Rodeo Street Art

This mural is on the outside of the building next to the rodeo grounds in Santa Rosa.   I don't see much street art in Costa Rica.  Maybe there is more in San Jose, but in the resort town of Tamarindo and in the surrounding small rural towns there is not much graffiti or street art.

This mural was painted with the rodeo grounds in mind, as it shows a bull rider and someone who has apparently been thrown off a bull.

This concludes my little series on Santa Rosa, a typical Tico town.  Tomorrow we will return to the beach.

This week we are showing photos of Ronda, Spain, a charming town perched on the edge of a gorge, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Pink Tico House

After showing the town soccer field, church and school in Santa Rosa, I thought I would show a few houses in the village.

This is typical of Tico houses.  Small, simple, but colorful.

This week we are showing photos of Ronda, Spain, a charming town perched on the edge of a gorge, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Santa Rosa School

This is the front entrance to a school that is across the street from the soccer field in the center of Santa Rosa.  I think it is nice that it has a covered walkway to keep the children dry in the rain and to provide shade as the walk from the street to the school building.

I will show more of this school in the coming days.

This week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site we have photos posed of the remarkable street art of Valparaiso, Chile.

Santa Rosa Church

Every Costa Rican town has a Catholic Church, of course, and this is the church in Santa Rosa.  Many of the towns have what I would call mid-20th Century architecture.

This one needs a repair to the cross on the top of the little bell tower.

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 street art of Valparaiso, Chile.

Santa Rosa Soccer Field

I will start a new series today, moving inland from the beach to a typical Costa Rican village, Santa Rosa.

Like most Costa Rican small towns, right in the middle of town is a soccer, or football field.

Santa Rosa is about 10 minutes away from Tamarindo.  It is not on a main road, so it does not experience the traffic of tourists going to and from the beach.  The rodeo grounds that I showed a few months ago are also in Santa Rosa.

During the next week or two I will show some of the other typical things to seen in this rather typical village.

This week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site, we are showing photos of the outstanding street art of Valparaiso, Chile.

Rodeo First Aid Station

The rodeo grounds in Santa Rosa have a small building for medical care for people injured at the rodeos.  I guess that is a reflection that rodeo riding can be  dangerous.

I guess it is human nature to challenge ourselves, even if it can risk injury.  I am a lot more cautious now than I used to be, in recognition of the fact that tomorrow I will turn 62 years of age and I am not in as good physical condition as I used to be.

In my younger days, I enjoyed activities such as snow skiing, and I have 29 stitches in my head from a bad skiing accident to prove it.

This week we are showing some photos of Paris, featuring several of its museums. on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Rodeo Corral

The photo of the tall grasses that I showed yesterday were right in the middle of the rodeo corral in Santa Rosa.  I took the photo back in December, which was not the active season for the rodeo, as evidenced by the fact that the grasses had grown so tall.

I apologize, but I have not been able to show photos from my December trip until now because my laptop has been at capacity and I have not been able to download them.  My wife is in the process of reorganizing our desktop computer photo storage capacity, but it is hard to find the free time to work on that time consuming project.  I am glad she takes on that responsibility.

This week we are showing some photos of Paris, featuring several of its museums. on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Amber Waves of Grain

This field of tall grass was waving in the wind, and its golden color attracted me.  Tomorrow I will show a wider view to place this into perspective.

A little news item that shows the strength of the tourism sector in Costa Rica is that they have just announced an 18% expansion project to add two more gates and jetways to accommodate larger airplanes at  the Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose.  This will add the capacity for 260,000 additional passengers per year.

Most visitors to Tamarindo fly into the international airport in Liberia, which is only on e hour away, rather than San Jose, which is 4 1/2 hours away, but the extra air service will help the entire country.

This week we are showing some photos of Paris, featuring several of its museums. on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Rodeo Grandstand and Ring

This is a view of the rodeo grandstand and ring in Santa Rosa, a small village northeast of Tamarindo.  I will need to return some time when they are having a rodeo.

This week we are showing some photos of Paris, featuring several of its museums. on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Rodeo grounds in Santa Rosa

Santa Rosa is a village about 5 miles (8 km) inland from Tamarindo.  It has what in the USA would be called a rodeo grounds.  There is an arena with a grand stand for viewers, and holding areas for cattle and horses.

Northwest Costa Rica, which is the province of Guanacaste, has a long and proud cattle ranching tradition.  Although tourism has replaced cattle and agriculture as the main industry, people still enjoy their rural traditions.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing some photos of Paris, featuring several of its museums.