To watch a sunset is to connect with the Divine.
~Gina De Gorna
See more sunset photos in my VISTAS Photo Gallery
Good Night from the Hills of Atenas
Evening
All round my cottage it’s still,
Rain clouds gather over the hill.
Evening brings another eureka,
As I thank God for Costa Rica!
~Charlie
See my gallery of HAIKU Nature Poems
(though the above is not a haiku!)
And for evening sunsets, see my Vistas gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
An Eventful Day
8AM Spanish Class with Hilda my new “more mature” teacher who has been trying to help me understand past perfect participles in Spanish and I’m not sure I do in English! 🙂
An errand-running morning after class with about 5 stops and much accomplished.
2:30 bus to Alajuela gave me time for my late lunch or early dinner there before a 4:30 appointment with another new Jesus in my life, Dr. Roberto Jesús Gamboa Arend, Dermatologist. He looked at all my “tags” and other growths, moles, assuring me that I do not have cancer, then used the nitrogen or whatever to freeze-dry most of them. I have a cream to put on each of them until they fall off on their own, which took two pharmacies to find and I barely made the 5:30 bus back to Atenas which was standing room only. I stood less than a minute when a young man, maybe 20 I guess, got up and insisted I take his seat. This is typical of the high respect given to older people here. A good feeling.
I’m home and tired now with only 1 little errand for tomorrow. Whew! Photo is of sunset from my terrace last night.
¡Pura vida!
More Water Scenes from Bocas
You may remember my first post from this trip, Life on the Water – check it out again and then here are some more water scenes in addition to that post and the Bird Island & Soropta Canal photos! It is all about water at Bocas del Toro, Panama!
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| Our dock at Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge, Bocas del Toro, Panama |
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| A Little Island within swimming distance of our dock This was the best area for snorkeling with colorful coral and fish! Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge, Bocas del Toro, Panama |
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| 15 year old Scott, one of the owner’s sons and an excellent birding guide! Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge, Bocas del Toro, Panama |
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| Sunrises & Sunsets were mostly indirect for my times on the water Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge, Bocas del Toro, Panama |
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| A common view when we went away from the island Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge, Bocas del Toro, Panama |
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| I think this is a lodge or restaurant on one of the islands Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama |
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| And many people lived on the islands and thus on the water as here in Bocas Town Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama |
Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama
See my “Trip Gallery”:
2018 Tranquilo Bay, Bocas del Toro, Panama
Experimenting with New Book Binding
This is a “heavy paper” special binding so all pages “lay flat” with none of a two-page photo lost in the gutter. I am experimenting and will decide if it is worth the much higher cost when I do a book like this with all 2-page spreads or panoramas. You can review every page electronically online in the bookstore by clicking the link or click the cover image above. Best seen “Full Page” as always.
¡Pura Vida!
Last Day in this Paradise – Arenal Observatory
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| A sign in the lodge property that is my motto for travels all over Costa Rica. Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Variable Seedeater male Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
I tried again this morning and will again this afternoon and tomorrow morning, but have not found
my two target bird, Bare-necked Umbrella Bird and Yellow-eared Toucanet which I have a lousy dark photo of from Tenorio National Park, but I really want a good photo of one! Both birds are supposed to be here but you can never guarantee a find! As of Tuesday afternoon I do have photos of 27 different species of birds and 5 of those are new photo-finds for me! So not bad! They are:
2. House Wren
4. Gray-capped Flycatcher (with a fly in his mouth)
5. Piratic Flycatcher
Links are to my photo of that bird on this trip.
And the big treat for today was monkeys! I went back to “The Nest” or observation tower at 4:00 PM and it was surrounded by both Howler Monkeys and a few Spider Monkeys, but I have 300 photos to go through and pick just a few for you in tomorrow’s post. So Expect monkeys tomorrow! 🙂
And now for tonight’s last sunset at Arenal for me:
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| Sunset over Lake Arenal at Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
There you can see all the birds together, etc. plus photos not on the blog.
Tomorrow morning at 11 AM I reluctantly leave Arenal for my return to Atenas.
This is definitely one of my favorite getaway places, but then I have so many!
A Towering Experience Today!
The following 4 birds were photographed in treetops at eye level from “The Nest”
or the 92 ft tall metal tower on the lodge property. Amazing treetop experience!
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| Yellow-throated Toucan Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Collared Aracari (A type of Toucan) Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Keel-billed Toucan Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Red Lored Parrot Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| “The Nest” or Birding Tower 92 ft tall — A Little Scary! Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Freddy is there 8 hours a day with locked gate to the tower. 8 max people at a time including one staff member. Lots of warnings in English & Spanish. Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Top of the English Warning Sign With long list of conditions below from pregnancy to vertigo! There are 146 steps going up and down and the tower does sway with wind & people movement. Today was my 2nd time up. Yesterday morning my birding guide took me up and we saw 0 birds! Nada! This afternoon Freddy used recordings of toucan sounds to attract them to the surrounding treetops! Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
There you can see all the birds together, etc. plus photos not on the blog.
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Sunset Behind the Clouds Tonight
Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica
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And Scary Clouds at that! But No Rain!
Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica
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Sample Photos from Today’s Adventure
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| Red-eyed Tree Frog And yes, this one is orange and I can’t explain why. Usually bright red! Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Semiplumbeous Hawk Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Gray-capped Flycatcher with insect in his mouth! Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| House Wren Singing Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Buff-rumped Warbler Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Variable Seedeater Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
I took so many photos of so many birds and other animals that the above is just a sample from my guided bird walk this morning before breakfast. For more, see Trip Gallery Arenal Observatory
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| The Broader “Pre-Sunset”Look behind the Restaurant Deck (shot from my room) Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| And the other extreme, zooming in on the sun behind the clouds tonight. Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
There you can see all the birds together, etc. plus photos not on the blog.
Waterfall & Bird Count Day
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| Danta Waterfall Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica |
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| Crested Guan Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica |
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| Great Curassow Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica |
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| Montezuma Oropendola Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica |
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| Green Honeycreeper female Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica |
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| Mantled Howler Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica |
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| Emerald Basilisk Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica |
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| One of the Lillies Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica |
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| Hibiscus Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica |
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| Tonight’s Sunset Over Lake Arenal Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica |
And today was eBird’s “Global Big Day” of bird counting. Here is a link to my eBird List of 11 species seen here at Arenal Observatory Lodge. All of the birding guides here were out counting today which is why I could not have a guided bird hike today. I have one tomorrow.
¡Pura Vida!
And My Photo Gallery for this Trip is being added to daily while on the trip! A longer more leisurely trip makes this possible and my galleries are my main trip reports. Enjoy!
First Half Day Hallelujah!
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| Yellow-throated Toucan Eating a Lizard Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Male & Female Great Curassow Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Lineated Woodpecker Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Montezuma Oropendola Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Red-legged Honeycreeper, female & male Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Palm Tanager Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Blue-gray Tanager Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| White-nosed Coati Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Arenal Volcano from my Lodge Room Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
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| Sunset from my Room Deck Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica |
What can I say? The photos are worth a thousand words and this was just after getting here at noon today and eating lunch first. It is a totally amazing place and instantly one of my favorites! And with another 4 and 1/2 days yet to go!
¡Pura Vida!
And My Photo Gallery for this Trip is being added to daily while on the trip! A longer more leisurely trip makes this possible and my galleries are my main trip reports. Enjoy!