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Butterfly + Dental & Virus Updates

THE BUTTERFLY

Well, another butterfly, the feature photo, that is difficult to identify and different from most because it was so small, about the size of my little finger’s fingernail or in U.S. currency about the size of a dime. Seeing an enlarged photo makes it seem to be one of the large category of “Brushfoots,” maybe more specifically one of the fritillary or crescents or tanmarks by the designs, though I have never seen one this small. No positive ID in my big book of butterflies yet. Let me know if you think you know!   🙂

THE ROOT CANAL

Thursday I saw my root canal specialist. She drilled into the hurting tooth (through a bridge) to find that it was very much infected because someone in the states had started a root canal but did not finish it and then went ahead and put a bridge on that tooth. So much for the trust I thought I had in my dentists in Nashville.

She packed it with antibiotics for a week and this Thursday I will get the infection-free root canal. The total cost for treating the infection and doing the root canal is the CR Colones equivalent of U.S. $220. Root canals in the states are between $900 and $1,800 and in my case one was never completed, even at the very high prices. Glad I’m in Costa Rica now!    🙂

 

LATEST VIRUS NEWS (From Tico Times):

Costa Rica reaches 35 cases of coronavirus; all bars and nightclubs ordered to close  (As of Monday)

A very social-able country is now practicing “social distancing” which is a challenge!   🙂  No more of that kissing cheeks or even hand-shaking which seemed funny when the very friendly bank guard elbow-bumped me the other day!   🙂   But the virus is spreading very slowly here and only in the capital and its suburbs now.

I just emailed my hotel in San Gerardo de Dota about my mountain adventure beginning March 30 to confirm that I’m still coming and get an assurance from them that they are still open. Tourism is being greatly hurt here by this virus and the limited travel since most of our tourists are from out-of-country. So I think they may appreciate that I’m still coming! And if not many there, easier/safer for me with my “social distancing!”   🙂

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”
― Anita Desai

¡Pura Vida!

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Chachalaca

I possibly have more photos of this species of bird from my yard than from any other location, though I have seen them all over Costa Rica. It is a large chicken-sized bird that usually moves in flocks, but this one was solo at breakfast this morning in my Guarumo or Cecropia Tree (Wikipedia article).

When together as a flock they chatter a lot and thus the fun nickname here of “Chachalacas” for a group of people chattering or all talking at the same time.  🙂

There are two types in Costa Rica, this Gray-headed Chachalaca (link to Neotropical Birds site) found only in Central America from Honduras to the beginnings of Columbia, and the rarer Plain Chachalaca found here only in parts of Guanacaste (our Northwest Province) which I am yet to see or photograph.

On the Neotropical Birds site be sure to listen to their calls which is what wakes me some mornings!   🙂   And for more of my photos of this bird, both in my yard and other Costa Rica locations, see my photo gallery Gray-headed Chachalaca.   Another one of my tropical friends here!   🙂

A chattering Good Morning from Atenas, Costa Rica!

¡Pura Vida!

🙂

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Praying for Nashville

This morning I prayed for Nashville, Tennessee which was devastated last night with a major overnight tornado.

For those who don’t know, I lived in Nashville for about 37 years (1977-2014, minus 3 in The Gambia) and lived in two of the neighborhoods hit by the tornado last night, Germantown and Hermitage, thus the destruction is very real to me plus I knew people in other areas hit bad, like East Nashville.

But I also know Nashvillians and that they will work together to get through this and be a stronger community because of it. Yet still, I send my sympathies to the many families who lost loved ones last night (19 at last report seen).  Washington Post Article on Storm.

bible verses to get through hard times Beautiful Some inspirational quotes to you through the tough

To Nashville

Love & Pura Vida from your friend in Costa Rica.

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Gray & Yellow Mornings

Gray-crowned Yellowthroat

Both yesterday and today I went out around my house looking for birds about 6:20 to 6:40 AM, before breakfast. Both mornings I found birds with gray heads and yellow fronts! Yesterday (before going to Bosque Municipal) I got distant shots of the above Gray-crowned Yellowthroat (link is to Cornell’s “Neo-Tropical Birds”) seen in the cow pasture across the street from my house, my first of this species here, though I got better photos at Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde last year, also in a meadow. Check ’em out!

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Gray-crowned Yellowthroat (different photo) in cow pasture in front of my house.

Gray-capped Flycatcher

A more common or more frequently seen-by-me-bird is this common flycatcher which has gray & yellow coloring like the above but is much larger. To learn more about him from Cornell’s “Neo-Tropical Birds,” click this name link, Gray-capped Flycatcher or go see my Gray-capped Flycatcher Photo Gallery (better photos than this). There are around 50 different species of birds here labeled some kind of “Flycatcher,” so a lot of variety! And yes, they do eat flies and other insects!    🙂

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Gray-capped Flycatcher, in my garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica

 

“Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.”

― Terry Tempest Williams, When Women Were Birds

¡Pura Vida!

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My Xandari Villa

My third time to visit one of the most expensive hotels that I like in Costa Rica gives me a third different and bigger room/villa. I rarely show this many photos of a room, but because it is unique, I decided to this time along with the Art in My Villa, yesterday’s post.

This “room”  is called a “King Junior Suite” meaning just one king size bed in multiple rooms or spaces, a large suite or villa. They call all their rooms villas because most are in separate buildings and all are large.

From the lobby and restaurant main building, you walk through the gardens on a beautiful winding, paved path to the entrance of #5 in this case:

Private Entrance Compound

Kitchenette by front Terrace

 

Living Room

 

Valley-View Terrace

 

Bedroom

 

Bathroom

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Shower behind blue wall overlooking private garden. Toilet in separate room behind me.

This exceptional hotel is just 20 minutes from the San Jose Airport, thus a starting and ending location for many international tourists coming here, like the people I visited with this time from England, Germany, France, Canada and the U.S.

Yet they are immersed in a tropical rainforest with hiking trails, 5 waterfalls on the river, wildlife, both wild and cultivated flowers, a small farm for the kitchen, a wonderful Spa and restaurant. Some things are worth paying more for!   🙂   I do this occasionally here while other times I “rough it” in the wilderness to be closer to nature. I like both experiences! And the way Xandari combines both luxury AND nature! Plus now they house the Charlie Doggett Photography Library!   🙂   That alone makes the visit worthwhile!   🙂

Luxury is attention to detail, originality, exclusivity and above all quality.
~Angelo Bonati

¡Pura Vida!

Xandari Costa Rica

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Good Night from Xandari

My first afternoon was settling in, photographing the room, hiking the upper level of trails photographing mostly flowers and having a really great dinner! I love it here! Maybe my favorite hotel in Costa Rica! But I’m too tired to process photos tonight and this sunset is not great but will have to do. Good night!   🙂   Much more tomorrow!

¡Pura Vida!

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Braulio Carrillo Gallery

I finally got all the photos sorted, filtered and labeled for a gallery called:

2019 December 22-28 — Tapirus Lodge, Braulio Carrillo   Click to see

As usual, this park and lodge are different from all the others I have visited in the past – a very good experience indeed! Difficult to compare with not as many birds as many other places I’ve visited, but I got decent photos of the rare and hard to find White-tipped Sicklebill Hummingbird, a “Lifer” for me. Also first time shots of a wild Tapir! So those two alone were worth the trip!   🙂   The lodging and food was below what I’m becoming used to in the many nicer lodges around Costa Rica, but the real rainforest experience makes that minus worth the trip! I recommend it with the alert that it is not a luxury hotel!   🙂

For more information check out the lodge website: Tapirus Lodge

Or the National Park Website:  Braulio Carrillo National Park

Happy CR Quote

¡Pura Vida!

 

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Seeing Green

A few shots made my first day at Tapirus Lodge, enjoying the many “green things” walking around the lodge. And its a pre-made post for while I am getting settled back in at home in Atenas.

Rainforest Green

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Tapirus Lodge

Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Birds & a Tapir – Perfect Christmas!

On Christmas Eve, yesterday, my 5 year anniversary of living in Costa Rica I had a birding guide and got one “Lifer” (first time seen) bird, the rare White-tipped Sicklebill, plus a lifer mammal if you please! A Wild Tapir came right up to the restaurant building eating from the flower beds!   🙂   Though not new for me, I also got some more photos of a very rare Sunbittern! And all of the below photos from yesterday were made in the rain. It has not stopped raining for two days and nights now in this RAINforest.   🙂

Birds

 

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Tapir on entrance walkway for Gift Shop & Restaurant

Forest Walk

 

 

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The mother Tapir eating various kinds of leaves. She seldom brings her baby.

I also got some interesting photos on the canopy tram ride which I will share in another post the next two days or whenever I return to the entrance for Wifi.

¡Pura Vida!

 

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A White-nosed Coati – Quite common raccoon-sized animal all over Costa Rica.