I already knew that Xandari was good for butterflies, but really didn’t think I would photograph this many species! And I’m still processing the photos and identifying, but it now looks like about 30 species. I could share one a day for the next 30 days but that would not be fair to you who are faithful readers of this blog, so just 3 days of Xandari butterflies! 🙂
One shot for the email notice of the blog and then a gallery of all 10 with actually 11 photos because one is so different with folded wings that you must see both views! 🙂
I was getting tired of sharing the same butterflies and stopped posting them for a few days on the blog. Then I realized that probably the reason I’m not seeing birds like usual is the noise of the construction of two houses across the street. Grumble, grumble! But – they sodded grass and planted palms today, so maybe they’re nearly finished! 🙂
Then decided I needed a short break to a favorite nature resort very near here, a 45 minute drive, and my first return since 2020. So about 11:00 this morning my driver will take me to Xandari Nature Resort on the edge of Alajuela, our provincial capital and the location of the San Jose Airport, hidden on a mountain overlooking it all in a thick rainforest with 5 waterfalls, a farm, lots of flower gardens, birds, butterflies, great food, Frank Lloyd Wright style architecture filled with beautiful art and no construction work! There is nothing to not like about Xandari, unless it is the price! 🙂 But sometimes one needs to splurge for a day or two! 🙂
Check out the galleries below from my 4 previous trips there and oh yes, this is the only hotel that has a complete library of all my Costa Rica Photo Books! 🙂 – Click the date of each previous trip below to see my gallery from that visit to Xandari . . .
I never tire of trying to capture a slightly different view of Atenas from atop the hill I live on the side of in Residential Roca Verde, Atenas, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica. These are not necessarily my best shots, so check out the others in my gallery: From Hill Above My House.
Here’s the three shots from my walk the other day, one a single shot vista and the others are two-shot panoramas of Atenas Central from atop Phase 1 of Residential Roca Verde. If you look close you can see the church steeple and the palm trees in front of it which are in our Central Park.
Atenas from atop Residential Roca Verde. A 1-shot View on Cell Phone Camera.Atenas from atop Residential Roca Verde. A 2-shot Panorama on Cell Phone.Atenas from atop Residential Roca Verde. A 2-shot Panorama on Cell Phone.
On a recent walk that I haven’t been doing as much since cancer is the walk over the steep hill that my little rental casita hangs on the side of. It’s a difficult climb up, but with some rewarding views like this one I share today. And yes, I know, there’s actually 2 houses on that hill in Phase 2 of Roca Verde (I’m in Phase 1), but one house is the center of the view beneath the big mountains in the background, that I’m pretty sure are the ones in Braulio Carrillo National Park just east & NE of San Jose and thus two of the peaks may be Volcanoes Barva and Cacho Negro.
I’ve scheduled another butterfly for tomorrow’s post then the next day I’ll share a different vista from that same hilltop walk, one viewing our little town (called a pueblo here) of Atenas in Alajuela Province. ¡Pura vida! 🙂
“House on a Hill” viewed from the top of the hill I live on the side of, Atenas, Costa Rica
Yes, I could say that things are looking up as the number of Covid cases has greatly decreased, more people are out without a mask and businesses seem to be doing a little better, but this time I’m talking about literally looking up from my garden or terrace and seeing the beauty I miss when I only look down, like plants reaching for the sun, a beautiful leaf, and the flowers way up on the hill behind me! And I know that this is not the first post on “Looking Up” and probably won’t be the last, but it is with some fresh photos! 🙂
I believe this is probably the wettest rainy season in Atenas since I came 8 years ago and you can tell it by how green everything is and the strange places things like moss and ferns grow. Three photos . . .
For reading my blog! One of my host services just informed me that last month, July, I had over 2,000 views, 89 comments and 157 “Likes” with only other WordPress Bloggers having a “Like” button. So thank you for paying attention to an old man’s ramblings while retired in the natural paradise of Costa Rica! ¡Pura Vida!
. . . in appreciation of the beauty of dying leaves, which happens year around here (no “Fall” as such), I recently snapped, one on a sidewalk in town and the other in my yard, plus the contrast of two favorite green leaves below! 🙂
I’ve recently learned that much of the park renovation is being paid for by volunteer donations as the city budget was greatly hurt by the pandemic. And all the work is being done by park employees rather than an expensive contractor, so I guess the slowness is to be expected and maybe praised for a job well done without much means.
After the celebration of the park entrance sign and flagpoles, they finally started again by blocking off another wedge of the park with the ugly tin construction fence. It is the area where we’ve had a children’s playground. They’ve removed all the old playground equipment and dug up the brick sidewalk in preparation for another modern cement sidewalk with I assume the trademark low walls for sitting as a replacement for park benches. There will likely be an additional sitting area for parents watching their children play. This sidewalk radiates from the central circular kiosk to the SE corner of the park. Once the concrete work is done I assume they will then install the new playground equipment and another section of remodeling will be completed. I doubt that even they know how long it will take. Here’s 3 photos to show what they’ve started . . .
Construction fence around the playground section of park while people still use the other spaces including the central kiosk partially shown here.Continue reading “Park Renovation Update”
