Modern art at the Diria

This is rather unusual, but it is decoration in one of the outdoor corridors in a section of the Tamarindo Diria Resort.  The Diria uses a pre-Colombian theme, as I showed yesterday, but the resort expanded a few years ago to take over the resort next door.

The Diria upgraded the rooms, grounds and facilities, as the Diria is the leading resort in the area, but they kept some of the different design elements, such as this colorful hallway accent.

This week we have photos of the National Archeological Museum in Guatemala City posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Gold Lobster

This is a closer view of one of the gold lobsters in the Pre-Columiban Gold Museum in San Jose.  This looks rather realistic, although the artist took some license, if we want to get nit picky in comparison to anatomical details.  The front claws look small and the tail is large, but the skill and artistry is impressive, particularly for being more than 600 years old.

Rather than focusing on the details, I think the larger question is why did the artist decide to make a lobster.  There are lots of more attractive animals to choose for a subject.  Maybe he enjoyed the taste of lobster.

We have photos from a cruise up the east coast of Baja California in Mexico's Sea of Cortez posted this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Jaguar Metates

Here are some more of the stone jaguar metates in the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum in San Jose.

These metates were not used for grinding corn, as they do not show signs of being used.  Instead, they were funerary offerings buried with nobility between 500 B.C. and 500 A.D.  They come from northwest Costa Rica, which is the province where Tamarindo is located.

The skillfulness of the artisans who carved these is indeed impressive.  It is also interesting how ancient cultures incorporate animal designs into the most precious of objects, as metates buried with nobility must have been.

We have photos from a cruise up the east coast of Baja California in Mexico's Sea of Cortez posted this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Jaguar Vase

This is another of the pre-Columbian ceramics in the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum.  This is a tripod vase with a jaguar motif.   The creativity and skill of the indigenous culture is indeed impressive.  Most of the ceramics on display in the museum came from the Nicoya peninsula in northwest Costa Rica, where Tamarindo is located.

This week we have photos from the Galapagos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Gold Bat

I don't know what thought process or dialogue went into the selection process for animal subjects of pre-Columbian gold objects.  I would not think that bats would be high on the list, but this bat looks rather friendly.  In fact, his face looks almost cartoonish.

This week we have photos from the Galapagos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Gold Lizard

A few days ago I showed a gold frog from the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum.  This is a gold lizard, or perhaps it is an iguana.

I guess it should not be a surprise that they would make gold jewelry in the shape of the animals around them.   Can you guess what other animals they might have used as subjects for their art?  I will show some additional examples in the days ahead.

This week we have photos from the Galapagos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Pre-Columbian Chorotega style pottery

Costa Rica is known for its eco-tourism and not for its pre-Columbian culture, but this vase is an example of a pre-Columbian culture that has survived.  This vase in the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum in San Jose is similar in design and coloration to the Chorotega pottery that is made today in Guatil and nearby communities not far from Tamarindo.

I have shown modern examples of chorotega pottery in earlier posts, which can be seen by using this link.  There is even a store in Tamarindo that teaches visitors how to make their own chorotega pottery as souvenirs to take home.
 
Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing some additional photos form our recent trip to the Galapagos Islands.

Gold Jewelry

This exhibit in the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum showed how and where some of the items of gold jewelry were worn, such as the necklace that I showed yesterday.  For people who must have been challenged just to meet the basic necessities of life, they evidently prized jewelry and adornment.

This week we have photos of the Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Jaguar Metate

I have seen several Costa Rican jaguar metates before in museums in the USA, so I was very interested to see this one in the Gold Museum in San Jose.  These are from the time period of 1,000 A.D. - 1350 A.D.

This week we have photos of the Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Art of Lola Fernandez

When we visited the museum, they had an exhibition featuring the art of Lola Fernandez.  She was born in Cartagena, Columbia, in 1926, but her family moved to Costa Rica within her first few years.

The big, bold figures in the paintings in this photo are typical of her style.  She was featured in exhibitions in Costa Rica as well as elsewhere in Latin America, the U.S., Europe and Japan in the 1980's and 1990's.  She continued painting into the 21st Century.

Costa Rica's High Ranking on international Social Progress Index.  The Tico Times newspaper has an article about Costa Rica ranking number 1 in Latin America and 25 of 132 countries ranked on a Social Progress Index that measures fulfillment of basic human needs, such as medical care, education, nutrition, clean water, personal safety, human rights, tolerance, etc.  Its ranking was comparable to Italy and Spain, even though those countries had higher economic output per person.  The USA ranked number 16.  New Zealand was first.  Costa Rica's ranking was due in part to especially high rankings in nutrition, water, sanitation and opportunity.

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 Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland.

Theme Day: Entry, adorned with Pre-Columbian Stone Sphere

The worldwide theme for Daily Photo websites for February 1 is "Entry."  This is the roadway entrance to the international airport in Liberia.

It has one of the stone spheres that date to as old as 200 B.C.  There are about 300 of them in Costa Rica.  There are two in Tamarindo, which I have shown in the past, although this one is larger.  The largest ones are about 2 meters (6.6 feet) in diameter, weighing 15 tons.

They have been unearthed at many locations scattered round Cost Rica, including the around the Gulf of Papagayo, which is very close to Liberia.

The opening scene from the first Indiana Jones movie featured one of these stones.

This week we have photos of Grenada, Nicaragua posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

To see how other City Daily Photo bloggers have interpreted the theme of "Entry," use this link.

Diria Statue

This is a wider view of the statue that I showed yesterday.  The grounds of the Tamarindo Diria Resort are landscaped beautifully and are accented by reproductions of pre-Columbian statuary.

This week we have underwater photos from our recent trip to the Galapagos Islands posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Pre-Columbian Jaguar Metate

This is a side view of the 1,500 year old jaguar metate from the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province, where Tamarindo is located.

Although this is from the Bowers Museum in Orange County, California, I will in the future show some photos form the pre-Columbian Museum in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Speaking of San Jose, the big news in Costa Rica this weekend is that at the main soccer stadium in San Jose, built just a couple of years ago as a gift of the Chinese, the Costa Rican national team beat the USA to overtake the USA to be in first place for qualifying for the World Cup next year in Brazil.

This was a revenge match because the USA beat Costa Rica earlier this year in a match played in Denver during a blizzard.  Costa Rica protested, unsuccessfully, that the game should have been postponed due to the weather.  Most of the Costa Ricans had probably never seen snow before, and certainly would have been unfamiliar with how to play soccer in snow.  Three teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean will qualify for the World Cup, and a fourth team could qualify if it wins a playoff with New Zealand.  Surprisingly, the favored Mexican team is in danger of not qualifying.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos from Gibraltar, a very unusual place.

Pre-Columbian Jaguar Metate

When we are in museums that include Pre-Columbian artifacts, we always look for items from Costa Rica.  This is a remarkable work of art in the Bowers Museum in Orange County, California.  It is a metate in the shape of a jaguar from between 300 and 700 A.D.

This came from our part of Costa Rica, the Nicoya peninsula of Guanacaste province, which is the source of most of the early, pre-Columbian pottery in Costa Rica.

Below is a photo of the information about this piece in the museum.

It always amazes me how ancient people, who must have struggled with basic survival, nevertheless took the time and trouble to be artistic in crafting everyday, practical items, such as a metate.

My wife and I love the Bowers Museum.  It features Asian, Pre-Columbian, and California art.  It has amazing special exhibitions.

We have new photos of the wildlife and people of Tanzania our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Palm Frond Bird

This is a rather goofy photo.  Someone made a little bird out of the straw of a palm frond.  Art is where you find it, or can create it.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of Lake Nicaragua, just north of Costa Rica.

East Meets West

This is a view of part of the fountain at the entrance to the Tamarindo Heights development.  There are indigenous Central American figures in the foreground, with the Buddhas in the background.

This might seem like an odd mixture, but there does seem to be a tropical Southeast Asian decorating trend among the furniture and other features used to furnish some of the condos in Tamarindo.

This week we are showing photos of the architecture of Grenada, Nicaragua on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Accordion player

This is a closer view of the accordion player who I showed in yesterday's photo.

After some of the comments yesterday expressing concern about whether the musicians make it difficult to talk, I should add that the musicians walk around from restaurant to restaurant, so they stay for a few songs at each restaurant.

The accordion has apparently dropped off in popularity since the middle of the 20th Century, as it used to be common for children to take accordion lessons.

This week we are showing photos of the Church of the Holy Seplulchre in Jerusalem on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Musicians

This is another view of the musicians who stroll around to restaurants in Tamarindo.  I think that the trumpet player is wise to stay in the back of the group, as it would be harder to carry on a conversation with a horn only few feet away.

Tomorrow I will conclude this little series from the Coconut Restaurant.

This week we are showing photos of the Church of the Holy Seplulchre in Jerusalem on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Guitarist

This is a closer view of one of the guitar players who sang by our table while dining at Coconut restaurant.

I detest taking photos with a flash.  I like the warmer tones of natural light.  That means, of course, that I sacrifice the clarity of a faster shutter, but at times that helps capture the mood of the movement of a scene, such as today's photo.

A comment about Easter Week.  Easter is much more of a holiday in Costa Rica than in the USA.  Many government offices are closed all week.  The Bank of Costa Rica had a short day Wednesday, and is closed for the rest of the week.  It is a popular time for beach vacations by Costa Ricans.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  In recognition of Easter, we are showing photos of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, considered to be the location of the crucifixion of Christ.

Traveling troubadors

One tradition of dinner in Tamarindo's restaurants is that wandering troubadours will usually come by and play requests from diners, of course for tips.  These musicians came by during our dinner at Coconut, but they will stroll from restaurant to restaurant.

Our region of Costa Rica, the northwest province of Guanacaste, has a tradition of cowboy singers.  They originally came in from the fields in the evening and sang songs, although today I think the music is their primary occupation.  I sometimes see them at lunch time as well, so they are not out in the fields during the day.

This week we have photos of Jerusalem posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.