Green & Black Poison Dart Frog

We seem to have a lot of these neat tropical frogs here at Banana Azul, one of 7 different species of “Poison Dart Frogs” in Costa Rica. Read about them on Wikipedia.  Or see my other photos of them at Poison Dart Frogs: Green & Black. or my whole Amphibians gallery.

 

Why are frogs so happy? They eat whatever bugs them! 

¡Pura Vida!

 

See also my TRIP GALLERY:   2019 Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo

Around the Hotel

“Just Hangin’ Out” or “Chilling”  is a good thing when it’s such a cool place!

Wildlife Today

 

Flowers

 

Sometimes you gotta just chill. You gotta chill your thinking process.         ~Ghostface Killah

¡Pura Vida!

Sunrise Costa Rica

Good morning Costa Rica!  It’s another beautiful day! Here’s today’s sunrise from the beach at Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Caribe Sur. And if you like photos of sunrises and sunsets, check out my gallery:  Vistas  and while I post I’m watching a Gray-cowled Woodrail build a nest just below my terrace. Cool!

Saturday Sunrise

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“Good morning . . .  It will smile at you if you smile at it”

¡Pura Vida!

Walkin’ the Beach Road

This morning before going to the organic botanical gardens in Puerto Viejo, I walked a ways down the beach road behind Banana Azul along Playa Negra or Black Beach because of some black volcanic sand in places. Its a forest walk or drive and the trees are as impressive as the beach. Here’s a few shots.

Beach Road Walk

 

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

John Muir

¡Pura Vida!

Good Morning!

I finally got up early enough for sunrise on the beach – wow! I won’t miss anymore!   🙂

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Before the sun actually rises may be my favorite time.

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With more red and yellow, it is about to rise!
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The first peek of the sun and the sky’s ablaze!
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Soon it becomes too much, too bright to photograph – sunrise on Atlantic coast of Costa Rica.

 

“I opened two gifts this morning. They were my eyes.”

 

¡Pura Vida!

@ Banana Azul

Sloth Sanctuary

Today is a rainy day but I went ahead and visited the Sloth Sanctuary in Cahuita, Costa Rica and really glad I did! We had light rain the first part of the canoe trip and thus I did not take out my big camera until near the end, missing a lot of birds, but I have all of them from other places and enjoyed someone else paddling the canoe!   🙂

The canoe trip is to see where the sloths live in the wild before we go into the building to see the rescued sloths. We saw howler monkeys & lots of birds but no wild sloths. A VERY EXCELLENT TOUR that I highly recommend to anyone in this area! I sure learned a lot about sloths!

Banana Azul provided transportation to the sanctuary, about 15 minutes away. It is just as good as the Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto Viejo and the Ara Project Manzanillo I had already visited here in the South Caribbean. I highly recommend all three! They all do great work saving animals and our environment! Part of the culture of Costa Rica!    🙂

Canoe Trip

Sloth Center

🙂

¡Pura Vida!

Beach Afternoon

I know – it is not like “Hyper Charlie” to just sit or lay on a beach for any length of time when there are things to chase with my camera – but I did after deciding to postpone my trip to the Sloth Rescue Center until tomorrow. The hotel is not full (low season) and the big group here went white water rafting today, so only me and one young couple on the beach and one bored young hotel waiter from whom I ordered a Strawberry-Pineapple-Mango Smoothie and talked for an hour or more about birds, sloths, and his old beat up Hyundai. He was glad to have someone to talk with.  🙂

I also read about three chapters in my latest Agatha Christie mystery, so a nice afternoon chilling out, watching the ocean and I even got these photos!    🙂

Beach Afternoon

Now it is raining again and so refreshing . . .   as I sit on my big deck with my computer! Next is a great dinner tonight!   🙂

My “Howler Suite” deck which partly overlooks the beach at far right. Best room here!
  • An ocean breeze puts a mind at ease. …

Banana Azul

¡Pura Vida!

Breakfast Color

These 4 species of birds were finding their breakfast as I ate mine on the patio of Hotel Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica this morning. How fortunate I am to live and travel in such a beautiful, peaceful little country!  ¡Pura Vida!

Breakfast at Banana Azul

“The sky’s gone blue: azure, the ocean bluer: cerulean, the trees are swirls of every hella freaking green on earth and bright thick eggy yellow is spilling over everything.” 
― Jandy Nelson, I’ll Give You the Sun

🙂

 ¡Pura Vida!

First Day Photos

I guess this is becoming typical of me, too many photos the first day of a trip. There just seems to be so many photo possibilities that I can’t stop. To not look overwhelming, I’ve grouped them into slideshows. Pick the one that interests you!   🙂

Hotel Banana Azul

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Flowers – Hotel & Puerto Viejo

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Puerto Viejo

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Airplane Shots

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Hotel Banana Azul Website

¡Pura Vida!