Pink Bud Haiku
Chromatic Ginger Haiku
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| Red Ginger flower My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Count it a coincidence that my ex-wife’s nickname was “Ginger.” She died last summer of cancer in Gatesville, Texas. And that she too was chromatically colorful in her own way. 🙂
Photo Gallery of My Home Garden
Link to post About Ginger & Jason just before she died.
And the announcement of her death: Ginger Is Gone
Some may call it poetic justice that my garden has many of two kinds of flowers called “Ginger,” this Red Ginger and a yellow Shampoo Ginger flower. Only fellow divorcees can understand all the many mixed feelings when something reminds you of your ex, especially after her death. Then life goes on!
Garden Haiku
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| One of my joys in retirement; just walking out the door! |
Rain Drops Haiku
This Morning in the Garden
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| White-winged Dove In My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Blue-gray Tanager In My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| In My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| In My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| In My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| In My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| In My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| In My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| In My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
One of my favorite things to do is to sleep until I wake up, shower, eat a liesurely breakfast on my terrace admiring flowers and the visiting birds. So, after a busy, early, hard day hiking yesterday, I had one of my relaxed mornings today (23rd) and recorded part of it in the above photos. There were other birds and more flowers, but this is a good sample for today.
Enjoying Retirement in Costa Rica
¡Pura Vida!
El Camino de Costa Rica HIKE
Earth Day 2017
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| Today I joined a group of supporters of the new coast to coast trail called El Camino de Costa Rica Hiking an 11 km section, with 8 km uphill! Very difficult. |
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| One of many vistas along the trail El Camino de Costa Rica |
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| It was all on roads, mostly gravel El Camino de Costa Rica |
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| One of the many very steep uphill climbs (2 dropped out early) El Camino de Costa Rica |
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| We cossed and followed several streams El Camino de Costa Rica |
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| Passed a continous flow of small, poor farm houses El Camino de Costa Rica |
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| Had breakfast in a little rural Soda El Camino de Costa Rica |
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| And our after-hike lunch at a rural trout farm restaurant El Camino de Costa Rica |
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| Enough participated to fill a tourist bus! El Camino de Costa Rica |
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| One more vista, this near end of the hike El Camino de Costa Rica |
We did just one small section of a 263 or so km trail coast to coast and as the project proposes, walked through small farms in rural Costa Rica, this one in the Talamanca Mountains west of Cartago, but going through no town. See the video introducing the trail which uses some of my bird photos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7euE5oQPC8
And if you would like to donate to the development of this trail through “crowd sourcing,” go to the website: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/el-camino-de-costa-rica–3#/
BACK IT!
Whoop, Whoop, Woop
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| Rainforest at Celeste Mountain Lodge, Bijagua, Costa Rica |
Or listen to some of our other animals sing as they try to
Click arrow for video & lower right button for “full screen”
My favorite Costa Rica Video
Coffee at the Cathedral
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| When in Alajuela I often start at McDonald’s for the restroom and then coffee and sometimes pancakes, eating upstairs overlooking the Cathedral of Alajuela – all cellphone photos Alajuela, Costa Rica |
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| And Central Park Alajuela Alajuela, Costa Rica |
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| Pigeons & Grackles often join me on the balcony Alajuela, Costa Rica |
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| And as I board my bus back to Atenas A guitar-pickin’ & singing preacher. Alajuela is interesting! |
My Photo Gallery of Alajuela
Egret Haiku
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| Great Egret on the Tarcoles River, Costa Rica |
I am now playing around with Haiku, the ancient Japanese poetry method that only describes nature. I’m a novice and your advice or opinions are welcome. I will not stick to rigid rules and prefer the more modern English approach of 2-3-2 syllables as opposed to Japanese 5-7-5, but even that will be flexible. And of course my goal is to combine Haiku creations with my nature photos. It will be fun and may or may not develop into something meaningful or continuing. Pura Vida! 🙂
Seeing Costa Rica from Atenas
If you are going to stay in Atenas awhile or live here and want to see the sights of Costa Rica from this central location, I personally recommend Walter’s Day Tours and hope you will give him a consideration if living or visiting here. And if you want to stay several nights in a particular location, he can get you there and back again and you avoid the scary option of driving in Costa Rica! 🙂 He is not the cheapest transportation, but you really don’t want that! He is the best! And he is even a licensed pilot if you want to fly somewhere, though local commercial flights are good here. Click his name above for his website and contact him if interested. And pardon a little advertising for a friend.
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| Shot of his brochure. |
For more info go to:
Walter’s Tours Website
And Coming in 2020: Discovery Costa Rica, a billion dollar “discovery park” that a chain of international parks is bringing to the Guanecaste or northwest area of Costa Rica near the airport town of Liberia. Their last one just opened in China. I am not excited, since it sounds like a big amusement park trying to take advantage of the nature and adventure of Costa Rica. What next? A Disneyland Costa Rica? This kind of commercialization is what I don’t like about some of Guanecaste I’ve seen, like Tamarindo and unfortuately it is also taking over the wonderful national park Manuel Antonio on the central Pacific, like Gatlinburg and Cherokee ruined the Great Smoky Mountains Park in the states. Oh well . . . progress! It was bound to happen! And I should reserve my judgement, they might really make it ecological, though I doubt it. 🙂