The tall plants I had that were blocking the sun, not only stopped some other plants from flowering but seemed to kill my Elephant Ear plant (for a lack of sun) and I loved those! Well when the gardeners were removing the tall plants, one started to remove and dispose of the tubulars (dead trunk of Elephant Ear plant) left from the only Elephant Ear plant I had and another gardener told him “No, new plants will grow from those dead tubular remains.” Well, he was right! And quickly they have started growing from the remains of my old plant. Here’s two shots of the new Elephant Ears growing out of the remains of the old one. 🙂 Nature is amazing!
Baby Elephant Ears growing out of the remains of an old plant.Baby Elephant Ears growing out of the remains of an old plant.
Trying to eat from a hummingbird feeder in my garden. And pretty badly damaged on one wing. The Blomfild’s Beauty, Smyrna blomfildia (my gallery link) is a fairly common butterfly that I usually see a couple of times a year. Just one shot . . .
A couple of years ago my gardeners planted this Cigar Calathea, Calathea lutea (linked to Wikipedia). It has many other cigar names which I guess is because of the cigar-shaped flower, but the leaves are not used for cigars! Rather, they are used for the presentation of food in some restaurants or to wrap food to go. It was surrounded by other tall plants like the Ti Plant, but I had those removed because they blocked the sun and flowers below would not bloom without sun! Here’s a series of photos made this week, with a couple earlier showing un-shredded leaves.
The Cigar-shaped Flowers of Calathea lutea, Atenas, Costa Rica
When watering the other day this Tropical Buckeye, Junonia zonalis (linked to my gallery) was hanging out on and around the water hose. So I had to go get the camera! 🙂 The Buckeye has always been one of my tropical favorites since the first one I saw in the Florida Everglades many years ago. There are 3 or 4 varieties of the Buckeye, but all are similar and this is the one we have here in Costa Rica. Here’s 3 totally different views of this “Hose Buckeye” . . .
. . . for me! Not rare or that unusual, but the first one I’ve seen. Photos of 235 individuals in Costa Rica are posted on iNaturalist. And a lot from all over on butterfliesandmoths. Saw him today at midday on my Cecropia Tree. Not seeing as many butterflies or birds with the continued high winds. And it was a strong gust of wind that had him flying away too quickly to catch a shot of the top of wings which are dark brown with bright orange in the middle. Orion (Cecropian) – Historis odius are his English common names & scientific name. The common name here in Spanish is Mariposa lumbrera (Light Butterfly). And even in the wind, there are many nature discoveries to be found! 🙂
Orion (Cecropian) – Historis odius, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa RicaOrion (Cecropian) – Historis odius, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
As a lover of travel, I spent my first 5 or 6 years here traveling somewhere different nearly every month! Since the 2021 Covid and my cancer surgery & radiation therapy, It’s been less often, but you can still see that travel and nature photography are my passion in what is posted in most of my blog posts. You can subscribe to an emailed version of the blog. But friends have asked for these hotel reviews, so here goes!
Just remember, “A photo is worth a thousand words!” 🙂 Yeah, that’s right, more photos than words! 🙂 And oh yes, the feature photo above was made from my cabin at Playa Cativo, looking over their gardens to the beach and hearing the surf that puts me to sleep at night. 🙂
My Outline for Each Review
Would I go there again?
Likes & Dislikes
Nature & Other Activities – including those I didn’t do.
My Room & Food Evaluation
Getting There
Links to My Trip Gallery(ies) and Photo Book(s) if done with free reviews of each book.
I use more photos than words! But each = 1,000 words! 🙂
And yes, I realize that this is mainly just for people living in Costa Rica and the few foreigners I know who might travel here someday, but it is worth the work I put in it for me to help those! 🙂 Fun too!
Across the street from me, the first house is an Airbnb rental owned by a German man who comes himself about once a year. And at his entrance gate is an Oro Tree, the tree that is scattering orange splotches across the many landscapes of Costa Rica in January-February, making the hills & valleys beautiful! And it is all orange flowers, no leaves yet. They come after the flowers. Well, to see his Oro Tree from my terrace or windows I must peer through my Higueron Ficus Tree. The feature photo is from me zooming in through the tree limbs from my terrace and other photos below show how thick my Ficus tree is to try and focus through! 🙂 So I went out in the street to get a pix of the whole tree and it has lost all its flowers except on that one branch I can see through my Ficus, so not sharing that, plus it is butchered on one side by the power company to protect their lines. So just these 3 photos here . . .
Oro Tree Flowers seen through the branches of my Ficus Tree. Oro Tree Flowers seen through the branches of my Ficus Tree. Oro Tree Flowers seen through the branches of my Ficus Tree.
Here’s a closeup of an Oro Tree I made in Orosi Valley several years ago. It is in my Trees gallery which has other photos of Oro Trees and many other species.
Not real common, though I’ve seen at least 3 other times in my garden, the Eastern Tailed-Blue, Cupido comyntas (linked to my gallery) has before been almost totally blue on top with less brown than this one, but with research, I’m confident that this set of photos is properly identified, even though Ceraunus Blue has more brown like this, it has a totally different set of black dots. Plus one article says that females are more brown, so maybe this is a female! 🙂 And all photos are of the same individual. Plus, interestingly, every time I’ve seen this species, it has been in grasses and never yet on a flower. 🙂 Here’s 3 photos . . .
Because of numerous doctor appointments in San Jose, I get to “ride shotgun” and be the observer while Walter deals with the traffic! 🙂 Anyone who regularly drives back to Atenas from San Jose will recognize this “bottleneck” where traffic must narrow down to one lane for our side of a two-lane bridge and then enjoy the multiple lines following that for the toll booths. 🙂
Well, my philosophy is to always “make lemonade out of lemons” (rather than screaming at the idiots in government who wouldn’t pay for a 4-lane bridge on a major highway like Ruta 27). So I notice the other day this black tree contrasting with the yellow & green grasses on a hill where the traffic jam begins. Walter says that there was a grass fire on that hill a few years back and that tree burned down. Now its charcoaled figure graces the hill like a statue on a museum pedestal. 🙂 Welllll . . . use your imagination! 🙂
Here’s two shots on my cellphone through the car window glare, one from a distance and one closer as we passed it. You locals look for it the next time you drive back from San Jose! And I know . . . this is only one of many places where one side or the other of 27 narrows down to one lane. And it is beyond my comprehension why the new bridge on 27 west of Atenas is only 3 lanes instead of four! But – just enjoy the gorgeous vista from that bridge! 🙂 Beauty in every inconvenience! 🙂
Ruta 27 westbound from San Jose. Nature As Art on Ruta 27 westbound from San Jose.
Nature as Art!
¡Pura Vida!
And for all kinds of views of Costa Rica, visit my photo gallery online called Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA + with 10 years of CR photos plus all my old Tennessee and other historical photos. The galleries represent my whole life but especially my retirement years. It has been fun! 🙂
The Parrot’s Beak – Heliconia psittacorum is one of several subspecies of this one family of the many Heliconias! It is small and adds a delicate touch to any garden. Plus it is purely tropical and I like it! 🙂
