A grand tree

Our area of northwest Costa Rica, the province of Guanacaste, is named for the guanacaste tree, which is Costa Rica's national tree. The landscape is primarily coastal hills and plains, with pastures such as this for livestock and crops.

The area has a rural, small town atmosphere, with condos, vacation homes and resorts along some of the beaches, and, of course, businesses that cater to tourists in the few beach towns.

I have been showing more photos of the rural areas lately, so tomorrow we will return to the beach, resuming with a few photos that my women readers may appreciate.

We have photos of the villas in Bellagio, Italy on the shores of Lake Como posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.