallery for this experience where you can find lots of photos! Since this was to be the hotel post today, I will give links to three sub-galleries on the very relaxed and enjoyable Hotel Banana Azul:

 

 
Or for the whole trip, go to my trip photo gallery called
2017 Sept 4-8 — Caribe Banana Azul Puerto Viejo
including my visit to Cahuita National Park & Samasati Reserve
 
And/or check out the Hotel Banana Azul Web Page
And plan ahead! They stay booked solid much of the time,
even in the “off season” which it is now.
This new caribe gallery is the latest of my “TRIPS” Photo Galleries
where I am working backwards to document my Costa Rica trips
and neighboring countries’ trips in my bigger CR gallery:
At the time of this posting, I’m back to July 2015
and the trips started in January 2015!
Almost finished! Travel with Kevin is next!
¡Pura Vida!