Giant Moth

The last few days I have posted photos of colorful, attractive butterflies, so I will  offset those with this photo of an ugly moth.  This would look like a leaf except for the fact that it is brown while the leaves in the area are green, and it is hanging from a leaf with its tiny legs.

Yesterday was Independence Day in Costa Rica and three other Central American countries.  Spain relinquished its rule over Central America on September 15, 1821, about 6 months after Mexico gained its independence.

It was not until October 13, 1821 that Costa Rica knew it was no longer being ruled by Spain, as that is when a messenger from Guatemala reached the Costa Rican colonial capitol in Cartago with the news of independence.

There was no war of independence, as Spain was willing to give up ruling Central America because it was not making money from the region. Costa Rica formed its own country, splitting from the rest of Central America, in the late 1830's.

We have new photos of the colonial architecture of Grenada, Nicaragua posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.