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As it does almost every afternoon! And this particular shot of rain on nearby hills was on May 22. A daily afternoon or night (my favorite) is what keeps tropical places like Costa Rica green, beautiful and full of so many species of plants and wildlife. I love it! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
My collection of such photo views from my terrace is growing! 🙂
Many of my U.S. friends who have visited here have included a visit to Poas Volcano NP, which is (“as the crow flies”) just 53.5 km or 33.2 miles from me, though a 2 hour drive through the mountains. 🙂 It has been erupting daily now for a few weeks and increasing in intensity. Today …
The Costa Rican National Emergency Commission (CNE) has declared a red alert for Poás Volcano National Park due to increased volcanic activity, with ash plumes reaching up to 4,500 meters. The park is currently closed indefinitely, and authorities recommend that visitors stay away from the area. Adjacent areas, including Grecia, Sarchí, Alajuela, Poás, Naranjo, Río Cuarto, and Zarcero, are under orange or yellow alerts due to ashfall and gas exposure.
It has always been my favorite volcano to visit in Costa Rica, not only because the closest, but the only one you could look down in the crater and see the bubbling stuff, plus it has a second, older crater with a beautiful turquoise-colored lake. who knows what it will be like after these major eruptions?
Because I live south of Poas and most of our winds are East-West, I don’t get a lot of the ash fall, but some. Before breakfast on my terrace each morning, I wipe the glass-top table off with a Lysol Wipe and then a paper towel. They are black from the small amount of ash we do get. 🙂 Yet farmers near active volcanoes say the ash is excellent for growing vegetables! 🙂
Facebook Video of one day’s eruption: (it would not embed)
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2160888447696509&t=18
And if the FB link above doesn’t work, try the Tico Times article where I first saw it: https://ticotimes.net/2025/04/23/video-poas-volcano-erupts-with-3-5-km-ash-plume-ovsicori-reports
¡Pura Vida!
The sun rises in the east behind other mountains that are behind the one that my house is on the west side of. 🙂 Simply put, I cannot see much of a sunrise from my house or terrace that faces W/NW where the vista of little mountains I often share are located. But when I am not sleeping late, I can get out on my terrace and get what I call a “reflected sunrise” on those hills in the W/NW. This past week I’ve been sleeping as late as I could to help cure my sick stomach which is now finally well! (I think!) But these two early morning “reflected sunrise” shots were made earlier in March. The feature photo at top is a panorama of three shots on my Canon 750D and this shot below for email version was a quick snap on my cheap Samsung Cellphone! 🙂
The first shot on my cellphone is close, as I step out through my gate onto the road by the cow pasture and begin another walk. The second photo on my camera is a merging of 3 shots of the far mountains in a common panorama vista from my terrace. I love where I live! 🙂 Plus it is not far from some totally different vistas I can visit in rainforests, beaches or cloud forests. Pura vida! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
See the photo gallery titled: From My Roca Verde Terrace for many more similar vistas. And FYI: “Roca Verde” (Green Rock) is the name of the housing development where I live, named after the big green (moss-covered) rock just inside the entrance gate. 🙂
Atenas: “El mejor clima del mundo!” “The best weather in the world!”
🙂
As every year on New Year’s Eve, I am trying my best to narrow down my favorite photos to just 12 – pretty much impossible! 🙂 But I always do it anyway and never by the months. This year I created 6 categories of photos and chose 2 pix in each. As usual, the birds category was the most difficult to narrow down, so tomorrow I am publishing another post with the 9 runner ups in the bird category. 🙂
The Categories this year are: 1) Birds, 2) Butterflies, 3) Other Insects, 4) Other Wildlife, 5) Flowers, 6) Landscapes. And the ones labeled from “Atenas” are all from my garden except the vista from Casita del Café.
My twelve choices for 2024 will be below this one photo for the email version. They are a slideshow in the online version, so email recipients please click “Read More” below for 12 great photos! 🙂
It takes me a while to process the many photos I usually take and then label and get into galleries – but it is done! for the November 10 & 17-22 Visit by the Gary Eaton’s. Linked to the gallery or click on the image of first page below . . .
I placed it in my “CR TRIP GALLERIES” because it was their trip and much like a trip for me with a variety of photos, many of which are okay even if not my best! 🙂 After all, I had cancer surgery on my nose in the middle that week and was dealing with feet & leg inflammation from the new blood pressure medicine, but in spite of all that, I had great time Gary & Kenna! And I hope you are able to return to Costa Rica in the future to see other areas and different National Parks! I love it all! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Just two shots here with this link to my gallery: Nov 18 La Paz Waterfall Gardens, where there are 11 species of birds and 6 species of butterflies, including a new or first-time seen species, the Silver-studded Leafwing – Hypna clytemnestra. And I included the waterfall photos I made on an earlier trip since I did not feel like that mountainous trail in the rain this time. The feature photo at top is of Templo Falls, also in the rain back in 2015! 🙂 Because it was raining most of the time there this trip too, I did not try to photograph the many beautiful flower gardens this trip and the rain had most of the usual hummingbirds hiding under leaves. 🙂 But hey! Cloud Forests and Rainforests need rain! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
On November 18 we visited two big favorites of tourists with the first being Poas Volcano National Park as soon as they opened at 8 am because clouds often cover the top of that mountain and you then see nothing. 🙂 We had great weather for seeing the volcano, the only one in Costa Rica you can look down into the bubbling cauldron and smell the sulphur. I’m including 4 shots with this post or you can see more in my gallery: Nov 18 Poas Volcano. Tomorrow a few shots from La Paz Waterfall Gardens, the other visit that day near Poas.
You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain;
I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.
As the peach-blossom flows downstream and is gone into the unknown,
I have a world apart that is not among men.
~Li Bai, 8th Century Chinese Poet
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That is sort of my response to the U.S. election and what has been going on there for many years now. And as I finish my life retired in Costa Rica, I will continue, as long as able, to photograph and write about birds, butterflies and flowers! 🙂
The photo is of the green hills of Atenas, Costa Rica as seen from my terrace at breakfast.
¡Pura Vida!