charliedoggett.net
The photo gallery for last week’s fabulous birthday retreat at Xandari Nature Resort is now ready at:
https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2019-07-1-6-Xandari-Nature-Resort
or you can click this print screen image of the first page:
And for more on Xandari see my 2018 Xandari photo gallery with more of the art and architecture but not as many birds as this year.
¡Pura Vida!
The following statement about hummingbirds was included as an insert in a Papyrus Birthday Card I received from my sister Bonnie who said the card reminded her of me “getting the most out of life!” (Thank you Bonnie!) And the above photo is a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird photographed this past week at Xandari Nature Resort, Costa Rica, “floating” above a flower just outside my room.
Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying out hopes for love, joy and celebration. The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation. ~Papyrus
The card itself continued the theme with . . .
DREAM BIG
LAUGH LOTS
BE AMAZING
LIVE WELL
EXPLORE LIFE
ADVENTURE ON
Enjoy every extraordinary moment! Happy Birthday! ~Papyrus
And so the hummingbird inspires us to get the most out of life! I hope that is what you are doing! Enjoy life! 🙂
And here is another hummingbird that seems to be “floating” a little more than the above one. He is a Green-breasted Mango Hummingbird female at Dave & Dave’s Nature Center of Sarapiquí, La Virgen, Costa Rica shot on my 2016 Trip to Selva Verde Sarapiqui.
Have another great day!
Charlie — Retired in Costa Rica
And see more hummingbirds in my BIRDS photo gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
🙂
The combination of some of the biggest and best flower gardens anywhere with the right time of year for butterflies in Costa Rica means that Xandari has thousands of flying flowers now! 🙂 Like hummingbirds, most are very difficult to photograph, but here are ten I managed to capture, or the ones who stopped at a flower – some seem to never stop! 🙂
And to see more of my butterfly photos, go to my Butterfly Gallery where you can also order prints or wall art of any of the photos in my gallery.
This is my last day at Xandari, leaving tomorrow morning, but I will be sharing more photos here over the next few days including a nice collection of birds and of course creating a trip gallery soon. Stay tuned for more Xandari Magic!
Everyone is like a butterfly, they start out ugly and awkward and then morph into beautiful graceful butterflies that everyone loves.
~Drew Barrymore
¡Pura Vida!
Last night before dinner we were treated with a double rainbow! This morning the maids brought me a new bouquet of flowers with a “Feliz Cumpleaños!” greeting. And I have already enjoyed 4 fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate for my birthday! Plus the staff sang Happy Birthday in English to me at breakfast!
AND . . . this was my guided bird-hike morning with the most interesting birds being the mother & juvenile Crested Caracara (rare find) who landed in the same tree as the Yellow-headed Caracara did the other day! 🙂
“I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.”
―
🙂
¡Pura Vida!
I completed my “Trip Gallery” of the 6 nights at Macaw Lodge, Carara National Park, Costa Rica. It is another fabulous nature retreat in Costa Rica and I hope you check out some of the photos I have posted. You can click the print screen image below or this web address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2019-06-18-24-Macaw-Lodge
“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels.”
— Ansel Adams
¡Pura Vida!
One of the best things about Macaw Lodge is the beautiful grounds! The owner Pablo’s hobby of horticulture helps! 🙂 I have already done posts on Flowers and Other Green Things, The Waterfall, and yesterday on my Cabin in the Woods – thus you’ve seen some of the grounds but here is a whole lot more photos of just the general look of the grounds and chocolate farm and in my gallery I’m adding a Trails gallery because that is a big part of the grounds, though I barely photographed trails, mostly the trail to the waterfall & spa.
Click on an image in the montage below to see it larger and/or start a manual slideshow.
There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in 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
See my “Trip Photo Gallery” titled: 2019-06–18-24–Macaw Lodge (finished except for a few more bird photos)
Macaw Lodge (lodge website)
My Quick Evaluation: It is one of the better “eco lodges” and more isolated than most at 45+ minutes from a town of any size and no houses or farms nearby. The rainforest surroundings match or surpass most other eco lodge I’ve visited. The rooms are excellent as is the food, though note that you have to request daily maid service and a change of towels. And you need lots of towels because it is the hottest most humid place I think I’ve been to yet (in the middle of rainy season) and hanging towels never dry.
Birding is good or basic, not my best source of birds with one “lifer” here if I labeled the Indigo Bunting correctly. Though note that I did see a Sunbittern which is a rare find anywhere (though this photo not good)! As a comparison, I photographed 30 species here and 53 at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge and about that many at Selva Verde Sarapiqui my first trip there. But this was still good!
There were lots of lizards but I saw no monkeys or other wildlife (though supposedly there). For my morning guided birding hike they secured a local Carara Park area guide who was good but not the best I’ve had. The Muscovy Ducks on the lake are entertaining and they, along with other birds, have babies this time of year (June).
I would return here but probably not anytime soon, since I know of eco lodges that have given me more birds. It was a great location for the Yoga Retreat going on while I was there! And for anyone wanting to just “get away!” About 45 minutes from Tarcoles or an hour from Jaco Beach on a terrible road. Though not required, 4WD would be safer.
It is adjacent to Carara National Park, but on the backside, thus about an hour drive to the entrance on Ruta 34. The Lodge can arrange a driver from San Jose Airport at about $140 each way. I’m glad to answer other questions you may have about this unique place.
¡Pura Vida!
Mine was so surrounded by forest on top of a hill that I could not get a distance shot of it, thus the featured photo is of another cabin, #9, not quite as big as mine (#12) since mine had a kitchen which I did not need but used like an office for my computer & camera stuff. I guess the kitchen is good for families.
I sat on the porch every day with my camera but did not photograph many birds there, just a dove, kiskadee, clay-colored thrush and one little lizard with a dewlap. But a nice peaceful place!
The electricity is from solar-powered batteries (a bunch of batteries!). The “hot” water was a separate device with a long pipe running back and forth on a board out in the sun. Since it is rainy season and limited sun I barely had warmish water after letting it run for three minutes. Showering first thing in the morning means a cold shower. Ahhh nature! 🙂
These “eco” lodges all encourage you to reuse your towel, hanging it on the towel rack for multiple uses all for ecology (but even more to save on their laundry costs!). The problem is that in a coastal rainforest like the one I was in, It is very hot 24-7 with humidity in the 90 percentiles, thus hanging towels never get dry (unless in direct sunlight). A wet towel will not dry you! I was not very ecological! 🙂
Click an image to enlarge it.
Yes, you have to walk up a trail to your cabin, uphill! But they have strong young men on staff to carry your luggage up! A part of the remoteness!
There are elements of intrinsic beauty in the simplification of a house built on the log cabin idea.
~Gustav Stickley
I’m starting a “Trip Gallery” on my visit to Macaw Lodge, but it may be a week before finished. It is titled: 2019-06–18-24–Macaw Lodge
¡Pura Vida!
This is not all that I saw! There were really a lot of lizards of all kinds, especially a lot of Common Basilisks, which I never got a good photo of except the one juvenile below without the crown on his head. And as usual a lot more butterflies than I could ever get photos of. Plus my main focus is always birds! 🙂 But here is some “other wildlife”:
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Walking is my main method of relaxation. I don’t go over my lines or try to solve the world’s problems, I just enjoy the scenery and the wildlife.
~Kevin Whately
¡Pura Vida!
In these last 2 or 3 days I’ve seen a lot of the same birds but also got 5 new species shown here plus I’m adding the juvenile of the kingfisher and a new shot of a Muscovy Duck in the rain that I really like which is different from the Mom and babies I shared earlier. Enjoy!
Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.
¡Pura vida!
In a very wet rainforest like this one where it rains every day, there are a lot of “interesting” things growing on trees, on the ground, etc. Here is just a little sample. There is so much more that I am tempted to photograph! It’s such a beautiful and visually stimulating place!
Tomorrow I will share some new birds I got in the last 2 or 3 days here and tomorrow is when I return home to Atenas. Got more to share after that! So keep reading or looking at my photos!
Click an image to see larger or start a manual slideshow.
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul”
― John Muir
¡Pura Vida!