Blue-gray – Tanager – Tweet, tweet
Tanager in Fig Tree
Xandari GALLERY #4 Published
The “4” can mean my 4th trip to Xandari or the 4th Gallery on Xandari or the fact that I was there for 4 days this time! 🙂 The featured photo is on my walk to the restaurant from my villa.
It is a magical getaway every visit and I tend to photograph many new things or the same things in different ways each time, like this time I didn’t even hike to the waterfalls but spent more time with flowers & butterflies and a feature on the bamboo forest. So if considering a visit to Xandari, check out each of my photo galleries from 4 different trips there with 4 different perspectives:
- 2020 August 21-24 – A Weekend Retreat during a World Pandemic with masks & solo activities in nature. Most butterflies & flowers this time.
- 2020 January 12-16 – Five days when I installed my photo books library and photographed all kinds of nature with more birds than above.
- 2019 July 1-6 – My birthday week with them providing a cake and great celebration and me making another different set of nature photos all over. A very good week! Or see the Photo Book, Brilliant! My Birthday Week at Xandari!
- 2018 July 14-18 – My first trip to Xandari and maybe my most photos as I was thrilled with the discovery in every way! Or see the Photo Book, Xandari – Enchanted by Nature
¡Pura Vida!
White-winged Dove
This is the most common or most frequently seen dove or pigeon in my garden. (The Inca Dove is the second most common in my garden.) To learn more about White-winged Doves, see The Cornell Lab “All About Birds” Article. Or White-winged Dove Gallery for more of my photos of this regular visitor to my garden. In this photo he is perched on the stump of a tree top where my Yellow Bell Tree was recently pruned so I can maintain my terrace vista.
¡Pura Vida!
Flowers Brighten the Walk!
After the birds and vistas I photographed only a few of the many flowers along my Sunday morning walk. I do enjoy the immense variety of plant life here in Costa Rica! And remember to CLICK to enlarge an image:
“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” – Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
And for more, there’s my Flora & Forest Photo Gallery!
¡Pura Vida!
Through the eyes of a child . . .
The subtitle of my newest travel book is “When you look through the eyes of a child” describing how I tried to present this photo-travel book on Maquenque Eco-Lodge and Reserve. Yes – it is in Spanish this time but for you English-only people, don’t worry! All the photo captions are in both languages and the poem from which I got the subtitle is also in both languages, and here it is in English:
“Everything seemed possible,
when I looked through the eyes of a child.
And every once in a while;
I remember,
I still have the chance to be that wild.”
― Nikki Rowe
It’s a photo book with 141 photos, including photos of the 61 species of birds I got this visit. THE ELECTRONIC PREVIEW IS FREE, so go to this link or click the cover image below and you can see all 92 pages of the book for free! Of course full-screen is best for photos! 🙂
https://www.blurb.com/b/10228384-maquenque-m-gico
Or just for the downloadable photos, go to my “Trip Gallery” titled:
2020 June 30–July 6- Maquenque Eco-Lodge & Reserve
¡Pura Vida!
Morning Walk Vistas
Just the views are a reason to walk even if no birds or flowers! 🙂 The cow pasture is across from my house, included to show you how much higher the grass is in rainy season. All other views are from my street just up the hill from my house. And people have similar views all over Costa Rica! One of many reasons I retired in Costa Rica! Pura Vida! 🙂
And CLICK an image to enlarge it!
For more Costa Rica Vistas, see that gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
Two New Galleries
I have completed two new photo galleries from my recent trip to Maquenque. Of course the Maquenque Gallery is the biggest with most photos, but we stopped for coffee in Cinchona on the way back home and in 15 to 20 minutes I photographed 6 birds with two of them “Lifers” (new to me)! And of course the San Fernando Waterfall! And since it is a totally different location than Maquenque and my travel galleries are about locations – two galleries! 🙂
You have been getting samples or teasers on the blog (with 4 more to go through the 22nd) while this is the real collection from my #1 birding lodge and photos of 61 species this trip! Plus photos of lots of other nature! Check it out! And similar to the blog, you click photos to enlarge or sometimes open a sub-gallery for that bird or topic.
Maquenque Eco-Lodge, July 2020 Gallery
And the separate gallery for our coffee break stop on the way home at Soda & Mirador Cinchona for a waterfall and 6 birds, 2 of which are “Lifers” for me!
And in the interest of Coronavirus Safety I have no more trips planned until the middle of September, my annual Caribe Beach trip to Hotel Banana Azul where I will again be a “loner” doing things “solo” for safety. This place is more about relaxation than serious birding but there will be birds! 🙂 And solo walks on the beach searching for nature gems! And always enjoying someone else’s cooking! And reading! 🙂
And FYI, because of some spikes in Coronavirus cases, Costa Rica has shut down again until maybe August with no bars and restaurants only for “take out” or para llevar! (Or delivery, called “express” here.)
And even the banks were closed this week! I hope not next week as I’m trying to renew my residency! And for two weeks at least, private cars are allowed on the road for only 1 day a week based on tag number. We take the virus seriously here! And most of us wear masks. The borders are still closed to everyone until announced otherwise. They had hoped for limited border openings in August but that is not looking likely now, especially for Americans, the most infected country in the world! (Love your money but not your virus!) 🙂
Stay safe everyone and wear your mask!
¡Pura Vida!
Maquenque Rainforest Flowers Part 1
Yes – these all grow wild in the rainforest even if they have moved some up near the lodge. And I really tried to get a name for each flower which I did for the 13 today and for all but 3 of the 14 for tomorrow. I make a big deal out of all the birds here and could just as easily for all the unique flowers. Enjoy and remember to CLICK an image to enlarge.
White Ginger or Butterfly Lily 
Red Ginger 
Phytolacca rivinoides Pastora de la Montana 
Pastora de la Montana 
Panama Hat or Carludovica rotundifolia 
Heliconia 
Heliconia 
Golden Trumpet 
Fire Bush 
Fern 
Crepe Ginger 
Bamboo Orchid
14 more rainforest flowers tomorrow in Part 2!
See also my Flora & Forest Gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
Mother & Child Visit Tree House
Not only did the mother Spider Monkey decide to eat some plant parts near my tree house but she brought her “toddler” who was more interested in playing than eating, and if that was not enough for the monkey mother, she was also pregnant – quite obviously! Here’s a few shots – just click to enlarge an image.
Watching things like this is just one of the reasons I choose a tree house here and they now have 8 tree houses along with their regular cabins on the lake. See their website at:
Maquenque Eco-Lodge website
Or see My 2019 Visit gallery
Or my Spider Monkey gallery
¡Pura Vida!
🙂
The “Tarzan” Tree House
Can you believe that the tree house they assigned me to this year is named “Tarzan?” And I love it! Like they knew the little boy Charlie wanted to be Tarzan! Why it even comes with grape vines (see outside views) though I will not be swinging on them! And I was welcomed to my room by a visiting Keel-billed Toucan! See photo below.
And I doubt that Tarzan had a King sized bed or screens and ceiling fans, but I’m sure glad I do! It is hot and humid here like where I grew up in south Arkansas near the Louisiana line – hotter and more humid than Atenas which is in the hills.
CLICK a photo to enlarge it.
Outside Views
Inside Views
Our 3 hour drive took 4 hours with a lot of trucks on the roads today and the gravel road portion of the drive was in pretty rough condition – what it costs to get to real wilderness! 🙂 And yes, we are all wearing masks here, Costa Rica is smart enough to require it and everyone working here is in the same family – cool! And so nice! I’m the only guest until Friday when there will be 8 to 10 other guests for the weekend.
“Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.” – Irving Wallace
¡Pura Vida!