Crested caracara

Did you notice the bird sitting on the water trough in yesterday's photo? I knew I could count on Brattcat to notice it, as she often leaves perceptive comments about details in the photos, and for Jarart to have an eagle eye for birds.

Here is a closer view. It is a crested caracara, based on its black cap, reddish face, white neck transitioning to black feathers and yellow feet. It is a bird of prey, as its appearance shows, although it can also scavenge. It is comfortable on the ground, and this bird is obviously comfortable rather close to the ground.

I will try to get a closer and better photo. I took this from the road, with my zoom, in late afternoon low light on a cloudy day, without a tripod.

This week we are showing some more photos from our recent trip to Yosemite National Park on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Windmill

Here is another rural, pastoral scene from the countryside about 10 minutes inland from Tamarindo. I love the simplicity of the green hillside, accented with trees, and a windmill to pump water into a basin for cattle.

This week we are showing some more photos from our recent trip to Yosemite National Park on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Spotted bull

Continuing with the rural scenes that I have been showing, here is a photo of a spotted bull that caught my eye in a pasture about 10 minutes east of Tamarindo. Sorry that this photo is from a distance and not a close up. Unlike when I am taking photos of crocodiles, I do not get close to bulls.

This is a typical rural scene in the coastal hills that divide the beach towns from the broad plains that provide excellent pastures for cattle and fields for sugar cane, papaya and other tropical crops.

This week we are showing some more photo from our recent trip to Yosemite National Park ted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site

Tico house

This photo shows the entrance to a house in a village close to the location where we took the wildlife river cruise on the Tempisque River, which I have shown during the last week or so.

This is typical of the type of houses in villages in rural Costa Rica. I liked the flowers and other vegetation at the entrance to this house, and the terra cotta color of the house.

This week we are showing some more photo from our recent trip to Yosemite National Park ted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Brahman cattle

Yesterday I showed a cattle egret. Here is a close up of the cow that was next to the egret. Brahman cattle are popular in Costa Rica because they can withstand the warm climate better than other types of cows. Brahman cattle originated in India and have been exported throughout the tropics.

They can withstand the heat because they have more sweat glands and more oily skin than other cows. The distinctive features of their appearance are the large hump on their back and the dewlap skin hanging from their neck.

They are often cross-bred with Angus or Hereford cows to achieve the benefits of both breeds.

Today is Sunday so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing additional photos from our recent trip to Yosemite National Park, focusing on some of the details and quiet scenes.

Cattle egret

Continuing with my animal series, here is a photo of a cattle egret, and a cow. Cattle egrets are very common in Guanacaste, our province of Northwest Costa Rica. There are lots of ranches and cattle in the area, which suits the cattle egrets just fine.

Cattle egrets eat ticks and fleas from cattle, but they also hang out near cattle because they feed on the insects that the cattle disturb from the ground. They like to hang around cattle and often they gather in large flocks.

We have photos of Villa Melzi at Bellagio, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo website this week.

Kingfisher

My current little series of some wildlife photos would not be complete without at least one photo of a bird. Here is a colorful kingfisher. Kingfishers are located primarily in tropical and temperate climate areas, and only few of the many types of kingfishers are found in the Western Hemisphere.

The presence of Kingfishers in Costa Rica is just one example of the fact that tiny Costa Rica has more different species of birds than all of the USA and Canada combined.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Melzi in Bellagio, Italy, on the shores of Lake Como on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Monkeying around

After posting photos of a crocodile for a week, followed by a rather unattractive iguana yesterday, I figured I better show photos of some cute animals animals for balance. Here are some white-faced capuchin monkeys playing around on the boat we took for our wildlife viewing trip on the Tempisque River in Palo Verde National Park.

The size of this boat shows the safety in getting so close to the crocodiles. I have gotten enough to photograph crocodiles that one of them splattered me with mud scrambling from the river bank into the water next to the boat.

I extend happy birthday wishes today to my brother. He is a clinical psychologist and his wife is a social worker for the Veterans Administration in St. Cloud, Minnesota, helping veterans, particularly those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. They, and the veterans, are saints.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Melzi on our Viva la Voyagetravel photo site. If you have not been to the shores of Lake Como in Bellagio, Italy, come take a visit by clicking on the link to our website.

Iguana

After finishing our boat ride in which we saw the crocodile shown during the past week, we walked on the river bank and who was our greeting party? This iguana.

This iguana seems especially dinosaur-like. Reptiles such as the crocodile and iguana are, of course, relatives of dinosaurs. Some reptile species have been around for 200 million years, outliving dinosaurs by 60 million years or so.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Melzi on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. If you have not been to the shores of Lake Como in Bellagio, Italy, come take a visit by clicking on the link to our website.

Yikes! Jumping Crocodile.

Usually when you see crocodiles in the river, they are gliding smoothly and the blend in with the surface of the water, barely visible, such as the photos I showed a few days ago.

This crocodile took a lunge upward, giving us a nice view of his snout, jaw and teeth. Crocodiles can move very fast, especially in the water. I have gotten splattered by the mud of a crocodile rushing from the river bank into the water while I was photographing him.

The bite of a crocodile has more than ten times the pressure than the bite of a great white shark. I don't intend to test the difference.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Melzi on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. If you have not been to the shores of Lake Como in Bellagio, Italy, come take a visit by clicking on the link to our website.

Here's looking at you, kid

Crocodiles have excellent eyesight above water, but not very good underwater. They have excellent hearing though little slits instead of ears. They can even hear their young calling from inside their shells before they are hatched.

The sex of their young is not determined genetically. Males are created at around 89 degrees F (31.6 C) and females produced at lower or higher temperatures.

The crocodile's eyeballs strike me as rather strange. They are marbled to match the coloration of his skin, with what appears to be a slit-shaped pupil. I would not want to get into a stare-down with a crocodile.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Melzi on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. If you have not been to the shores of Lake Como in Bellagio, Italy, come take a visit by clicking on the link to our website.

Crocodile's teeth

I promised a closer view of the crocodile's teeth. The way to tell a crocodile from an alligator is that crocodiles have a more pointed snout and the fourth lower tooth of a crocodile sticks up outside the upper jaw.

If you are in the wild and not in the safety of a boat and you see something that looks like this photo coming towards you, I recommend that you quickly snap a photo and then run away and not bother to try to get a close look at the fourth tooth. You can blow up the photo on your computer to look for the fourth tooth later.

Do you think it is possible to get a closer look at this crocodile? As usual, the answer will wait until tomorrow.

In Costa Rica, we have crocodiles and not alligators. I can remember this easily because there is a restaurant in Tamarindo named El Crocodilo. There is no restaurant named after an alligator.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of the Villa Melzi on the shores of Lake Como in Bellagio, Italy.

Crocodile, up close and personal

Several of my treasured and favorite regular readers during the past few days, such as Brattcat, Kate, Sharon, Jarart, Lois, and more have left comments saying that one should not get closer to the crocodile than the photo shown yesterday.

Sorry to disagree, but one of the purposes of my river trip is to get close photos of a crocodile. I appreciate your concern, but do not worry. I was safely inside a boat. Would anyone like to get a better look at the crocodile's teeth?

We are showing photos of Yosemite this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

My, my, look how large this crocodile is

As the crocodile came closer, we got a better opportunity to assess its size. Yesterday's photo from a distance revealed that he was wide, and presumably large. Today's closer photo of the crocodile confirms that he is large. Even though he is mostly under water, the length of his tail is visible in the ripple of the water.

We are showing photos of Yosemite this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Look who's coming

Yesterday I showed a photo of the crocodile lurking in a river. Today's photo shows the same crocodile as he glided slowly and silently towards us.

He is showing a little more of himself in today's photo. Yesterday we only saw his eyes. Today, we can see some of the little spikes on his back. He looks fairly wide, so he may be a large crocodile, but it is too early to guage how long he is. We will need a closer look for that. He looks like he is coming to give us a closer look.

We are showing photos of Yosemite this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Come on in. The water's fine.

I have showed lots of photos of the beach lately, popular with swimmers and surfers. Would you like to go swimming in this river? Better take a careful look before deciding to jump into the water.

We are showing photos of Yosemite this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Reflections in the table at Longboard's Restaurant

The reflection that you see in the bottom of this photo is the sheen from a light rain that moistened the front table at Longboards Restaurant, which I showed last summer. The tables are wood carved in the shape of surfboards, and they are finished with a clear varnish that provided an opportunity for me to take this reflection shot.

We are showing photos of Yosemite this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Footprints on the beach

Who do you think made these footprints on the beach in this photo?

My guess is raccoons, as we see them walking around more often than other animals. But, they could be an olingo. We see them walking around our Langosta beach condo sometimes in the evening.

We are showing photos of Yosemite this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Surfer

This surfer has finished his surfing for the day and is walking back towards the central part of Tamarindo where most of the hotels and condos are located. He looks content.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are featuring photos from a trip we took to Yosemite National Park during the Memorial Day holiday a week or so ago.

Surfer

After yesterday's photo of a surfing failure, I figured I better show a successful surfer today. The northern end of Tamarindo beach is a popular area for people learning to surf.

When a surfer is bent over like this, I do not know if it is the result of people being either left handed or right handed and whether that determines which foot is placed forward, in the direction of the wave.

As is my custom, tomorrow will provide a gender neutral balance to today's photo.

We have photos of the gardens in the villas on the Borromeo Islands in Lake Maggiore, Italy, posted this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Surfers's stray leg

Here is a photo of some surfers at Tamarindo beach. The odd thing about this photo is the stray leg poking up out of the wave on the left, the only visible part of a surfer who had fallen into the wave.

When I got back to our condo and Julie asked what I had been doing, I could say I was at the beach with my zoom lens photographing body parts.

We have photos of the gardens in the villas on the Borromeo Islands in Lake Maggiore, Italy, posted this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Sand patterns

I do not post many macro photos, but here is a close up of patterns in the sand on Tamarindo beach. These patterns made by the slowly receding water are a function of the gradual slope of the beach.

We have photos of the gardens in the villas on the Borromeo Islands in Lake Maggiore, Italy, posted this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

It's a dog's life

Why should vacationers be the only ones to relax on Tamarindo beach? Shouldn't local dogs also get to lie around and enjoy the warmth of the sun, the cooling effect of the ocean's waves, and the relaxing effect watching the fishing boats bobbing in the southern end of Tamarindo bay?

We have photos of the gardens in the villas on the Borromeo Islands in Lake Maggiore, Italy, posted this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Stormy sea

Here is a photo of a storm at sea, with a log of driftwood in the foreground. Like many photographers, I will at times try to find an object in the foreground to add depth to a distant scene being photographed.

We are showing photos of the Borromeo Islands of Lake Maggiore, Italy, this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

She can't fool the dog

Every once in a while the woman wit the dog would pretend that she did not have the stick that the dog was retrieving. This photo shows one of those moments. The dog is not fooled in the slightest. He knows that she has the stick and he will wait until she throws it again. I wonder what he is thinking when she teases him in this way.

We have photos of the gardens of the villas on the Borromeo Islands in Lake Maggiore, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

The return of the stick

The lab has trained his companion to pick up the stick after he returns it, ready to toss the stick to him again and again.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing the gardens of the villas on the Borromeo Islands in Lake Maggiore, Italy.

Success for the dog

The dog has successfully retrieved a stick from the ocean where the woman threw it. I don't know how dogs acquired the instinct to retrieve thrown objects, but they have trained humans very well to throw sticks and balls for them.

On our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week we are showing wildlife and scenery from the Serengeti Plain in Tanzania.

Off he goes

A split second after the photo I posted yesterday, the girl tossed the stick and off ran the dog. Within the first two strides by the dog he was up to speed and his eyes had already picked up the flight of the stick. I think he has done this before, yet he never seems to tire of doing it again.

On our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week we are showing wildlife and scenery from the Serengeti Plain in Tanzania.

Fetch

This yellow lab is anxiously awaiting the toss of a stick on Langosta Beach at low tide. I love yellow labrador retrievers and had one for my two sons when they were growing up. They are smart and very attentive, as this dog's posture reflects.

At high tide, the volcanic rocks are under the water. This stretch of beach is excellent for walking, but the area for swimming or surfing is a short walk to the south.

On our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week we are showing wildlife and scenery from the Serengeti Plain in Tanzania.

Theme Day: Construction

Today's worldwide Daily Photo theme is "Construction." I took this photo a few years ago when the Pacific Park condo building was under construction at one of the two main intersections in Tamarindo.

I took this photo because I could position the camera angle to include the irony of a sign by a group that opposed high density construction in Tamarindo. Although the projects that were under construction have continued, there have not been many new projects, due primarily to the economy.

Shortly before the recession in 2008, the President of Costa Rica imposed density limits on the northwest Pacific beach towns, of which Tamarindo is the largest and most widely known. His executive order required that half of the land of any property near the beach must be left with vegetation and only half could be used for buildings and parking. Also, there are limits to the height of buildings so that buildings near the beach can be only 3 stories, then 5 stories a little farther back, then 8 stories a little farther beyond that.

I have mixed feelings about construction in Tamarindo. On the one hand, I like the charm of Tamarindo not being high density new buildings. On the other hand, I like that our Langosta condo was constructed on land right on the beach, where it could not be built today, and our Diria Resort condo is on the 4th floor of a 7-story building, and the height gives us a great view of the beach and ocean. Also, the construction allows more visitors, which helps support the many restaurants that were a major reason we bought our condos in Tamarindo. I will confess that this makes me somewhat of a hypocrite when it comes to attitudes about construction in Tamarindo.

On our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week we are showing wildlife and scenery from the Serengeti Plain in Tanzania.

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