Tamarindo, Costa Rica Daily Photo

Condo coach lamp and flowers

2012-01-31T02:30:00.000-08:00

This is the last photo in this series on the Crystal Sands condo building. I hope you have found it of interest and that I have not gone on too long for your tastes with this series, but there was a lot to show, with the exterior, interior of the model unit, one of the penthouse units, and views of the ocean, beach, and hills.

Tomorrow is the first day of the month Daily Photo theme day, and the theme this month is perfect for Costa Rica, and I will expand upon it for a week of posts.

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

Crystal Sands condo entrance

2012-01-30T02:30:00.000-08:00

Before leaving the Crystal Sands condo, I took this look back and photographed the entrance. This is what a real estate salesperson would describe as curb appeal. Anyone driving through the gate and pulling up to this entrance will understand that this is a very nice, and expensive place.

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

Tamarindo condos and hillside homes

2012-01-29T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is a closer view of yesterday's scene, taken with a zoom lens. The white building is the Pacific Park condo. I would prefer that they had used an earth tone that does not stand out so much. You can see that some people like to have houses up on the hills to get a nice view of the ocean, although they cannot walk to the beach.

The radio tower on the top of the hill is a nice place from which to watch the sunset over the bay, and tourists can take ATV tours up there.

The tan colored building on the left are the condo buildings at the Diria Resort complex right on the middle of Tamarindo beach. One of our two condos is on the fourth floor of that building. It is very popular with guests who want to be in the middle of town and to have access to the amenities of a resort.

In fact, the Canadian couple who are just finishing staying in my condo for 3 weeks this January, and who also stayed there for 3 weeks last January have already reserved the condo for 3 weeks next January. And they previously stayed at the Diria Resort every January for about 10 years. It is nice to have repeat visitors.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week we are showing some remarkable sights of Egypt, ancient and modern.

Tamarindo town

2012-01-28T02:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's photo looked towards Langosta, so today I am showing this photo of the view from Langosta towards the main part of Tamarindo.

You can see that with the boom of condo development beginning about 10 years ago, Tamarindo has developed a little of what one might call a skyline. Fortunately, there are still lots of trees. Development controls now require that every development near the beach leave half of the land in vegetation.

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

Playa Langosta and the Cala Luna Resort

2012-01-27T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is a view of Langosta from the elevator lobby area of the top floor of the Crystal Sands condo. This is looking in the opposite direction from the beach.

The Cala Luna Resort is located in foreground. The tile roofs are the resort bungalo units. The tall thatched roof is the snack bar near the swimming pool. The Cala Luna has recently been remodeled and reopened. We like to walk there from our condo to enjoy lunch at their restaurant around their pool.

The Peninsula and Naxos condos are the tall buildings on the left side of the photo. Our condo is on the beach near the top right of the photo, although it is not visible due to the trees.

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

Beachfront dead tree with a chair swing

2012-01-26T02:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I talked about how beachfront trees at times will be damaged or die because of the salt air. This is a closer view of the tree that was visible in yesterday's photo.

The dead trees have a rather artistic shape and can make for interesting driftwood. Someone has added a chair swing to this tree.

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

Beachfront view

2012-01-25T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is a view from the penthouse balcony down to the beach. The Crystal Sands condo has a nice lawn overlooking the beach, but I guess they figured that people would rather sit with their feet in the sand, so they made a couple of sand boxes with lounge chairs.

At the center top of the photo is a dead tree. I wonder if someone killed the tree to make a better view of the ocean. Some people in our condo building would prefer there there is less vegetation on the beach, but our property management company has quite properly said that they will not touch the trees on the public property of the beach. The Costa Rican environmental authorities have threatened to penalize anyone who who damages the beach trees.

The vegetation along the beach at times is damaged naturally by the salt air and water. The trees can be fragile because they are growing in sand.

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

Looking down on palm trees and flowering trees

2012-01-24T02:55:00.000-08:00

I mentioned yesterday that some of the trees have red flowers at the tips of their branches. Here is a closer view of the same trees shown yesterday.

I took these photos several photos months ago during what we call the "green season." During January - March some trees will turn brown and drop their leaves because we get almost no rainfall from November until April. Of course, that is fine with the tourists who enjoy the warm sunny weather during the cold months up north.

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

Looking down on the trees and beach

2012-01-23T02:55:00.000-08:00

Here is another view of the beach from the Crystal Sands condo penthouse balcony. The lush greenery comes very close to the beach, and you can see some red flowers in bloom on the tree tops.

I visited the Crystal Sands condo twice, once at low tide and once at high tide. If you look at the photo of the hot tub on the balcony compared to the same scene visible in this photo, you can see the large difference between low tide and high tide.

The top of this photo is the point that divides Langosta Beach from Tamarindo Bay. Sometimes we walk from our Langosta beach condo around this point, and then walk along Langosta beach to one of the many restaurants in the middle of Tamarindo. It is nice to be able to walk to dinner along the beach. We walk along the road on the way back at night after dinner, of course.

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

Isla Capitan at high tide

2012-01-22T02:55:00.000-08:00

I took this photo from the balcony at the Crystal Sands. It shows Isla Capitan, or Captain Island, at high tide, when it is barely visible.

This island and the rocky reef around it shelter the southern end of Tamarindo Bay, allowing boats to be moored in the harbor and making the waves at the southern end of the bay gentle and perfect for small children to swim.

The island provides a place to roost for pelicans and other sea birds, and I am sure the marine live loves the rocky terrain and tidepools.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing nighttime photos of Chicago, featuring the Theater District and the distinctive architecture of Chicago.

Condo hot tub

2012-01-21T02:55:00.000-08:00

I mentioned a couple of days ago that there are hot tubs on the balconies of some of the condo units at the Crystal Sands. Here is a photo of one of them, with the view down to the ocean at low tide.

Of course, in Costa Rica, it is warm all year around, so I don't know if people actually want to turn up the heat in a hot tub, but I guess it is nice to have the option.

We have a spa next to the pool at our house in Scottsdale, but we never use it. We don't sit still long enough, unless we are in front of a computer.

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

Shower with a view

2012-01-20T02:55:00.000-08:00

Behind the wall in yesterday's photo is this shower, with a full length view of the ocean. You don't have to worry about anyone looking in the window when you shower, as there is no one 6 stories up out on the beach.

The disadvantage of a shower such as this is that I would not want to take my glasses off to take a shower, asI would want to continue to see the view.

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

Master bathroom with a view

2012-01-19T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is part of the master bathroom in a penthouse unit of the Crystal Sands condo.

Here's a problem that I foresee with this bathroom area. What if the wife picks out her clothes and asks "Honey, how do I look?" Or the husband picks out some clothes as asks "Does this shirt go with these pants?"

The response will probably be "I don't know, and I don't care. I'm enjoying the view of the ocean."

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

Penthouse condo

2012-01-18T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is a penthouse unit at the Crystal Sands condo. It is 2 stories, 4,700 sq. ft. (440 sq. m). You have missed your chance to buy one, as this was the last one available, but it is now under contract. Sorry. You will have to use your extra $1.6 million to find another property.

This is the view from the front door, with a large living room straight ahead and a staircase to a huge master bedroom suite that occupies the top floor, with a jacuzzi out on the balcony.

Since you missed your chance to buy this unit, I'll show a couple of more photos during the next few days.

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

Crystal Sands Condo Pool

2012-01-17T02:55:00.000-08:00

This photo is the swimming pool at the Crystal Sands condo. What is very unusual about this pool is that it is on the opposite side of the building from the ocean. Usually, beachfront condos have the swimming pool overlooking the beach.

There are two reasons this pool is on the road side of the building rather than the beach side. First, it allows the building to be closer to the beach, as there does not need to be space for a pool on the ocean side. Second, by not having a pool on the ocean side, the condos on the ground floor do not have the people around the pool next to their patios overlooking the ocean.

Our condo has the pool next to the beach. It make it very pleasant to be at the pool and to look over the ocean. However, for people who own condos on the ground floor next to the pool, they have no privacy on their patios. Their patios are right next to all of the people who are hanging out by the pool. We are very pleased to have our balcony on the second floor, not next to the pool.

If I had a condo on the ground floor, I would be pleased that the pool is on the street side. If I had a condo on a higher floor, I think I would want a the pool on the ocean side.

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

Oceanfront view

2012-01-16T02:55:00.000-08:00

This view gives a perspective on how close condos can be to the ocean (50 meters) if they are on property that was grandfathered before the law required buildings to be set back 200 meters from the ocean.

There is something missing from this photo, however. There is something unusual about the layout of the outdoor public space at the Crystal Sands condo. I will show you . . . tomorrow.

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

Condo balcony

2012-01-15T02:55:00.000-08:00

Several people yesterday commented that they liked the view of the balcony from the bedroom. Here is a better view of the balcony of the model apartment in the Crystal Sands condo. This gives an idea of how large the 3-bedroom condos are (2,800 sq. ft.; 265 sq. m.). There is a long exposure of the condos to the ocean front, as this entire balcony belongs to the same condo.

If you have about $900,000 USD, this could be yours. In a couple of days I will show you one of the 4 penthouse units.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing some scenes for Egypt, including some phtos of the old Coptic Christian area of Cairo.

Condo bedroom

2012-01-14T02:55:00.000-08:00

Here is the master bedroom of the model apartment in the Crystal Sands condo building that I have been showing for the past week. The model is on a lower floor, compared to the view that I showed yesterday.

The Crystal Sands is built as close to the beach as the law allows -- 50 meters. Similar to our Langosta Beach condo, it is on land that was grandfathered before the law required new buildings to be set back 200 meters from the ocean. Even close to the beach, however, there are still trees along the beach, as you can see from this view.

This week we are showing photos of the patterns in the animals and plants of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

View across Tamarindo Bay to Cabo Velas

2012-01-13T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is the view to the right from the same balcony from which I took yesterday's photo of the view out to sea. This is the view of the northern tip of Langosta beach at San Francisco point, then the small Isla Capitan, barely above the water line at high tide when this photo was taken, and across Tamarindo Bay to Cabo Velas.

A couple of people strolling along Langosta beach are visible. That is typical for Langosta, a couple of people, not crowds, enjoying a walk on the beach.

This week we are showing photos of the patterns in the animals and plants of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

View out to sea, and marathon swimmer

2012-01-12T03:30:00.000-08:00

If you own or rent a condo on a high floor of the Crystal Sands condo, this is your view of a part of Langosta Beach, out to sea.

This view of the ocean gives me an opportunity to mention that there is an article in the newspaper about a 56 year old German woman, Renate Herberger, who is swimming the entire 1,000 km (600 miles) length of the Costa Rican coast of the Pacific Ocean. She wears a face mask and flippers so she can enjoy the marine life.

She gives talks to local people and school groups along the way to increase awareness and appreciation for marine life. When she has a support boat, she takes short breaks every half hour in her 8 hour swim days. Some days, she swims by herself without a support boat. The newspaper said people can email to her at renatemermaid@gmail.com. What a wonderful, dedicated human being.

Here is a link to the newspaper article about her.

This week we are showing photos of the patterns in the animals and plants of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Condo dining room and kitchen

2012-01-11T02:55:00.000-08:00

Here is the dining room and kitchen of the Crystal Sands condos. Because condos on the beach in Costa Rica are marketed primarily to Americans and Canadians, the upscale condos have kitchens that are equivalent to what people would expect in the USA and Canada.

Stainless steel appliances, dishwashers, garbage disposals, etc. are common in upscale beach condos. I also like the cabinetry made from local hardwoods.

This week we are showing photos of the patterns in the animals and plants of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Welcome to the condo

2012-01-10T02:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a view of the dining and living room of one of the larger condos in the Crystal Sands building. As you can see, it is large and luxurious. The 3 bedroom condos are large, 3,000 sq. ft. (285 sq. m.), with luxury features.

Like our own two condos, this has an open floor plan with the kitchen, dining room and living room flowing to a balcony overlooking the ocean, and with a master bedroom to the right, also with an ocean view. (This is larger than our condos.)

We'll take another look inside tomorrow.

This week we are showing photos of the patterns in the animals and plants of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Moth waiting for the elevator

2012-01-09T02:55:00.000-08:00

When I stepped out of the elevator on a high floor of the Crystal Sands condo building, I saw this moth on the wall right next to the elevator door.

Despite being a high price condo, with lots of luxury features, an underground parking garage, and a security guard and gate out front, this is Costa Rica, after all. There's a jungle out there. We have seen a pack of monkeys in the trees just one block from this condo.

The markings on this moth are intended to confuse predators by camouflaging the location of its eyes. If a bird attacks the moth, it might take a bite out of its wing instead of its head.

Tomorrow, several readers expressed an interest in seeing what the inside of million dollar condos look like , so tomorrow and the following days we will go inside and I will show you the interior.

This week we have photos of some of the patterns of animals and plants in Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Corridor with wood ceiling

2012-01-08T02:55:00.000-08:00

Like most condos in Costa Rica, the corridors at Crystal Sands are open air, rather than indoors. They have used local woods for the ceiling, which are quite attractive.

On the day I took the elevator up to a higher floor to look around, I found a reminder that we are in Costa Rica, as I will show you tomorrow.

Airport News Update: A week or so ago I showed some photos of the new airport terminal in Liberia. The newspaper has an article that the new terminal will open next Thursday. The company that built the terminal and has a 20 year concession to operate it will pay a fine of $500,000 for the delay in opening. The company will pay $229 million to the government, which will use the money to upgrade small, rural airports all over the country.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing some photos of patterns from our safari in Tanzania, Africa.

Crystal Sands condo entrance

2012-01-07T02:55:00.000-08:00

If you owned a ground floor condo at Crystal Sands, your front door would be either on the left or right of this walkway, with the beach right beyond the trees visible through this atrium.

The smaller condos on the lower floors of this building go for about $800,000, with penthouse units on the top two floor approaching $2 million. The condo has underground reserved parking, which is nice.

There are a lot of nice architectural touches to the exterior common areas as well as the interior of the condos, as one would expect with top of the market condos.

This week we are showing some close up photos of plants and animals of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Crystal Sands condo

2012-01-06T02:55:00.000-08:00

During the past few days I have shown photos of the pristine aspects of Langosta Beach. But a beach that beautiful in places yields to the pressure of development. This is a photo of the entrance to the Crystal Sands condo, the largest building, by far, on Langosta Beach. The ocean is right behind the condo.

This is a very upscale condo, with prices ranging from $900,000 to about $1.7 million. It was developed by several Americans who had the bad luck to finish the building just as the global real estate market collapsed. Even with the soft market, however, they have sold about half of the condos.

Would you like to see more of what luxury condos are like in the Playa Langosta area of Tamarindo? My wife and I took a look inside the Crystal Sands, with our camera of course, during our last visit to Costa Rica.

This week we are showing some close up photos of plants and animals of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Driftwood

2012-01-05T02:55:00.000-08:00

I mentioned yesterday that driftwood at times washes up on the Langosta beach. Here is a particularly artistic example.

This driftwood is in sand that is exposed at low tide in the mouth of the Langosta estuary. I do not know whether this driftwood was carried in from the ocean or floated down the estuary. Its weight must have caused it to stand upright as the tide receded, which made for a better composition for this photo.

This week we are showing some close up photos of plants and animals of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Langosta Beach vegetation

2012-01-04T02:55:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love about Langosta beach where one of our 2 condos is located is that we can walk up and down the beach and see nothing but surf, sand, sky, plants, and driftwood. No buildings or people are visible.

There are some houses behind the trees that line the beach, but you have to look straight inland to see them, otherwise the vegetation is think enough to block the view of them.

In the future I will show some photos of the beachfront houses. Some of them are spectacular.

This week we are showing some close up photos of plants and animals of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Pelicans flying in formation

2012-01-03T02:55:00.001-08:00

We like to watch pelicans flying up and down the beach from our condo. Unless I have my camera with me, there is no use trying to run inside the condo to grab the camera, turn it on, set the exposure and try to take a photo. They will be too far to photograph.

Fortunately, I had my camera with me when these pelicans flew by in their typical "V" flying formation. Pelicans do not migrate like birds who fly south for the winter, but they can forage long distances, up to 93 miles (150 km) for food.

I think that the pelicans that we have in Costa Rica are brown pelicans, the same species as in Florida or California. We often see them plunge diving into the ocean for food, which is a characteristic of brown pelicans.

Pelicans are ancient creatures, as fossils reveal that they lived as long as 30 million years ago. They were almost wiped out in the USA in the middle of the 20th century, as DDT use caused their egg shells to be too thin to hatch. Thank heavens for Rachel Carson and her groundbreaking book, The Silent Spring, which awoke mankind to the dangers of unregulated pesticide use.

This week we are showing some close up photos of plants and animals of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Hilton Garden Inn at the Liberia Airport

2012-01-02T02:55:00.000-08:00

Several years ago this Hilton Garden Inn opened up across the street from the Liberia Airport. I am sure that it is used by all of the airplane crews. Before this opened, the nearest upscale accommodations would be at beach resorts about 45 minutes away.

Some of the departing flights to the USA leave as early as 7:00 am, so some tourists prefer to go to this hotel the evening before departure so that they do not have to make an early morning drive to the airport.

There was an article in the Costa Rican newspaper about a week ago that reported that tourism in Costa Rica in 2011 was up about 4%, which is good considering the condition of the economy in the USA, Costa Rica's largest market for visitors. There were about 2 million visitors, to a country with a little over 4 million population.

In anticipation of the new terminal at the Liberia airport, recently new nonstop service was added to Liberia from Denver, Minneapolis, New York and even a flight from Germany. The addition of nonstop service from Europe is new and significant. I have noticed an increase in European visitors, as this past year three of the people who rented my condos were European, whereas in the previous three years I had only one European guest.

This week we are showing photos of some close up photos of plants and animals of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Theme Day: Favorite Photo of the Year

2012-01-01T02:55:00.000-08:00

Today's worldwide Daily Photo theme is the favorite photo of 2011. For my choice, I selected what I had described as a photographer's dilemma, because I do not normally take photos of women lying around in swim suits, which is a common sight in a beach resort such as Tamarindo.

But while I was taking photos of this dog on the beach, the dog became curious about this woman, which gave me a brief moment to decide whether to take this photo of, yes, the dog. It was a very brief photo opportunity, as this woman quickly sensed the breath on her chest and her reaction caused this too-friendly dog to wander off .

While my wife might think it is not appropriate to take photos of sun bathers, my mother-in-law loves photos of dogs. I decided to seek to please my mother-in-law by reacting quickly and taking this photo. She approved.

Whenever we travel, I try to take a least a couple of photos of dogs in distinctive foreign locations and my mother-in-law keeps several albums of my dogs-around-the-world photos on her coffee table. Yes, her affinity for dogs borders on an obsession, from the other side of the border.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week my wife has posted some macro photos of plants and a very unusual animal on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.

To see the favorite photos of other Daily Photo bloggers around the world, Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Costa Rican Cigars

2011-12-31T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is a photo of cigars on sale at the duty free shop in the Liberia airport. There are street vendors in Tamarindo who sell cigars, which I assume are Cuban cigars, as they are available throughout Latin America but not the USA.

I assume that these are Costa Rican cigars, as it would make no sense to sell Cuban cigars at an airport where almost all the flights go to the USA, where Cuban cigars are illegal. I don't smoke, so I have never tried one.

This week we are showing photos of San Pedro de Atacama, the main town in the Atacama desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Duty Free Shop

2011-12-30T02:55:00.000-08:00

Here is part of the duty free shop in the Liberia airport. I have never bought anything in here, but I do browse every once in a while, perhaps because the two shops in the airport are air conditioned.

This week we are showing photos of San Pedro de Atacama, the main town in the Atacama desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Waiting in the airport departure halll

2011-12-29T02:55:00.000-08:00

This shows photo shows why they needed and built a new airport terminal at the Liberia airport. This is a departure hall in the current airport terminal. You may notice the giant ceiling fan. Yes, that means that it is not air conditioned. It is a basic, no frills facility, with open sides, including open to the tarmac, for air circulation.

The new terminal is air conditioned and will make a much more pleasant experience for arriving and departing passengers.

This week we are showing photos of San Pedro de Atacama, the main town in the Atacama desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

New terminal at the Liberia Airport

2011-12-28T02:55:00.000-08:00

Here is another photo of the new terminal building at the Liberia airport. It will provide a much better first impression of Costa Rica than the existing collection of airport buildings.

The airport was supposed to open in October, but there are still issues between the government and the company that built and will operate the airport that need to be resolved. The newspaper had an article that companies that expected to operate in the airport, such as Cafe Britt which will have three gift shops, had hired workers and purchased inventory, but they cannot start their operations. The Ad Astra Rocket Company, started by Costa Rican Astronaut Franklin Chang, opened near the airport so that high tech products could be shipped in and out from the new terminal.

The high season for tourism has just begun, so hopefully the airport will open soon.

This week we are showing photos of San Pedro de Atacama, the main town in the Atacama desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

New terminal at the Liberia International Airport

2011-12-27T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is the new terminal at the Liberia International Airport. It is quite a contrast to the collection of buildings that I showed yesterday. Already about one-third of the international tourists who come to Costa Rica fly into Liberia rather than the capitol of San Jose, and that number is expected to increase in the future with the new airport terminal.

The new terminal has not yet opened, although the building is complete. The government is doing inspections of the interior construction work by the contractor before opening the terminal building. The airport will be operated by a private company that won a bid for a long term concession to build and operate the airport.

This week we are showing photos of San Pedro de Atacama, the main town in the Atacama desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Liberia Airport

2011-12-26T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is a view of the International Airport in Liberia. It is not much to look at now, but a new terminal has been constructed, which I will show in the coming days.

The addition of direct flights from the USA to Liberia about a decade ago has transformed the northwest Pacific region of Costa Rica. Our area is the most popular destination for tourists in Costa Rica, a country known for its tourism industry. Major international hotel chains, such as the Four Seasons, J.W. Marriott, Hilton, etc. have opened resorts. Lots of vacation homes and condos have been built. All of this is made possible by the fact that it is just one hour from the Liberia airport to the beach resorts.

These airport terminal buildings, shown today from the window of an airliner, are very basic. The terminal is functional, but not impressive. We will explore this subject a little further in the next few days.

This week we are showing photos of San Pedro de Atacama, the main town in the Atacama desert of northern Chile, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T02:55:00.000-08:00

For today's Christmas greetings, here is a photo of the holiest site in Costa Rica, the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles in Cartago. The cathedral is built on the site of what is considered a miracle in 1635, when a small black madonna statue mysteriously reappeared on a rock after an indigenous girl removed it several times.

People from all over Costa Rica make pilgramages to Cartago, located about 16 miles (25 km) from San Jose. During the holy week at the beginning of August, the little "La Negrita" statue is taken from the altar and paraded in the square in front of the Basilica. As many as one million people, nearly 25% of the population of Costa Rica, will visit the Basilica during that time period.

There is a spring next to the Basilica whose water is considered to have curative powers, and pilgrims will often pray for relief for the physical ailments of themselves or loved ones.

For those who celebrate Christmas, please accept these best wishes for the holiday, and I hope that everyone has a hoyous holiday season and and happy, safe, healthy and prosperous new year.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing the town of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. It is a place from which people explore the Atacama desert and the Andes mountains.

Langosta Estuary tides

2011-12-24T02:55:00.000-08:00

This photo shows the scene near the mouth of Langosta Estuary, where it flows into the sea, and where the tide flows into the estuary. At times when the tide is about the same height as the estuary, the water is very still, with the current neither flowing in or out. This photo captures one of those still moments.

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

Surfers leaving the beach

2011-12-23T02:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's photo was a little far away, so here is a closer view of the surfers walking from the beach.

From a photographic standpoint, I was pleased to be able to catch the surfers in the sunlight, with the trees dark behind them to highlight the subjects. I almost always take photos on a manual setting as though it is a little brighter than the camera's exposure would ordinarily set the camera.

Shooting on a brighter setting prevents photos from appearing washed out, deepening the blue of the sky, and maintaining the texture of clouds. Some parts of the photo may appear too dark, however, such as the trees in the background of this photo. Sometimes I leave them dark, such as today, and other times I use the iPhoto adjustments to lighten the shadows of the photo.

Without shooting for a brighter setting, a scene like this would have the trees lighter, but the splashes of sunlight on the skin on the surfers would be washed out, as would be the white of their surfboards.

My mother-in-law may comment that I took a moment of eye candy for her and turned it into a boring photo mini-lesson. Oh well, Glenda has never criticized me about anything else (I'm serious), so I have to give her some reason to do so.

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

Surfers

2011-12-22T02:55:00.000-08:00

I try to maintain gender equality on this website. My wife would insist on it. I realize that I posted a few photos of women silhouetted against the shimmering sea last week, so I better balance the scales.

Here are a couple of surfers on Playa Langosta. Does the swim suit on the left looks like someone cut off the trousers of a prison uniform?

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

A grand tree

2011-12-21T02:55:00.000-08:00

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.

Emergency kit for the car

2011-12-20T02:55:00.000-08:00

On my last trip to Costa Rica, when the Hertz car rental agent went over the car with me, he showed me the emergency kit. That was new. He said that a new law requires that all cars to have an emergency kit and seat belts. Police can give you a ticket if you don't have one an emergency kit or are not wearing a seat belt.

Of course there will be a charge if you return the rental car without the emergency kit.

I mentioned yesterday that in mountainous areas of the country in particular roads can be a challenge. There will be times that I am sure people will be grateful that they have an emergency kit in their rental car.

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

Rural house

2011-12-19T02:55:00.000-08:00

I like the colorful village and rural houses that are typical of Costa Rica, such as the one in this photo.

This house was on a country road about 15 minutes inland from Tamarindo.

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

Country road

2011-12-18T02:55:00.000-08:00

People who inquire about renting one of our condos often ask about the roads in Costa Rica. The road to Tamarindo is paved and in fine shape.

There is only one paved road into Tamarindo, and there are lots of country roads in the area that are unpaved. This photo is a typical scene of a country road near Tamarindo.

In the mountainous areas of Costa Rica, there are plenty of roads that are more of a challenge.

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

The swimmers and wave in black & white

2011-12-17T02:55:00.000-08:00

People seemed to like yesterday's photo, judging from the kind comments, so here is one more black & white study of two swimmers on Tamarindo beach. I liked this photo because of the dance of the light on the wave that has just broken before reaching the swimmers.

This week we have photos of the fall colors on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Swimmers, in black & white

2011-12-16T02:55:00.000-08:00

I don't normally post black and white photos on this site. In fact, in three and one-half years of doing this site, I don't think I have ever posted a b & w photo until today.

In Tamarindo, taking afternoon photos of the Pacific Ocean means shooting into the sun, of course. This silhouette of a couple of women wading out into the ocean did not have a lot of color, so I tried it in black and white. I think it emphasizes the silvery reflection of the sun on the water.

This week we have photos of the fall colors on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Crabs on the road

2011-12-15T02:55:00.001-08:00

After yesterday's photo of a small crab to illustrate the discovery of kiwa puravida, a new species of crab deep in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Costa Rica, I thought I would post this photo of a crab on the road.

I took this photo back in July, when a certain species of crabs comes out at night and crosses the beachfront road between Tamarindo and Playa Langosta. I don't know why they leave the beach and walk into the woods, although I presume that maybe it is too mate. I am sure that the raccoons and coatis are delighted with the crabs venturing out.

This photo shows the advantage of having a camera with a view finder screen that swivels out from the camera into a horizontal position. It lets me take photos such as this by looking down at the camera, rather than lying down on a damp road with a bunch of crabs to try to look through the view finder.

This week we have photos of the fall colors of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

New Crab Species Discovered

2011-12-14T02:55:00.000-08:00

Scientists have just discovered a new species of crab 50 miles off the coast of the Nicoya Peninsula, where Tamarindo is located. I do not have a photo of the new crab, so I am using this photo of a local crab to illustrate this discovery, in part because of the key role of the new crab's front claw, which is also prominent in the photo of this crab.

The new species of crab was discovered living 1,000 meters deep in the ocean, near vents that release hydrogen sulfide and methane gas into the ocean floor. Using these gasses, the crabs cultivate bacteria to grow on their front claw, then they have an appendage that lets the eat the bacteria from their claw.

The new species has been named kiwa puravida. Pura Vida is the national slogan of Costa Rica. It means "pure life" and is used much like Hawaiians use "aloha." The new crab is only the second type of yeti crab species ever discovered, following the 2005 discovery of the other type of yeti crab west of Easter Island in 2005.

The discovery of kiwa puravida was made through the cooperative studies of scientists from the University of South Carolina, University of Oregon, and New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. This collaboration is an example of how Costa Rica attracts biologists from all over the world because of its unique and diverse land and marine ecology and its support for the environment.

My niece is getting her Ph.D. in marine biology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She has made made discoveries and published scientific research papers regarding sea urchins. She has also studied sea turtles around the world. I know she will help make the world a better place in the future.

This week we have photos of the fall colors of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Shells

2011-12-13T02:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's photo showed a sign saying not to take shells from the beach. So, here is a photo of some of the shells on the beach. This random pattern shows the different stages of the deterioration of shells. I don't know why, but some of the shells on our each commonly lose their center section and develop holes in the center that gradually become larger, leaving only a ring.

This week we have photos of the fall colors of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Public pathway to the beach

2011-12-12T02:55:00.000-08:00

In addition to the path to the beach that our condo developers installed, there are several small parks in Langosta that provide access to the beach. Here is one of them.

I think it is good that they keep some land with dense trees so that there will not be houses and condos along the entire beachfront. We have seen howler monkeys in the trees in this little natural area, even though it is right in the middle of beach houses and condos.

There is now a green zone for the first 200 meters from the beach that prevents new development right along the beach. Condos such as ours right on the beach are rare, as they could built up to 50 meters from the high tide line because they were grandfathered by real estate transactions that occurred before the green zone law took effect. I will admit to a certain amount of hypocrisy of enjoying a place right on the beach, but also enjoying the land left in its natural condition along the beach.

Note that the culture is to keep things natural, including not even taking shells from the beach. The small sign says that the Green Zone area is maintained by a local community group that protects Tamarindo and that the Green Zone is pursuant to an ordinance by the municipal government in Santa Cruz. I will let you draw your own conclusions regarding why the sign about not taking shells is in English only, not Spanish.

This week we have photos of villas in Bellagio, Italy, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Path to the beach

2011-12-11T02:55:00.000-08:00

Alongside our Langosta condo there is a path to the beach from the road. You can see the ocean at the end of this path.

The path and landscaping was installed by the company that built our condo, which is the same company that owns the Tamarindo Diria Resort, which is the largest resort in the area.

We can walk to the beach out the back gate of the condo, by the swimming pool, but I think it is great that the developer put in a nice path for people who live or stay in condos that are not right on the beach to use to walk to the beach.

All beaches in Costa Rica are public property. There are some resorts or gated master-planned communities where people cannot access the land near the beach, but generally access to the beach is plentiful. There are so many beaches and no major cities nearby, so it is easy to enjoy time on uncrowded beaches.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of the fall colors on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

Condo water pipes

2011-12-10T02:55:00.000-08:00

Here is one more photo of the water system underneath our condo building. My wife, Julie, has at times taken industrial photos of subjects such as pipes and valves. I decided to try yesterday's and today's photos for a similar exercise, although I did not anticipate getting any photos for my website when walking around the underground utilities of our condo.

This is the type of photo that might ordinarily look good in black and white, but the blue pipes caused me to keep the color.

I think I will stick to my normal photos of the beach, fauna and flora, rather than industrial scenes, which are far less common in Costa Rica.

This week we are showing a few more photos of Julie's recent trip to Nova Scotia, including a quaint country church and lobsters on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Condo Water System

2011-12-09T02:55:00.000-08:00

My little walk around the bottom level of our condo building brought me to this room, which is located under the driveway. It is the water system that feeds water to the 20 condos in our building.

I am on the Board of Directors for our condo building homeowners association, so I was walking around to check on the conditions of the building infrastructure.

For a room below ground, it was clean and well maintained. I even liked the bright colors of the pipe and machinery.

This week we are showing a few more photos of Julie's recent trip to Nova Scotia, including a quaint country church and lobsters on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Archways

2011-12-08T02:55:00.000-08:00

The light, shadows, and arches of the buttresses that support the retaining wall on this below ground level walkway caught my eye. I wouldn't have thought that there would be camera-worthy subjects on a walk to a utility room, but art is in the eye of the beholder, even when doing a mundane task.

We let some very good friends use our condo, and Tim painted the scene at the end of the entryway to our condo, with palm trees, the beach and ocean visible. He gave us the painting as a present for letting him stay there, and I have the painting in the library bathroom in our house in Scottsdale. He created a delightful work of art out of an everyday scene.

Tomorrow we will see if there are any artistic or camera-worthy subjects in the underground utility room at the end of this corridor.

This week we are showing a few more photos of Julie's recent trip to Nova Scotia, including a quaint country church and lobsters on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Condo corridor

2011-12-07T02:55:00.000-08:00

We have owned our Langosta Beach condo since the building was constructed about 5 years ago. In all that time, I have never walked down this corridor at the end of the building. This corridor is sunken, below ground level, and goes to the underground utility rooms that contain the water system for the building.

Why would I walk to the utility rooms instead of out to the beach? I am on the Board of Directors for the homeowners association for the condo building. I figured I should check out the utility room to see what kind of condition it is in. But because I am a Daily Photo blogger, I took my camera, of course.

This week we are showing a few more photos of Julie's recent trip to Nova Scotia, including a quaint country church and lobsters on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Naxos condo

2011-12-06T02:55:00.000-08:00

Most of the condos in Tamarindo are small garden condo complexes, such as our Langosta condo that is four stories tall, with a total of 20 condos. There are a few tall condos, however, such as the Naxos building shown in this photo.

The taller condos are somewhat controversial, however, as they extend above the trees and are visible from a distance. The height, of course, enables owners and renters to have a view of the ocean even if the condos are set back from the beach.

It is no longer legal to build tall condos on the beach. The Naxos building shown here is set back about 200 meters, or two blocks, from the ocean.

This week we are showing a few more photos of Julie's recent trip to Nova Scotia, including a quaint country church and lobsters on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Colors of the Cala Luna Resort

2011-12-05T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is one of the guest cottages at the Cala Luna Resort in Langosta. The Cala Luna has little cottages amidst lushly landscaping. It has been closed for remodeling for a year or so, and its reopening is good for Langosta. It is a charming place, and my wife and I like to walk here to have lunch in the restaurant that surrounds its pool.

This week we are showing some more photos of Julie's recent trip to Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Cleaning the bus

2011-12-04T02:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday several people left comments about how the bus bringing workers to Tamarindo was clean, and someone commented about the dust stirred up behind the bus. I therefore thought I would post this photo today that shows how the buses stay clean. Here is a bus driver cleaning the bus in Langosta before making the return trip to Liberia.

I took this photo several years ago but never posted it because I thought it was not really of much interest, but after yesterday's comments about the buses, I decided to post it. Liberia is the main city in in Northwest Costa Rica. It has a population of about 45,000, and an international airport with about 50 non-stop flights to the USA each week. These buses are for workers, rather than tourists, as most tourists take van service to the airport.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing a few more photos of Julie's recent trip to Nova Scotia, including a quaint country church and lobsters.

Bus bringing workers to Tamarindo

2011-12-03T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is a photo of one of the buses that bring workers from Santa Cruz to Tamarindo for jobs at the condos, restaurants and hotels in our area. When I showed my recent series of photos from the ranch, I mentioned that buses regularly travel down the rural unpaved road that runs by the ranch because most workers in Tamarindo live in the surrounding area and take the public buses to work.

Condos and houses in resort areas such as Tamarindo are built and priced to sell to people from the USA and Canada, and are too expensive for most local workers. This is common in many resort areas, including those in the USA, but the problem is amplified in areas of the developing world when the resort housing market caters for foreigners.

I think it is wonderful that there is good bus service for workers, even in a rural area such as the part of Costa Rica where Tamarindo. It enables people in a wider area to share int he benefits for the local economy from the tourist industry. This bus is on the road at the entrance to the Langosta section of Tamarindo.

We have photos of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week. It is an amazing, colorful, barren landscape.

Workers and dogs relaxing at a condo

2011-12-02T02:55:00.000-08:00

These two workers look after and tend to the landscaping at the condo complex across the street from our Langosta condo. They are taking a little break to chat and relax, as are the dogs.

Every condo building in the area has a landscaper and guard. Because there is only one road into and out of Langosta, the security personnel get to know the people in the area and they can keep an eye out for any unusual activity. This provides a sense of security, as many of the condo owners, like us, are not full time residents and is is comforting that people are looking after the place while we are gone. At our condo there is a tall gate and the security guard logs in each person who comes in and out. We feel very safe in Tamarindo.

Tomorrow I will show you how these workers get to work.

We have photos of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week. It is an amazing, colorful, barren landscape.

Theme Day: Action Photo

2011-12-01T02:55:00.000-08:00

The worldwide Daily Photo theme for December 1 is to post an action photo. For us in Tamarindo, the most common action is the surf on the beach.

I took this photo on Langosta beach, which absorbs the full force of the ocean's waves. Tamarindo beach is partly sheltered by a bay with a reef and an island for protection.

The trick of getting this action photo was to pick a spot on the beach where I could shoot the crashing waves beside me, looking down the beach, not just pointing my camera out to sea, without getting wet myself. I did not use my little waterproof camera, but my Nikon D90 and lens. I took advantage of a little point on Langosta beach where you can walk out onto a higher point of sand while the waves break on each side of you, usually without covering the higher spot.

We have photos of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week. It is an amazing, colorful, barren landscape.

To see how other Daily Photo bloggers have interpreted the "action shot" theme, Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Langosta Beach

2011-11-30T02:55:00.000-08:00

The cool ocean breeze and soothing sound of the waves endlessly rolling in on Langosta Beach are timeless. Please indulge me in this moment of personal reflection as I have just returned from the joy of my older son's wedding to his smart, witty and lovely bride.

My son lives in Argentina and his wife is Argentine. They chose a Caribbean island for their wedding last week, one stop on a cruise. There was a small reception following the wedding on a picturesque beach, then a dinner back on the cruise ship, and then two days later the official reception occurred in one of the night clubs on the ship, which they had reserved for the family and friends who joined them for the cruise.

My new daughter-in-law's family deserves a lot of credit for planning festivities for an extraordinarily memorable wedding. The cruise provided an ideal setting for the two families to spend time with each other in a relaxing environment.

The bride's sister and her husband put together a video to show at the reception that was masterful. They assembled childhood photos of my son and his bride, growing up on different continents, in different cultures, speaking different languages, yet having parallel childhood experiences. A photo of one youngster in a childhood activity was followed by the other child engaged in a similar activity. It was a masterful and heartwarming depiction of the universality of childhood and human nature when nurtured by loving families.

One lapse of planning, however, was that my son asked if he could use our condo for the honeymoon, but both of my condos had previously been rented and were not available.

My absence for the wedding is responsible for my inability to respond to comments that readers have left for the last two weeks, for which I apologize. is a view south down Langosta Beach from the area of our condo that I showed in my post yesterday.

We have photos of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week. It is an amazing, colorful, barren landscape.

Back home on the beach

2011-11-29T02:55:00.000-08:00

After my very long (I hope not too long) series of photos of a Costa Rican ranch, it is time to return to our beach condo.

This is a photo of Langosta beach, with our condo barely visible peaking above the trees. There are some beachfront mansions behind the trees on the left. In the future I will give you a look at some of those houses. They provide quite a contrast to the ranch house that we saw in my last series.

We have photos of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week. It is an amazing, colorful, barren landscape.

Ranch house cow hide

2011-11-28T02:55:00.000-08:00

The ranch house had this skin hanging on the outside. I think it is from a cow, as there are no other animals this size in the area.

I think that they might have built this part of the ranch house using wood from someplace else because it looks like some of the boards were painted before this addition was built. Otherwise, it would not make much sense to paint some of the planks and not others.

This is the final photo in this series from our visit to a local ranch. I hope you have found it of interest. Julie and I enjoyed the chance to see everyday life of a local family up close, rather than staying in the tourist and international community of Tamarindo, where very few Costa Ricans live. Even our local lawyer lives in the next town inland because, as he explains, he wants to pay "Tico prices."

We have photos of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week. It is an amazing, colorful, barren landscape.

This house is branded

2011-11-27T02:55:00.000-08:00

The ranch house had these brands burned into the wood on the side of the house. I don't know if it is a tradition for ranchers in Costa Rica to brand their houses similar to the way ranchers brand cattle.

The branding is not used like house numbers or street addresses because these brands were not visible from the street. Costa Rica does not have street addresses, so people would not be used to labeling or numbering their houses. To tell people where something is located, people just say where it is near, using a landmark that everyone will know, such as a restaurant, store or hotel.

Tomorrow will be the final installment in this series of our visit to the ranch. The post may be a little controversial.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing a few more photos from our trip last Thanksgiving to the Atacama desert in Northern Chile. It was in the news a lot last year due to the Chilean miners who miraculously survived an unimaginable ordeal. It is an amazing, colorful, barren landscape.

Cat's eyes

2011-11-26T06:08:00.000-08:00

This cat has one blue eye and one yellow eye. I don't know why, although I suspect it is just an unusual genetic accident.

Perhaps cats are susceptible to genetic mutations. I remember that at Ernest Hemmingway's house in Key West, Florida, there are a lot of 6-toed cats who are descendants of Hemmingway's 6-toed cats.

We have photos of the fall colors on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Cat

2011-11-25T02:55:00.000-08:00

This cat seemed relaxed on the front porch of the ranch house. Julie used to have two cats, each of which she rescued and each lived for more than 20 years. She rescued the cats and cared for them even though she is allergic to cats and they would make her arm swell with welts.

There is something very unusual about this cat, as I will show in tomorrow's photo.

We have photos of the fall colors on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Pig face

2011-11-24T02:55:00.000-08:00

It was difficult to get good photos of the pigs in the pens. There was not very much light, and when we could attract the attention of the pigs to try to get a photo of their faces, they seemed curious about us and would walk close and get out of focus.

This pig is probably thinking that we have funny looking, pointed noses.

This is my last pig photo. We will return to a more attractive animal tomorrow.

We have photos of the fall colors on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Pig

2011-11-23T02:55:00.000-08:00

After yesterday's photo of a puppy, I hope you will not mind this pig photo. This is a working ranch, after all. They had about 20 pens for pigs. The coloration of this pig was particularly striking, although I will admit that I am not very knowledgeable about pigs.

We have photos of the fall colors on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Puppy

2011-11-22T02:55:00.000-08:00

Of course the presence of puppies drew us like a magnet to try to get a closer photo. They did not stay still for long, but this puppy did pose for a moment.

Sorry, but I will take you from one extreme today to the other on the animal cuteness scale.

We have photos of the fall colors on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Puppies

2011-11-21T02:55:00.000-08:00

The puppies were glad to be away from the geese. They seemed to enjoy each other's company more than the hostile geese.

We have photos of the fall colors on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Geese and puppies

2011-11-20T02:55:00.000-08:00

Another puppy came running down the driveway, and the geese seemed to think that the driveway was their territory at that moment. In this photo, the geese are honking at the puppy to make sure that he runs along.

The geese are bigger than the puppy, and they do not have the friendliness of puppies. I think the puppy is wise to run on through and not hang out with the geese.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing another set of photos of Julie's recent trip to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The fall colors are striking.

Geese heading down the driveway

2011-11-19T02:55:00.000-08:00

The geese walked right through the gate and then down the driveway. They must have a place where they spend the night out by the entrance to the ranch, as they went right by all of the animals in the corral.

And, yes, that is a puppy next to the truck.

Top answer a question that Memphis MoJo left in a comment yesterday, all of the geese seemed to know where to go and did not really have to be led by one particular goose.

Kate asked about the house beig elevated, and I do not know the reason. Houses in Costa Rica are usually not elevated, and this house was not close to a river where houses might be elevated to avoid flooding.

This week we are showing photos of the Canadian Thanksgiving on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. Julie joined some good friends there last month.

Geese crossing the corral

2011-11-18T02:55:00.000-08:00

The geese knew exactly what to do next. The walked across the corral and headed for the gate on the other side.

In this photo you can also see that the ranch house is elevated from the ground a few feet and that they store fire wood under the house. The only reason for the firewood is the smoke room in the middle of the house where they were smoking the block of cheese that I showed earlier in this series.

This week we are showing photos of the Canadian Thanksgiving on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. Julie joined some good friends there last month.

Geese heading into the corral

2011-11-17T02:55:00.000-08:00

The geese walked across the pasture and into the corral, without being rounded up. They all seemed to know it was time to come in, and they knew where to go. They did not stop upon waddling into the corral, however. We'll follow them some more, tomorrow.

This week we are showing photos of the Canadian Thanksgiving on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. Julie joined some good friends there last month.

Geese

2011-11-16T02:55:00.000-08:00

Enough of the four legged animals in the pasture. Here is a photo of a gaggle of geese that live on the ranch. It looks like they are lined up and walking. Do you wonder where they are going? You will have to come back tomorrow and the next few days to find out.

This week we are showing photos of the Canadian Thanksgiving on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. Julie joined some good friends there last month.

Sheep

2011-11-15T02:55:00.000-08:00

In addition to the goats that I showed in my photo yesterday, the pasture of this ranch had lots of sheep. Sheep make more sense to me than goats, as they are obviously a source of wool and lamb.

Of course in Costa Rica people do not wear wool clothing, but I am sure that there are other good uses for wool, such as rugs, material for cushions, and more.

This week we are showing photos of the Canadian Thanksgiving on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. Julie joined some good friends there last month.

Goats

2011-11-14T02:55:00.000-08:00

In addition to the cows, the pasture of this ranch has lots of goats. I don't know what use goats are, except for making goat cheese. I guess goats are also good for clearing brush, but these pastures are already clear.

This week we are showing photos of the Canadian Thanksgiving on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. Julie joined some good friends there last month.

Nice Cow. Say Cheese.

2011-11-13T02:55:00.000-08:00

I told you yesterday that I did not get very close to the cow when I took his picture. My wife took this photo of me taking a picture of the cow. I am glad that it is a rather boring photo because if this were an action shot, I would be in a lot of trouble. I have no desire to be involved in a Costa Rican equivalent of the running of the bulls. But if this were a bull, I would not be standing in the same pasture.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of the Canadian Thanksgiving on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, from Julie's trip there last month.

Big cow

2011-11-12T02:55:00.001-08:00

In addition to the little calves and goats, the pasture of this ranch is home to larger cattle. I walked out part way into the pasture to get this photo, but I used my telephoto and did not get very close, for obvious reasons.

Although this cow has rather mean looking horns, it is not a bull, as the udder shows. My wife, Julie, belonged to Future Farmers of America when she was youth growing up just outside Phoenix, Arizona. She was a udder judger. I like to tease her about being an udder judger, so I am sure she will be embarrassed that I am doing it again, through this post.

We have photos of the Villa Balbianello on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. It is a delightful Villa that straddles the tip of a peninsula in Lake Como, Italy.

Horses, corral and ranch house

2011-11-11T02:55:00.001-08:00

This is a nice view of two of the ranch horses in the corral, with the ranch house in the background. You can see the porch that I showed in photos earlier in this series.

This ranch had a couple of tractors parked under a roof. I did not think until after we left that we took photos of the horses, cows and other animals, but neglected to take any photos of the tractors. Sorry, but I much prefer animals to machines.

We have photos of the Villa Balbianello on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. Iy is a delightful Villa that straddles the tip of a peninsula in Lake Como, Italy.

Special care for a blind calf

2011-11-10T02:55:00.001-08:00

After this calf was born,the ranchers noticed that the mother was not caring for it. The reason is that the calf is blind. The ranchers therefore keep the calf in a special pen and feed the calf milk from a bottle with a nipple.

It is sometimes said that you can measure the humanity of a culture by how they treat their people with special needs. In this case, I think that the warmth and ethics of Costa Ricans are displayed well by how these ranchers treat a baby cow with special needs.

We have photos of the Villa Balbianello on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. It is a delightful villa that straddles the tip of a peninsula in Lake Como, Italy.

Cows in the corral

2011-11-09T02:55:00.001-08:00

These cows appeared curious about our cameras. Either that or the are willing to pose for a photo.

The Brahman cattle have an oily skin and very short hair. They are more resistant to insects and diseases than other cows. They are often cross bred with Angus and Hereford cattle to combine the best traits of both breeds.

Tomorrow I will show you a very special young cow, with special needs.

We have photos of the Villa Balbianello on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. It is a delightful villa that straddles the tip of a peninsula in Lake Como, Italy.

Cattle in the corral

2011-11-08T02:55:00.001-08:00

These cows are more typical of the barnyard animals that one would expect in the corral, rather than the miniature deer that I showed in yesterday's photos.

The smooth skin and big ears are characteristic of Brahman cattle, which are the most popular breed in our area of Costa Rica. They are better adapted to the warm, humid weather than other breeds of cattle.

We have photos of the Villa Balbianello on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. It is a delightful villa that straddles the tip of a peninsula in Lake Como, Italy.

Barnyard deer

2011-11-07T02:55:00.000-08:00

Old McDonald had a farm. EE--I--EE--I--O. And on his farm he had some deer. EE--I--EE--I--O.

Yesterday's photo showed three small deer who were hanging out in the corral with the chickens. Here is a closer view of one of them. The ranchers seemed to treat the deer just like domesticated animals. The deer were smaller than North American deer.

We have photos of the Villa Balbianello on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. It is a delightful Villa that straddles the tip of a peninsula in Lake Como, Italy.

Corral, with chickens and what?

2011-11-06T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is part of the corral, with chickens as one would typically expect to see on a ranch or farm. But this corral has some animals that you would not expect to see in a typical barnyard scene, as I assume you can see in this photo.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of the Villa Balbianello, which occupies the tip of a peninsula that juts into the middle of Lake Como, Italy. It is a spectacular setting for a uniquely beautiful house and gardens.

Bringing the calf into the corral

2011-11-05T02:55:00.000-07:00

The cowboy who we saw earlier fixing the fence in the pasture across the road later brought in a calf and a horse from another pasture to the corral. We visited in the late afternoon, and I guess the calf belongs in the corral for the evening. This calf has big floppy ears, typical of brahma cattle common in Costa Rica.

In the days ahead I will show photos some of the animals in the corral and stable.

This week we have photos of a mussel ranch in Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Coming in from the pasture

2011-11-04T02:55:00.000-07:00

It is near the end of the afternoon, so I guess it is time to gather some of the animals from the pasture and herd them into the corral, as this rancher is doing.

This week we have photos of a mussel ranch in Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Corral fence and pasture

2011-11-03T02:55:00.000-07:00

Here is another interpretation of the theme of fences. This fence separates the corral that encloses the stables from an outer corral, beyond which is another pasture.

In the days ahead I will show you some of the livestock that is part of this ranch. I hope you are not growing tired of this rather long series of Costa Rican ranch life, but if you continue to check this site in the days ahead, you will be in for a few surprises.

This week we have photos of a mussel ranch in Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Ranch pen and house

2011-11-02T02:55:00.000-07:00

Continuing with yesterday's theme of fences, here is the fence between the pasture, on the left, and the corral on the right, with the ranch house in the background.

This week we have photos of a mussel ranch in Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Theme Day: Fences

2011-11-01T02:55:00.000-07:00

Today's world-wide Dailly Photo Theme is "fences." I am posting this photo of a rancher fixing his fence as a tribute to all of the people who have built and maintained fences. It can be hard work that the rest of us take for granted.

I liked the expression on his face. Ticos, as Costa Ricans are called, are friendly by nature. Costa Rica has recently been rated as the happiest country on earth.

Ticos are courteous and helpful to tourists. Everyone knows that tourism is the number one industry in the country and very important to the economy and standard of living.

This week we have photos of a mussel ranch in Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

To see how other City Daily Photo bloggers have interpreted the theme of "fences," Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Kitchen metate

2011-10-31T02:55:00.000-07:00

There is a metate in use in this ranch kitchen. Metates, of course, are the traditional method of grinding grain into flour, dating to pre-Columbian time. Costa Rican metates can differ from Mexican metates because often they do not have a rim on the edges.

Despite the facts that the indigenous people of Costa Rica were nearly wiped out in Spanish colonial times, and Costa Rica is the most prosperous country in Central America, with literacy and health care comparable to the USA, and with an average income triple that of Nicaragua, our northern neighbor, this ranch family makes bread using some of the same methods that have been used for 1,000 or more years. I love these traditions.

This week we have photos of a mussel ranch in Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Kitchen pots

2011-10-30T02:55:00.000-07:00

The kitchen pots are stored by hanging them from nails on the outside of the house, within the outdoor kitchen cooking area.

They could do a lot of cooking for a big family gathering with so many large pots and kettles. With this storage system, you would never have to wonder where you keep a particular pot.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of a mussel ranch in Nova Scotia. If you don't know how mussels are harvested, you are in for a treat.

Kitchen stove

2011-10-29T02:55:00.000-07:00

This is the stove in the outdoor portion of the kitchen. It is a wood stove, with an iron bar across the top to support skillets and kettles. You can see the wood sticking out from the right side of the stove.

There is a lot of ventilation in this outdoor cooking part of the kitchen. It is under roof, but the walls are the chain link fencing that you see above the stove. Cooking here would be sort of like cooking on a camp fire on a counter top on a porch.

This week we have photos of the Atacama Desert of Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. If you have not been there, it is worth a visit to our website to see unique, colorful landscape.

Kitchen still life

2011-10-28T02:55:00.000-07:00

Kitchens are perhaps the most common source of still life paintings, so here is a Costa Rican ranch photographic version of a kitchen still life. The ranch has a variety of livestock and poultry, and there is a variety of eggs in this bowl on a kitchen counter.

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the outdoor kitchen.

This week we have photos of the Atacama Desert of Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. If you have not been there, it is worth a visit to our website to see unique, colorful landscape.

Kitchen ventilation

2011-10-27T02:55:00.000-07:00

This is the ceiling of the kitchen. I took this photo to show the ventilation near the ceiling. This is especially important because the primary roofing material in local Tico houses is corrugated metal. There is no insulation.

You can imagine that on hot sunny, days, the heat would transfer through the metal roof. The high ceilings and open ventilation on each side will help keep the house cooler.

The metal roofs must be very noisy when there is a tropical downpour.

This week we have photos of the Atacama Desert of Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. If you have not been there, it is worth a visit to our website to see unique, colorful landscape.

Ranch Kitchen

2011-10-26T02:55:00.000-07:00

This is part of the kitchen of the ranch house. The sink is on the left, the kitchen table on the right, and there is a refrigerator to the right, not visible in the photo. Pablo is pouring some tea.

The area for cooking is on the outside, through the door in the corner behind Pablo, which keeps the kitchen cooler. I will show it in a few days.

This week we have photos of the Atacama Desert of Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. If you have not been there, it is worth a visit to our website to see unique, colorful landscape.

Block of smoked cheese

2011-10-25T02:55:00.000-07:00

This is a giant brick of cheese that was being smoked in the smoke room inside the house. The walls of the smoke room are thick, as the last thing that one wants in the warm Costa Rican climate is a fire adding to the warmth.

When I first saw that there was the equivalent of a smoke house inside the ranch house, I thought it would be for ham or other meats. I was surprised to see such a large block of cheese being smoked. I presume that smoking cheese preserves it without refrigeration. It would certainly add to the flavor.

Several people yesterday left comments about the smoke inside the house. It was not smoky at all until he opened the door to the smoke room. Normally the smoke stays in the smoke room and out of the rest of the house.

This week we have photos of the Atacama Desert of Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. If you have not been there, it is worth a visit to our website to see unique, colorful landscape.

Smoke room

2011-10-24T02:55:00.000-07:00

When we stepped inside the house, we encountered a room inside with one low door, and when our host opened the door, smoke poured out and there was a fire on the dirt floor of the room.

Tomorrow, I will show you why.

This week we have photos of the Atacama Desert of Chile on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. If you have not been there, it is worth a visit to our website to see unique, colorful landscape.