charliedoggett.net
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| Costa Rica’s National Bird – Clay-colored Thrush On Charlie’s apartment balcony, Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Golden Shower Tree or Cassia Fistula On Highway 3 east of Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| “Yellow Bells,” “Trumpet Bush” or officially Tecoma Stans Zoomed in on one of the mountain sides from my front balcony |
Earlier I showed orange-blooming Poro Tree around here, then the bright Pink Trumpet Tree, and there are now a bunch of yellow-blooming trees, two kinds! The first one above is an imported Asian ornamental tree that looks like a yellow lilac tree with delicate flowers hanging down, the one along the highway above. The other has clusters of bell-shaped flowers like this one off my back balcony. And remember, we are near the end of the dry season with no rain since November! Amazing!
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| Yellow Bells behind my apartment at Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas |
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| Clay-colored Thrush Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
There was one of these down by the river with the howler monkeys yesterday afternoon, but this little guy landed on my balcony rail at sunset tonight. In earlier years he was called Clay-colored Robin. Yes, I posted a photo of this bird earlier, but just not as good as this one. Won’t do repeats often! Promise!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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! 🙂
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| Sunset from Charlie’s Balcony, Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| 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! |
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| 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. |
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| Our 7 renewers plus our leader Walter in the hat |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Crimson-fronted Parakeets Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Crimson-fronted Parakeets Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Crimson-fronted Parakeet Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Crimson-fronted Parakeet Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| 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.
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| 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. 🙂
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| The sign you will find in my apartment bathrooms. |
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| 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.
Or for something a little more spiritual, see my post in my “His Spirit” Blog titled: God, Teach me how to walk barefoot!