Hotel Grounds – Cristal Ballena

Included are shots from their “Rainforest Trail” which is a fairly dense forest with a lot of old growth big trees which is refreshing but difficult to photograph birds in because of all the limbs and leaves!   🙂

I did not show my room this time but the rooms are on the hill just above the restaurant and pool seen at top of feature photo above or in the pool photo below at upper left. Rooms 10-14 look directly over the ocean and sunsets, while other rooms like mine have garden views with partial ocean views. (My room views are seen in gallery Day Vistas.) I got more birds from my garden view but the premium rooms have better sunset views (cost more) and with clouds & rain every afternoon in rainy season there is not much sunset to see. See the hotel website for more information at   https://www.cristal-ballena.com/

Cristal Ballena Hotel, Uvita

CLICK Image to Enlarge

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more”
― Lord Byron

For more photos see my Cristal Ballena Trip Gallery

¡Pura Vida!

Vistas

And into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul.

~John Muir

Day Vistas

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Sunset Vistas

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All from a week at Cristal Ballena Hotel, Uvita

See also my Ballena Trip Gallery  for ocean & river vistas.

Bonus Article

From the “Live in Costa Rica Blog”   —  What is the best way to do one’s due diligence for retiring or living in Costa Rica?

¡Pura Vida!

Most Beautiful Country in the World!

Well, you already know what I think about Costa Rica, but Conde Nast Traveler published it’s ranking of “The 40 Most Beautiful Countries in the World” and Costa Rica tops the list.    🙂

The photo above is one I took of Nauyaca Waterfall last Friday – one of many beautiful waterfalls in the world’s most beautiful country!    🙂

Mountainous South Pacific Coast near Uvita, Costa Rica – a whale nursery!

 

“It is good people who make good places.”
― Anna Sewell, Black Beauty

¡Pura Vida!

 

This trip gallery:  2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita

Nauyaca Waterfalls

Wow! Nothing like it anywhere! The featured photo above is the Upper Nauyaca Falls and the one below is the Lower Nauyaca Falls & Swim Hole with my new friends from Portugal in the water before the crowds arrived.

LOWER Nauyaca Falls, Costa Rica

 

Below is a brief slide show of people in the swim hole and the truck ride up the mountain dirt road to the falls which is alone is quite an experience while others road horses or walked uphill for an hour and a half. Truck for me!    🙂

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Nauyaca Waterfalls  &  Cristal Ballena Hotel  official websites.

This trip gallery:  2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita

 

“There’s no better place to find yourself than sitting by a waterfall and listening to it’s music”
― Roland R Kemler

¡Pura Vida!

Morning & Night Make a good Day!

I planned to post the report on Rio Sierpe Boat Trip today but still not finished – so just a quick glimpse at today, another nature day!    🙂

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A Roadside Hawk at hotel on my 5:30 AM Hike.
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This morning moon reminded me of what a beautiful world we live in.
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Another rainy-cloudy sunset tonight colored my daily dreams living in nature – beautiful!

 

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.”     – Edgar Allan Poe

¡Pura Vida!

Cristal Ballena Hotel, Uvita

This trip gallery:  2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita

Ocean Vistas Uvita

“Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away.”

 Sarah Kay

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The ocean kissing the shore at Uvita, Costa Rica
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One of the “Windows” at Playa Ventana, Uvita, Costa Rica
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“Whale Rock” seen from boat on the ocean side and . . .
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. . . Whale Rock seen from my hotel on the land side.

NOTE: We saw most of our whales somewhere near this rock which they seem to like! The name is because of their presence and not its shape. Here every July-October.

 

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Cristal Ballena Hotel seen from boat in front of Whale Rock.
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Whale Rock & the hotel are barely out of photo on right side of this photo I made earlier of Uvita and Whale’s Tail Beach or Playa Cola de Ballena from a plane. A truly unique place!

Made Possible by the . . .

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The only all water national park in Costa Rica. Flag is because it was Independence Day.

I just keep loving this country more every day!   🙂

And I’m way behind on reporting events and photos from this trip with Tuesday at the hotel experiencing and photographing a moving sloth, 4 crested guans, a flock of toucans and other birds followed by today’s mangrove boat trip on the Rio Sierpe with an unbelievable collection of photos I’m still sorting. Another great day in paradise with a birding guide tomorrow on the hotel property and Friday the Nauyaca Waterfall. Never a dull moment when you are “Retired in Costa Rica!”

¡Pura Vida!

And continued thanks to Cristal Ballena Hotel for making all of these exciting tours possible! A great place to stay when in Uvita!

This trip gallery:  2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita

 

Preparing for Sunday the 15th

All the Schools Prepare for Independence Day Parade

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Escuela Central, the large main Public Elementary School’s band practices for Sunday’s parade. 

The high school bands have been practicing too with the same monotonous drum beat that it seems all the bands use. Note in the photo above two interesting facts that tell about the culture or a small town:   (1) The band director is almost a kid himself, first job out of college as a low-paid music teacher in rural elementary school.  (2) All the girls play a xylophone and all the boys play a drum, either snare or bass.   🙂   I regret that I will miss this year’s parade, but I’ve seen it several times!   🙂

My Friday Night Treat

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Every Friday night I have my one steak a week at Parrillada Androvetto which has a big platform deck overlooking the surrounding hills and the Public Cemetery above. Tonight the clouds hung low on the hills, but still no rain. Yes, it is now a semi-drought for rainy season. Met a nice young couple at Androvetto from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. I like the “Small World” effect of living in Costa Rica!

Whale-Watching Starts Sunday

Sunday morning I fly to Palmar Sur and check in to the Cristal Ballena Hotel  in Uvita for the week where I will go Whale Watching on Monday for the first time in my long life and if satisfied (get whale photos) I will use the rest of the week to photo birds and a very special Nauyaca Waterfalls one day.  I drove through Uvita on the 2014 Relocation Tour and have flown over its famous “Whale’s Tail Beach” in my photo below from a Carcovado trip.

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My hotel is in this little South Pacific town and the whaling boat will probably deport at Dominical, a nearby larger town. The waterfall is up the mountain & birds everywhere!

🙂

Retired in Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Jaco-Carara -THE BOOK!

From expansive beaches to overpowering vistas and sunsets dotted with colorful tropical birds – my newest photo book captures the magic of where I live as well as any! With it my photos show the adventure of birding in three hotels just an hour from Atenas — Punta Leona Resort,  the Macaw Lodge and my recent visit to Villa Caletas, all with easy access to beaches, Carara National Park and Tarcoles River plus each having their own private forest reserve and trails. Nature at its best! All in one beautiful photo book!

You can preview the entire book electronically online at:

https://www.blurb.com/b/9601292-jaco-carara-birding-hotels

Or click the image of the book cover below:

Jaco-Carara

And if interested is purchasing a copy, Get 40% OFF through Monday 12 August by using the Discount Code LAZYDAYS4T at checkout.

Retired in Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Farewell Macaws

As the first and only customer in restaurant for a 7 AM Breakfast I was greeted not only by the friendly waiters but by a couple of Scarlet Macaws in the nearby trees. The major group of other guests here is a group of vacationing Mexicans and the waiters said that they like to party late and breakfast late!   🙂

But anyway, I got a few shots of the Macaws before they flew off and all the other customers missed them!  🙂   They are hard to photograph – always on the move and when they land it is behind limbs and leaves! Pura vida!   🙂

Scarlet Macaws

CLICK image to enlarge.

 

I head back to Atenas this morning. My little 4-day excursion in search of sunsets was a good one! It was relaxing, with some good photos, even one lifer bird and my best photo yet of a Gray Hawk.

Plus now I am knowledgeable of another beach-view hotel at Jaco. It is too expensive for me normally and not that great for birds, but some of the best food I’ve had and the sunsets are great! Thus I recommend Villa Caletas for a relaxing vacation if money is not an option.

And I have started working on my “Trip Gallery” 2019 July Villa Caletas which will soon have my collection of photos from here, maybe by tonight.   🙂

¡Pura Vida!

Wednesday at Villa Caletas

Slowing down a little – here’s my shots from the last full day at Villa Caletas and a very relaxed 4 days. The featured image is of a hotel worker walking up the street in front of my room towards the Zephyr Palace.

Butterflies

The prettiest things here along with the vistas . . .

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See all my butterflies in my Costa Rica Butterflies  Photo Gallery!

 

Flowers

No gardens, just pots and plantings around buildings.

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Birds

Such as there were today . . .

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This is not the very best birding place even though you do see toucans and macaws. The concierge never worked out my two requested birding hikes because no others here wanted them and they don’t do for one person. No problem! I’ve already been to Carara NP 4 times and Rio Tarcoles about 8 times! Hanging out here was more relaxing and it was a good time on the mountaintop!

Wednesday Sunset

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All shot from my room before dinner.

 

“Happiness consists of living each day as if it were the first day of your honeymoon and the last day of your vacation.”

– Leo Tolstoy

🙂

¡Pura Vida!

My favorite butterfly shot – a Dina Yellow.

 

See all photos from this trip at 2019 Villa Caletas, Jaco Photo Gallery.