My trip gallery is finished with a lot of interesting photos I think including 24 species of birds four of which are “Lifers” for me! So a good trip for me and some of my most interesting airplane photos en route like the big waterfall from above! And that reminds me that I have also added 9 waterfalls to my collection on this trip. See the trip gallery at this link:
Yesterday a bus of load of about 30 persons “Retired in Costa Rica” boarded a charter bus in Atenas for a German Restaurant in downtown San Jose, Paulaner München, for a great German meal including roast chicken, knockwurst, kraut and my favorite – apple strudel! We were also entertained by a Latin-flavored Costa Rican “German Band” complete with fake leder hosen! 🙂 And many of our group of retirees danced with the band, especially one couple who really know how to dance as shown in the feature photo. She even tried to teach the group to dance the polka with moderate success! 🙂 And who says old people don’t have fun?
Not only does flying save me time and tiredness but I nearly always get at least one surprise photo on the little 30 to 40 minutes flights over Costa Rica. This latest flight to Liberia and back gave me many photos, but just two special ones today: The above photo of a very tall unknown waterfall with no roads around it! — My main prize! Saw it just south of Liberia and hope to find out its name, though I think it is isolated from tourists!
And again we fly over Atenas and I get a good photo showing much in Central Atenas (Central Park, church, schools) plus the roof of my house in the upper left corner to left of the little roundish cow pasture. The string of houses over the hill is Phase 1 of Roca Verde where I live near the bottom of the hill by cow pasture. 🙂
Flying over Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
“There is no sport equal to that which aviators enjoy while being carried through the air on great white wings.”
~Wilbur Wright, 1905
Here’s some butterflies I photographed on the hotel property during my stay there. The only two that are new species to me (if labeled correctly) are the Felder’s White and the Blue & White Heliconian. Love them all!
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
~William Shakespeare
Guachipelín Butterflies
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE.
Blue Morpho
Blue & White Heliconian
Malachite
Tiger Heliconian
Heart-spotted Heliconian
Postman
Julia
Felder’s White
Unknown Caterpillar
Colobura Dirce
Owl’s Eye Butterfly
Veined White
Fritillary
Sara Longwing Heliconian
Gray Cracker
The caterpillar among the photos appeared on my leg right at the hem of my shorts. The Hot Springs attendant took a flat rock and scooped him up then on to the flower on which I photographed him. He looked scary at first, thus today’s quote:
“Well, I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
And by the way, I’m home now for at least 3 weeks! I’ll wrap up these reports, a gallery and photo book soon on this interesting “wild west” vacation. Then prepare for a relaxing repeat visit to Arenal Observatory in November.
I took the shuttle bus to Rio Negro yesterday morning for the 4 waterfalls and hot springs which I had alone, all 8 pools! I sat in one for about 25 minutes which is long enough for 40 degrees centigrade (104 F). As I was leaving a van of tourists from Spain came in from another hotel to soak in the hot springs.
The three birds are new ones for this trip. And these 3 were all photographed before breakfast in trees in front of my room! 🙂 The featured photo at top today is one of those, a White-fronted Parrot, a new bird or “lifer” for me!
This approach view to #4 is similar to all 4 approaches from the dark forest.
4 Rio Negro Waterfalls
#1
#2
#3
#4
Rio Negro Hot Springs
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
3 New Birds
Red-lored Parrots
White-fronted Parrot
Baltimore Oriole
“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.”
-Aldous Huxley
Sunset by My Room Last Night — I leave this morning for Atenas via plane & taxis.
Just a 4 km walk yesterday morning – to breakfast(0.5 km) and afterwards directly to the Chorreras Waterfall through parts of the Hotel farmland and other scenery (1.5 km), watching employees arrive by bus, bicycle, motorcycle and walking. A pleasant walk down a dirt farm road that became rocky and steep on the hill by the river and waterfall. Then the 2 km return with a friendly dog.
As the first one to the Falls that morning I was greeted by the barking dogs and very helpful security guard, Norman, a friendly young man from Nicaragua. (Costa Rica doesn’t chase its immigrants away or put them in cages.) And as in this case, immigrants help make life better for all of us here! 🙂 I love our immigrants! (And of course I am one myself!) 🙂
Like most Latin Americans, Norman showed a great degree of respect for my age and seemed a little surprised I was hiking in the mountains and climbing down steps to the waterfall, offering to help me of course. Evidently not many 79 year-old people are as adventurous! 🙂
We talked about the difficulties of me learning to speak Spanish and him learning to speak English. Then he shared a quote with me in both English and Spanish to encourage me in my language learning (probably someone used to encourage him), which I include in both languages at the end of this post. Great advice from a young man that I will take to heart! “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Wow! I love living here! All the neat people! And places!
My dog companion walking ahead of me here.
No rain the previous afternoon or night, thus the Falls not as full Norman said. After visiting with Norman awhile I walked back and one of the guard dogs decided to walk back with me, all the way to the Adventure Tours station, nearly 2 km, where they said he does that frequently with guests – every creature is friendly here! 🙂
Chorreras Waterfall
Birds on the Walk
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Hotel Grounds on the Walk
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Flowers on the Walk
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
Vive como si murieras mañana. Aprende como si vivieras para siempre.
~Mahatma Gandhi – Given to me by Norman at Chorreras Waterfall to encourage me with my study of Spanish. 🙂
Johnny took me to the Rincón de la Vieja National Park today and we hiked 5 kilometers. My favorite part was the two waterfalls, one in the park and one outside near the entrance but on hotel property. Currently it is not safe to go look into the active volcano but we did see the smoke, hot water and bubbling mud which reminded me of Yellowstone. It is a tight forest so difficult to see birds but I did get some shots of a Crested Guan and some other wildlife.
Waterfalls
Pailas Seasonal Waterfall
Oropendola Waterfall
2 Hikers & the Park
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Volcanic Activity
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Wildlife
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
And at the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling.
Yesterday was my guided bird watching hike and business is so slow in this low season (few tourists in rainy season) that I was given two guides for my solo birding hike. Great and very productive! We saw more than 25 or 30 species but not that many photos!
Below are the ones I got usable photos of with 2 of these as “lifers” or first time photographed for me: Lesser Ground Cuckoo (also the featured photo) and the Magpie Jay. Plus a third lifer without a very good photo – Western Wood-Pewee. A very good morning! 🙂
Guachipelín Birds!
Squirrel Cuckoo
Blue-crowned Motmot
Clay-colored Thrush
Orange-chinned Parakeets
Stripe-headed Sparrow
Rufous-naped Wren
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Magpie Jay
Keel-billed Toucan
Lesser Ground-Cuckoo
Inca Dove
Gartered Trogon female
Spot-crowned Euphonia
Masked Tityra
Black-headed Trogon
Roadside Hawk
With My 2 Guides
And Javier really likes to get group photos, securing another employee to snap this on both our phones. Johnny on the left was technically the main guide who is more experienced and been around here awhile, but Javier (my guide the day before also) was the “Eagle-eye” – really good at spotting hard-to-see birds.
Johnny will be my guide today into the national park, which won’t be as many birds with the volcano, hot springs, mud pots, etc. like visiting Yellowstone!
“I WOULD RATHER OWN LITTLE AND SEE THE WORLD THAN OWN THE WORLD AND SEE LITTLE OF IT.”
By the time I get to a place and settle in I usually have less than half a day there but seem to get as many or more photos as other days – the excitement of a new place I guess! And so it was yesterday at Hacienda Guachipelín! 🙂
So to spare you, I’m saving today’s birds and butterflies for another day and putting today’s other photos in slide shows so it won’t look like so much. 🙂
Airplane Shots
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Hotel Grounds
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Hotel Mirador (Vista Point)
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Hotel Flowers
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart”–Confucius
On my 4 km walk to town yesterday, on the one steep hill, I came across this sidewalk grasshopper in the featured photo above. (Actually a Cricket – See Comments below. I stand corrected!) 🙂
Sorry I can’t identify him – but that’s not expected here since we have 11,000 species of grasshoppers and crickets in Costa Rica as part of our more than 500,000 total insect species! — More bugs than the U.S. & Canada combined! 🙂 And oh so much fun! See my InsectsGallery or just my Grasshoppers Gallery to stay with today’s theme. I only have photos of 13 of the eleven thousand, so a ways to go in that collection! 🙂
Here’s a fun, educational YouTube Video about our grasshoppers with jokes about how some people in the world eat them, though not Ticos! They do not eat them here like some in Mexico and of course my past home of West Africa. I’ll just stick with photographing them! 🙂
Just another of the many daily encounters with nature while being retired in Costa Rica! Love it! 🙂
“Crowds of bees are giddy with clover Crowds of grasshoppers skip at our feet, Crowds of larks at their matins hang over, Thanking the Lord for a life so sweet.”
~Jean Ingelow
¡Pura Vida!
P.S.
I arrive at Hacienda Guachipelín in Rincón de la Vieja National Park mid-day today and may start posting at odd times as things happen on this new and exciting adventure! Or I may try to keep the discipline of one-a-day posted for release at 5 am, which I kind of like. Keep reading the blog for totally new photos and scenery this week. Pura vida!
Click the linked article for one of the most practical list of how to live cheap in Costa Rica – in short it is all about the life-style you choose and I can testify that living without a car not only saves lots of money but is easy and fun here! The article is by Christopher Howard in his “Live In Costa Rica” blog & website – the one who also does a great relocation tour coupled with the ARCR Seminar. Panama may be cheaper, but Costa Rica is a whole lot better! 🙂
Just a 4 km walk yesterday morning – to breakfast(0.5 km) and afterwards directly to the Chorreras Waterfall through parts of the Hotel farmland and other scenery (1.5 km), watching employees arrive by bus, bicycle, motorcycle and walking. A pleasant walk down a dirt farm road that became rocky and steep on the hill by the river and waterfall. Then the 2 km return with a friendly dog.
