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In the Costa Rica News
Hotel Grounds – Cristal Ballena
Included are shots from their “Rainforest Trail” which is a fairly dense forest with a lot of old growth big trees which is refreshing but difficult to photograph birds in because of all the limbs and leaves! 🙂
I did not show my room this time but the rooms are on the hill just above the restaurant and pool seen at top of feature photo above or in the pool photo below at upper left. Rooms 10-14 look directly over the ocean and sunsets, while other rooms like mine have garden views with partial ocean views. (My room views are seen in gallery Day Vistas.) I got more birds from my garden view but the premium rooms have better sunset views (cost more) and with clouds & rain every afternoon in rainy season there is not much sunset to see. See the hotel website for more information at https://www.cristal-ballena.com/
Cristal Ballena Hotel, Uvita
CLICK Image to Enlarge
“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more”
―
For more photos see my Cristal Ballena Trip Gallery
¡Pura Vida!
Vistas
And into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul.
~John Muir
Day Vistas
Sunset Vistas
All from a week at Cristal Ballena Hotel, Uvita
See also my Ballena Trip Gallery for ocean & river vistas.
Bonus Article
From the “Live in Costa Rica Blog” — What is the best way to do one’s due diligence for retiring or living in Costa Rica?
¡Pura Vida!
Fruits & Flowers
Just a few of the beautiful fruits and flowers blooming all over the hotel grounds at Cristal Ballena Hotel with 2 shots made on the river trip in same area.
“Almost every person, from childhood, has been touched by the untamed beauty of wildflowers.” ~Lady Bird Johnson
¡Pura Vida!
For more area photos, see my Trip Gallery:
2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita
OR for more Costa Rica Flowers see my gallery:
Butterflies – Cristal Ballena
Though butterfly season is past its prime, there were quite a few at the Cristal Ballena Hotel in Uvita last week. Here’s some I was able to capture photos of (many I couldn’t).
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”
~Nathaniel Hawthorne
¡Pura Vida!
See my Butterflies Gallery and
This trip gallery: 2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita
Most Beautiful Country in the World!
Well, you already know what I think about Costa Rica, but Conde Nast Traveler published it’s ranking of “The 40 Most Beautiful Countries in the World” and Costa Rica tops the list. 🙂
The photo above is one I took of Nauyaca Waterfall last Friday – one of many beautiful waterfalls in the world’s most beautiful country! 🙂
“It is good people who make good places.”
― Black Beauty
¡Pura Vida!
This trip gallery: 2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita
Birds at Cristal Ballena
Here are photos of 20 species of birds I photographed around the grounds of Cristal Ballena Hotel, about a third of them just outside my room! It is a good birding hotel! I actually photographed more species here than on the Mangrove Boat Tour! 🙂 And I will record all of them on my eBird page, even though I got no new species this trip – but I did get several better photos of some species which is always another goal! Enjoy and as always CLICK image to enlarge or start a slideshow.
Cristal Ballena Hotel BIRDS
See my BIRDS Photo Gallery and
This trip gallery: 2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita
“Some birds are poets and sing all summer.”
~Henry David Thoreau
¡Pura Vida!
Nauyaca Waterfalls
Wow! Nothing like it anywhere! The featured photo above is the Upper Nauyaca Falls and the one below is the Lower Nauyaca Falls & Swim Hole with my new friends from Portugal in the water before the crowds arrived.
Below is a brief slide show of people in the swim hole and the truck ride up the mountain dirt road to the falls which is alone is quite an experience while others road horses or walked uphill for an hour and a half. Truck for me! 🙂
Nauyaca Waterfalls & Cristal Ballena Hotel official websites.
This trip gallery: 2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita
“There’s no better place to find yourself than sitting by a waterfall and listening to it’s music”
―¡Pura Vida!
Morning & Night Make a good Day!
I planned to post the report on Rio Sierpe Boat Trip today but still not finished – so just a quick glimpse at today, another nature day! 🙂
“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.”
¡Pura Vida!
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This trip gallery: 2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita
A Fiery Kiss to the Night!
With rain and clouds every afternoon and early evening we haven’t had much of a sunset this week but tonight was a good teaser!
Sunset at Uvita
“A sunset is the sun’s fiery kiss to the night.”
―
I was so busy photographing birds off my terrace and the above sunset that I haven’t had time to present the other shots from Whale Watching – but will eventually! 🙂 See more of my sunset photos in my VISTAS, BEACHES, SUNRISES, SUNSETS Photo Gallery.
Good Night from Cristal Ballena
This trip gallery: 2019-September 13-21–Cristal Ballena, Uvita
¡Pura Vida!