Howler Monkeys Arrive!

Male Mantled Howler Monkey
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

And yes, that is his testicles showing above. Sorry! The Howlers arrived this morning early with their distinctive howl, like an African Lion’s growl – seriously! But I did not go out to photograph them until this evening’s howl which means shooting into the sun – not smart! Maybe I’ll get up early one morning when they start howling and get some better photos. They come on the apartments’ property every year about this time when some of the fruit starts getting ripe, though they were eating leaves this evening. We saw only two males and the female with her baby tonight.

Female and Baby Mantled Howler Monkeys
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

I did not photograph these from my balcony like the birds because they are down along the river in those trees which I will have to start watching more. I’ve been too busy to do as much nature photography as I thought I would do, but having fun with everything else too! I got my first tennis lesson yesterday and that might become a new activity.  🙂  Healthy!

Click to Hear the Howler Monkeys Howl.

La Casita Vista

La Casita del Cafe Vista
On a clear day you can see the Pacific Ocean on right behind close hill.
 

I finally got to have breakfast at La Casita del Cafe, 8.7 km from my house (but with an Atenas address). It is a tiny little restaurant on the tallest mountain you can see from my balcony. It was a typical Tico breakfast of beans and rice with eggs and I added ham and chose the scrambled eggs with tomatoes and onions in them, almost as good as I make. I made the trip as my first trial run in a rent car which I got yesterday afternoon in preparation for two sets of Tennessee visitors next week. I could get spoiled having a car!  🙂

Last week Berdelle Campbell and Michael King (my Germantown friends) came in for a visit with Marcia & Craig Jervis in their lovely Uvita house on the South Pacific Coast. Their plane was delayed and got here after dark, so our planned “lunch date” didn’t happen when they left the airport. 
Berdelle and Michael are returning Wednesday and decided to come up Tuesday to visit with me before I take them to the airport Wednesday morning. They will sleep in a lovely Bed & Breakfast, Vista Atenas, with another killer view! I’ll show it later. But anyway, I needed to learn how to drive around here and get to some of the places I will be taking Kevin later next week (like La Casita) and the following week. So I got it early and find driving is not that difficult here, at least with GPS! There are not many road signs or highway labels, so you either know where you are going or you follow the GPS which thankful is included on my phone. I also found the B&B on the same highway with La Casita and found the little country coffee farm, El Toledo, on another highway that Kevin and I will be visiting next Sunday. 
Today I was unable to find a auto charger for my Samsung Galaxy s4, but was told of a place that will be open Monday here that might have it. If not, I’ll try the Walmart in Alajuela. I have gotten so used to walking and using taxis and buses, that it really feels strange having a car! I can do things at the last minute or on impulse!

Seeing Beauty

Sunset from Charlie’s Balcony, Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”
-Confucius
A little selective focus and cropping via my camera
gave me tonight’s sunset as I wanted to see it 
from my immersion in a tropical rainforest. 
It is fun seeing, experiencing beauty!
-Charlie
🙂


Moments before it was just this ordinary sunset in a small town:

I chose to remove the clutter, the noise, and find the tropical beauty I love!
Can you see where I focused as the sun dimmed a little more?
Seventeen minutes later and an effort to see beauty!



Visa Run to Nicaragua

A long, colorful and productive 15-hour day-trip today!
Our first of 4 lines to wait in at the border. Great people-watching!
Click to enlarge this photo of line to get out of Costa Rica.
Our 7 renewers plus our leader Walter in the hat

Welcome to Nicaragua!

I have many more interesting photos of the people, places and scenery in Costa Rica on this trip in my Visa Run Photo Gallery!  Always click on an image to see a larger version. We left at 5:30 AM and were home by 8:30 PM. We all got our visa’s renewed for 90 days more! Two stops on the Corobici River, our favorite and most beautiful place this day! See photos in the gallery.

Parrots Landed!

Crimson-fronted Parakeet
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

They have been flying over daily for most of my time here, but not landing where I could see them from my apartment. Then they finally did! Once! A small number landed in one of the palm trees on our apartment property for a few minutes. Not sure why they chose the palm tree. No berries that I can see. This is the largest of all parakeets, as large as most parrots, the Crimson-fronted Parakeet. It’s the same one I posted earlier from the power line out front of the apartments. But I like these shots better, more natural. All were made from my front balcony with my Canon Rebel and a 75-300mm lens, then cropped to about 1/4 the original image size for the birds to show up! None tack-sharp, but I’m satisfied after waiting so long for them to land. Later on jungle trips I may get much better shots and when we go to La Paz! I got macaws at Zoo Ave, but no parrots! Same on Tarcoles River.

Crimson-fronted Parakeets
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

Crimson-fronted Parakeets
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

Crimson-fronted Parakeet
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

Crimson-fronted Parakeet
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

Sugarcane

Farmer bringing sugarcane to market while
I am walking up the hill to my Spanish class.

Note: I just added another fallen fruit photo to my March 7 Trodden Under Foot post, if interested. It is the Star Apple or Cainito, a purple fruit the size of an apple or orange and it fell right here in our apartments.

Tico Toilet Paper

Sign in Su Espacio bano as in most toilets anywhere in Costa Rica.

Not nasty! Just practical! Anyone who has managed a septic tank understands or maybe you know someone who uses large wads of toilet paper that stop up even sewer lines. Stopped up plumbing is no fun! And I think most of the drain pipes here are smaller. So practicality trumps most sensitivities. Plus the bathroom trash cans (one by each toilet) all have lids and I keep a spray-can of Lysol by mine. No big deal anymore! But if you visit from the states, prepare yourself for this Tico custom.  🙂

The sign you will find in my apartment bathrooms.
At Farmers’ Market you buy your toilet paper from this enterprising couple.
Many public restrooms have no paper, so most women keep some in their purse.
But all restrooms provide a covered wastebasket for your used paper. 🙂

 In the Super Mercado many Central American made and branded toilet papers are available and sometimes you can get Scott Tissue, the only recognizable brand for North Americans. It costs about a dollar for one roll of 1,000 squares. (cheaper in large packages.) I’ve compared Scott and Nevax (a Costa Rica brand) and they are about the same quality and price and I’m moving toward supporting local products in when I can. 

Sorry if this column is offensive, but there is more to living in Costa Rica than photographing birds!  🙂

Or for something a little more spiritual, see my post in my “His Spirit” Blog titled: God, Teach me how to walk barefoot!

Swallow

Maybe Blue & White Swallow, Bank Swallow, or even a Martin. Not sure.

Hundreds of swallows fly over every day and all around the apartments, very fast! I’ve never been able to catch one in my camera, though this is one of my best efforts. We also have Keel-billed Toucans fly over occasionally, usually in pairs and very fast! No photos! Same with the Montezuma Oropendola! And parrots and parakeet flocks which are often even higher in sky. None of these birds ever land in the trees around us. 

Church and rest today. No adventures! Back to the bank tomorrow and that will be an adventure!

Today’s Alajuela Adventures

I travel by bus to our province’s capital every week or two, mainly for Aerocasillas & Walmart. Here’s today’s story with phone pix:

Iglesia Bautista 1946, Alajuela
I got the 9 AM bus to Alajuela ($1.43) and it got there in 30 minutes, the fastest time yet! Walking from the Alajuela bus terminal to Aerocasillas, as always, I saw for the first time the Baptist Church of Alajuela. I have walked by it before without noticing the small “Iglesia Bautista 1946” sign. It was started when I was just 6 years old! I know it is the date because we don’t use house numbers here! It is behind and overshadowed by the Alajuela Cathedral pictured in my January 15 post

Aerocasillas Alajuela Office

From the bus station to Aerocasillas (the blue sign on gray building) is an 11 block walk or as they say here, “about 1100 meters” or actually “oncecientos metres.” Today I had one letter, a check from the sale of my dining room table and chairs, finally! So worth the trip! Then this afternoon when I got home I received notice via email that a package will be ready for me to pick up tomorrow. Grrr! Maybe I go tomorrow or maybe next week! ! It is the replacement blades for my electric razor that I couldn’t find here. Oh well! Another adventure!

Then around the corner from Aerocasillas are two of my favorite landmarks and the cab stand:

Church of the Agony, Alajuela

La Bohemia Rock Bar across the street from Church of the Agony

Cab Stand at Church of the Agony – $3 to Walmart – All official taxis are red!
Maybe I’ll show a photo of the Walmart sometime, but it is just a big box! Today I walked across the street from Walmart to a new modern strip center with several nice restaurants. I chose Mexican, Taconteinto. It was very good and very expensive!
Then another cab back to the bus station where I just barely caught it as leaving and packed full. The first time I have had to stand all the way to Atenas, well, nearly all the way. Between La Garita and Atenas our bus broke down and we all had to stand on the side of the road at a partly covered bus stop for 20+ minutes waiting for a replacement bus to pick us up. We were all patient. “These things happen!” People don’t get bent out of shape when things go wrong here. Everyone just visited or used their cell phones. And 20-30 minutes for a replacement bus is actually pretty quick!
Waiting for a replacement bus on the western edge of La Garita. 

Last 4 Tarcoles Birds

You can see all the birds in my Tarcoles Gallery or wait until the last week of March when I’ll be at Tarcoles again with Kevin this time. Enjoy these then I’ll go back to blogging about life in Atenas.

White Ibis
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Brown Pelican
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Green Heron
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Northern Jacana
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
“The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp.”
John Berry
My Trip Advisor Review of this trip with photos!

I’ve been photographing birds in Costa Rica since January 2009 and have a special gallery of Costa Rica Birds, with more than 100 species presented alphabetically by English name.