Rio Celeste Waterfall

The Rio Celeste Waterfall (a tour company site link) is in the Tenorio Volcano National Park (NP website link) and is one of the more popular waterfalls for tourists because of the unique turquoise water in the river due to minerals from the volcano. It was fun to go to the point in the park where two clear rivers come together and watch the new mixture of water turn blue or turquoise in color. See my 2017 Tenorio NP Visit for photos of the turquoise water which had more color than we had yesterday because it had rained all day the day before, making the water a little muddy. I did not get to see the waterfall in 2017 because the hurricane that came across northern CR destroyed the stairs and trail down to the falls. Note also that the National Park does not allow swimming in this plunge pool, making if better for photographers and nature lovers! 🙂 It is in the Cloud Forest so it gets rain year around.

For the email recipients, please click the MORE button after this photo for not only more waterfall photos but also a pix of my guide and driver plus one of me at these falls.

Rio Celeste Waterfall, Tenorio Volcano National Park, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Continue reading “Rio Celeste Waterfall”

Llanos de Cortés Waterfall

My waterfalls trip finally happened yesterday and here is the first of three we visited plus some other interesting sites that I will be sharing about in the coming days. Yesterday was a wonderful day in many ways and typical of my frequent adventures as a retiree in Costa Rica.

The Llanos de Cortés Waterfall (link to their commercial Facebook Page) which of course is Catarata Llanos de Cortés in Spanish! 🙂 And yes, it is spelled correctly for them and the adjacent community. The other spelling with a “z” instead of the “s” is simply a different family name. 🙂 I’m familiar with having a “different” family name. I’m Doggett not Daggett! 🙂

Llanos de Cortés Waterfall, Bagaces, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Continue reading “Llanos de Cortés Waterfall”

From Overfly to Up-close

Tomorrow (Friday the 14th) is a one-day photo trip, my only planned trip for January, to get photos of two special waterfalls. The first is . . .

Flying over Llanos de Cortes Waterfall in 2019.

The Llanos de Cortes Waterfall I caught from a Sansa small plane flight between Liberia and San Jose Airports in 2019 and finally tomorrow I get to photograph it up close! Llanos de Cortes Waterfall is . . .

Continue reading “From Overfly to Up-close”

Last Shot from the Pacific

Of course there’s more photos and even more wildlife I haven’t shown like the White-nosed Coati and more butterflies, but I have them in the Christmas Trip 2021 Gallery, so check it out if you want more! 🙂

This was another favorite rainforest shot from Cristal Ballena that also includes the sea, so I just had to add it as my last post on that trip. As you can see, the rainforest not only surrounds the hotel, but flows all the way down to the ocean and the national park beach. It’s a beautiful place that I enjoy visiting and will probably go again someday. Now back to shots from my garden, the neighborhood and the little coffee farmers’ town of Atenas. For awhile anyway! 🙂 I’m trying to schedule a one-day waterfall trip and then in February I’m back to a tree house at Maquenque Lodge, Boca Tapada. 🙂

Rainforest & ocean view, Cristal Ballena Hotel, Uvita, Costa Rica.

“If man doesn’t learn to treat the oceans and the rainforest with respect, man will become extinct.”

~Peter Benchley

Tico Times article: Costa Rica Tourism in 2022: Demand is back

Most Read Blog Posts 2021 is Humbling

I finally figured out how to get to historical statistics on my WordPress Blog/Website, wanting to see what kind of nature photos more people are interested in. Well, it was not my nature shots in 2021 but the posts labeled “Cancer Update” that all had over 200 readers or “hits” with none of my nature posts over 200 except the weird exception of an old one on a Truck Centipede. So THANK YOU for being interested in my health! It has been a long slow recovery still in process but I am so much closer to “normal” now and I was quite active on the last trip. I see my oncologist tomorrow and hopefully not many more times needed after that. 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

2022 Adventures Planned

As of today, I have only five of my typical six-night trips planned, less than the every two months goal, but I expect to add some 1, 2 or 3 day trips in-between! In fact, in January there is a day-trip planned for north of where I live to photograph 2 more waterfalls! That will be the last two photos I need to complete my next photo book on the Waterfalls of Costa Rica which I’m titling “WATERFALLS: The Music of Costa Rica.” 🙂

This year’s schedule includes two totally new places along with three repeats of Favorites! Below each of the 3 favorites I’ve added links to my photos from previous trips there. I can’t imagine having a better retirement than I have in Costa Rica! 🙂 There’s always something to look forward to in nature! And a growing Photo Gallery that I’m proud of! 🙂

Captivo Lodge, one of my two new places this year. (Photos from Captivo Lodge)

And the “Feature Photo” at top of Post is also one from Captivo Lodge Website, the view from my room there – supposedly! 🙂

February in Maquenque Eco-Lodge Tree House

This is the lodge where I’ve photographed the largest number of bird species and where I get to sleep in a tree house near the birds and monkeys! 🙂 Photo at right is the “Tarzan” tree house room on my 2020 visit there. See the Lodge Website or my photos linked below from two previous incredible trips there:

2020 June 30–July 6- Maquenque Eco-Lodge & Reserve

2019 Jan 14-19 — Maquenque Ecolodge & Reserve

April at Guayabo Lodge for Birds, Indigenous History & 2 Volcanoes

This is the first new location for me this year that will have a lot of good birding on campus and in a nearby private reserve, along with a visit to the Guayabo National Monument, an Indigenous Archaeological Site; plus Turrialba Volcano and Irazú Volcano, two of the biggest in Costa Rica that I have not seen yet. See the Lodge Website or specifics on these tours I plan to include from the hotel:

Guayabo, Ancient Indigenous City Historical Site. (Photo from National Monument Website)

July Birthday at Playa Cativo Lodge

This is the other new location for me on the other side of Piedras Blanca NP from an earlier favorite, Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, but this time on a beach on Golfo Dulce in an even wilder rainforest. See the Playa Cativo Lodge’s Website or YouTube has a lot of videos from there. The feature photo at top is the view I expect to have from my room and the dining room. 🙂

Playa Cativo Lodge, Golfo Dulce (Photo from hotel website)

September Back to Quiet Banana Azul in Caribe

Check out the hotel’s website or see my photo galleries from 4 previous relaxing visits there:

Beach at Banana Azul, on the Atlantic Ocean’s Caribbean Sea. My photo from 2021 visit.

Christmas Return to Arenal Observatory Lodge

Check out the lodge’s website or my photo galleries from two previous adventures:

This is an all-around favorite for just about everything! They are 2nd only to Maquenque Lodge for the number of birds I photograph; one of best rooms & room visitas (I always get Room 29!) 🙂 ; excellent restaurant; fabulous forest trails; the tallest and best birding tower in Costa Rica; a beautiful waterfall; other wildlife besides birds; sitting at the base of the volcano; and close to multiple other great birding reserves and the biggest butterfly garden in the country! 🙂

Lake Arenal seen from the Lodge. Volcano is to the right. My 2020 photo. My Room 29 has views of both the lake & the volcano.

See my CR Trips Gallery for all the places I’ve visited here.

Expect some stunning new photos in 2022! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

2021 in Photos

This year was unlike any other in my life, not only because of the Covid 19 Virus Pandemic, vaccines, mask-wearing, hand-washing, and social distancing everywhere, but even more so as my year of major cancer surgery and radiation treatments. Yet through it all I managed to keep nature central to my life most of the time and even make a few photo trips.

I will not try to do a photo-a-month but rather 12 favorite photos depicting major life events, trips, and different types of nature starting with the 2 wonderful trips before the cancer surgery in March. The links in the photo captions are to my photo trip galleries for those events. I even have a gallery for radiation therapy (not one for surgery) and include surgery in my cancer journal and the combined photo book on my cancer adventure. 🙂 And the featured image at top is a Tiger Heliconian Butterfly on a “Hot Lips” Flower on my just completed Christmas trip to Uvita. 🙂

Resplendent Quetzal from January trip to San Gerardo de Dota & Hotel Savegre (gallery link).
Continue reading “2021 in Photos”

Return Flight via Drake Bay

The return flight was from Palmar Sur, the closest airport to hotel but it has no ground crew, thus the co-pilot has to do everything from wheel blocks to loading luggage! 🙂 But Palmar Sur does have a new terminal building as does Drake Bay that we stopped in on the way back to San Jose and Drake Bay does have a ground crew! 🙂 I just love the sights from these short flights across Costa Rica. Below are 7 favorite shots from my return flight to San Jose . . .

Beaches are prettier from above! 🙂
Continue reading “Return Flight via Drake Bay”