Surfing success

The surfer in this photo successfully negotiated his wave. Tomorrow I will show a different result.

The family that I mentioned yesterday who wants their two sons in their low 20's to learn to surf also said that they want to try zip lining, ATVs, and sailing. It sounds like they plan to have a very active vacation.

They said that they have not taken a vacation together as a family for quite a few years and this trip is their 25th wedding anniversary and they have decided to celebrate together as a family.

On our Viva la Voyage travel photo site we this week are showing photos of a special place, the gardens of the Villa Melzi in Bellagio, Italy.

Surfing

Here is a photo of a surfer at the tail end of a wave. I do not think he will be able to stay up as this wave catches up to him and the surf churns around him.

I received an email yesterday from a couple who has just made a reservation to rent our condo at the Diria Resort for a week. They have two sons in their low 20's, and they said that their sons want to learn to surf on their vacation.

I will therefore show a few photos of surfers so that they will see what they have to look forward to on their vacation in a couple of months.

Speaking of vacations, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site we are showing photos of one of the places we visited on our vacation last summer. We took 13 friends to Bellagio, Italy, on the shores of Lake Como. This week we are showing photos of the gardens of the Villa Melzi.

Turtles lounging in the sun

Tamarindo is famous for turtles, but the turtles in this photo are not the type of turtles for which Tamarindo is known.

Tamarindo Bay is the nesting site of the endangered Pacific leatherback tortoise. I have never seen one. My wife did a nighttime watch with a park ranger and saw lots of fire flies, but no tortoises came ashore to lay eggs.

I have seen sea turtles in the ocean at Tamarindo, as I have shown on this website in the past. Today's photo of a cluster of turtles was not taken out in the wild, although I have seen turtles like this in the wild. These turtles were sunning themslves in the water feature of the Garden Plaza shopping center in Tamarindo.

This week we have photos of the Villa Melzi in Belllagio, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. Bellagio is one of our favorite places, and the gardens of the Villa Melzi are a delight to visit.

Baruca mask

Here is a close up photo of a Baruca mask. You can see that it is a busy and brightly colored collection of tropical images, with birds, leaves, branches, flowers, with a face at the bottom.

Similar to the evolution of Navajo rugs, which changed in style and color to appeal to the tastes of consumers, I am sure that these masks are made so that tourists will have pleasant memories of their Costa Rica vacations. Despite the changes from whatever was the indigenous traditions from several hundred years ago, it is important to continue the indigenous arts and crafts.

Costa Rica does not have as much of an influence of indigenous cultures as some other places in Latin America, such as Mexico or Peru. Sadly, the almost all of the indigenous population did not survive the Spanish colonial era. During the second half of the 20th Century, however, Costa Rica did pass several laws to set aside land and to help preserve the small pockets of indigenous people.

Closer to Tamarindo, the Chorotega pottery that I have shown in the past is the primary indigenous artistic tradition that remains.

This week we have photos from one of our favorite places, Bellagio, Italy, on on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. We are featuring the gardens of the Villa Melzi. I encourage you to take a look. You will see why a Vegas Casino borrowed the name Bellagio.

Boruca masks

This is a photo of the display of Baruca masks for sale in a store at the Diria Resort complex where we have one of our two condos. The mask are are carved from balsa wood, which has the two advantages of making them easier to carve and lighter for tourists to take them home in their suitcases.

The most common traditional themes are depictions of the devil. The Baruca culture's largest festival is the Juego de los Diabolitos, or Dance of the Little Devils.

Probably to appeal to the tourist market, many of the masks show Costa Rican tropical jungle themes such as toucans. Making handicrafts and selling them to tourists is the source of 80% of the income for the Baruca people. Masks are their primary craft. I will show a closer view tomorrow.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site, and we have a special treat for you this week. Bellagio, Italy is one of our favorite places, and we are showing photos of the Villa Melzi gardens. This is the real Bellagio. This ain't Vegas, baby.

Baruca masks for sale

This is a photo of the sign advertising Boruca masks in front of a store in central Tamarindo. Baruca masks are the primary craft of the Baruca culture of indigenous people in southern Pacific Costa Rica. I will show the actual masks during the next few days.

Tamarindo is in the northern Pacific area of Costa Rica. There is a Baruca reservation, although I have never been to that region of the country. Sadly, there are only about 2,000 members of the tribe, and even sadder, the language is dying. There are only a handful people who are fluent in the native language, and a small number of younger tribal members who understand the language but generally to not speak it.

The loss of indigenous languages is a worldwide phenomena. I am woefully undereducated about foreign languages, like most Americans, but I understand that the loss of language carries with it a loss of culture, as some languages have unique ways of expressing cultural concepts, which is why we borrow some words and concepts from foreign languages.

We have photos of the architecture of London on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Flowers and butterfly

Here is a photo of some flowers providing a perch for a butterfly. I took this photo in the gardens at our Langosta Beach condo.

My wife, Julie, shows a lot of macro photos of flowers on her Scottsdale Daily Photo website, often cactus flowers taken in our yard in Arizona. I am not as skilled nor do I have much of an eye for flower photos.

This brings to mind something that perhaps happens to you or other couples. My wife and I love to travel. We can spend a day together visiting some place, and when we download our photos at the end of the day sometimes it looks like we spent the day in different places. Julie will have photos of flowers and portraits of people. I will have photos of architectural details or landscapes, without any people.

We have photos of the architecture of London on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Iguana in a tree (6)

Here is a photo of an iguana up in a tree. You can seen him because he was on low branches where there were not many leaves. You can imagine, however, how he would blend into his surroundings on higher branches where there are lots of green leaves.

Yesterday, Jack of Hartford Daily Photo left a comment about whether the iguana that I showed during the last couple of days thinks he would be noticed if he stays very still. I therefore thought I would show this photo today. There are lots of times in Costa Rica when you do not notice that there are iguanas up in the trees above you.

Iguanas spend most of their time in trees. They are usually still. They can climb down into the rivers and streams and swim.

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

Green iguana profile

Here is a photo of the profile of a green iguana. I am showing this today to complement yesterday's photo of the straight on view of the iguanas face and chin.

Today's and yesterday's photo show the three most distinctive features of green iguanas (besides their color). Yesterday showed the dewlap hanging down from their chin. Today you can see the large round scale hear their jaw and the crest with long, sickle-shaped scales that run down their spine.

They often stay very still. They usually do not move very fast unless they are alarmed. My wildlife guide book says that the fastest that they move is when they bury the eggs a female has just laid. That makes sense. Exposed eggs would be vulnerable to lots of birds or other creatures.

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

Iguana: "Not by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin."

I like iguanas. They are colorful. They interact with you by watching you and allowing themselves to be watched. They are usually still enough to allow you to get a good look (or a good photo).

This is a green iguana. You can see his dewlap hanging down over his neck, which is characteristic of green iguanas. He seems to be stretching his neck to display itl

We have photos of the architecture of London on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Crossing the bridge

As you could probably predict from the photos of the last few days, the woman riding her bicycle crossed the bridge. There is a boy approaching the bridge from the other direction.

There is not high drama here, but just a simple scene of village life. Costa Rica is not a wealthy country. It ranks almost 100 on the list of nations for per capita income, however its people are about 4 times more prosperous than nearby Nicaragua.

Costa Ricans, even those in rural areas, are educated, with literacy rates and health care ranking equal to the USA. I was talking to a Tico who lives in a very simple house in a village without paved streets, and I asked him if he used the internet, and he answered "Of course."

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

Across the village bridge

This is a photo of the pedestrian bridge that I showed the day before yesterday. One of my readers, Margaret, who has a very nice travel photo blog, left a comment that the bridge looked sturdy. I agree. It has concrete abutments, and is a cable suspension bridge with cyclone fencing material on each side for the safety of children. The wood slats to walk on are in good shape.

With the woman riding the bicycle towards the bridge that I showed yesterday, I think you can guess what tomorrow's photo will be.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of the architecture of London.

Village bicyclist

As I got out of my car to photograph the village bridge that I showed yesterday, a woman came by riding her bicycle towards the bridge. Reflecting that people are the same all over the world, it appears that she was texting while she was riding her bicycle.

(It looks like she may be holding a stick in her right hand, but that is part of the fence across the street.)

This week we are showing photos from Tanzania, featuring great wildlife shots that my wife took on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Village bridge

Across the street from the house I showed in yesterday's photo is a river and this bridge. There are more houses across the bridge.

Unlike the USA, where it seems everybody in rural and suburban areas drives everywhere, in Costa Rica it is common to see people riding bicycles and walking as they travel around their towns, villages and the countryside. This bridge was obviously built for people, not cars.

This week we are showing photos from Tanzania, featuring great wildlife shots that my wife took on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Village house

After running a little series of surfing photos last week, I will start a little series this week of a village scene. This is a typical rural Costa Rican house in a typical village about 45 minutes inland from Tamarindo. This is not a tourist area.

Most people in this area make their living from small farms or ranches, although the town of Santa Cruz, which is the equivalent of a county seat, is about 10 - 15 minutes away, so the people who live here could work in town and commute to a rural home like this.

People seemed to enjoy the village series that I ran a few weeks ago, so I hope you will be interested in this series as well. Tomorrow I will show what is across the street from this house. It is not another house.

This week we are showing photos from Tanzania, featuring great wildlife shots that my wife took on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Sugar cane

I am showing this photo of a typical sugar cane field near Tamarindo to share some economic news that was in the newspaper recently. Last year sugar exports from Costa Rica nearly doubled.

Costa Rica is also a worldwide leader in exporting pineapples and bananas. Coffee is another leading export crop. High technology and medical product exports now have a greater dollar value than agricultural exports, with the USA being the largest trading partner for Costa Rica.

The increased exports are due in part to Costa Rica voting to ratify the Central American Free Trade Act (CAFTA), which also required that Costa Rica reduce import duties for foreign goods coming into the country. Farmers worried about imports competing with their goods forced a national vote on CAFTA and Costa Rica is the only country to approve a free trade treaty by a vote of the people.

This week we are showing photos from Tanzania, featuring great wildlife shots that my wife took on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Theme Day: Fountains

The worldwide Daily Photo theme for February 1 is fountains. I have decided to post a fountain close to home. This is the fish fountain at the swimming pool of our Langosta Beach condo. As the first photo at the left shows, the beach is just beyond the pool.

The second photo shows the pool with a series of the fish fountains. The fish fountains have proven to be somewhat of an attractive nuisance, as some children like to play with them, and one guest (of another condo in the building, not mine) actually broke one of them. Our property management company was able to find a replacement, although it was not easy.

We do not have big monuments, parks or plazas in Tamarindo. There are only a few paved streets. There are a few fountains in Tamarindo. All of them are at shopping centers or condo developments. I therefore decided to stay close to home and show this fountain that we look down upon from our condo balcony.

Swimming pool fountains such as this have a functional purpose in warm weather. They aerate the water, which increases evaporation, and leaves the remaining water in the pool cooler. I know that in many parts of the world on Feb. 1 you do not have a problem with swimming pool water becoming too warm.

This week we are showing photos of Tanzania, featuring wildlife, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Maintaining surfing balance

Here is a photo of a guy struggling to maintain his balance while surfing. As I hinted yesterday, I am showing this to maintain my status as a gender neutral website, since I showed a photo of a surfer girl struggling to maintain her balance yesterday.

This guy is at the end of his run, having stayed on the wave all the way to the shore. I presume that it is more difficult to stay up on a wave as he wave gets smaller, similar to maintaining balance on a bicycle.

This week we are showing photos from Tanzania, featuring great wildlife shots that my wife took, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Catching a wave

As you can see in this photo, the surfer girl I showed yesterday did indeed catch a wave. She looks to be somewhat of a beginner, based upon the way she is extending parts of her body to maintain balance.

I was referring to both of her arms, of course. (What were you thinking?) The giveaway is the angle of her left wrist. Like a flap on an airplane wing, she has it extended upward to fine-tune her balance.

I am in no position to criticize anyone's surfing ability or form, as I have never even tried surfing. I know that is crazy for someone with two condos in a surfing town. But hey, one can enjoy surfing from the shore, even if you are not a surfer.

A hint about tomorrow's photo is that this is a gender-neutral website.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos from Tanzania, featuring great wildlife shots that my wife took. Come take a look.

Not this wave

The two surfer girls in this photo evidently decided that this wave was not to their liking. No problem. The waves keep rolling in, endlessly, and there will be plenty more waves to choose to catch.

It looks like the girl on the right took a face full of ocean spray. What kind of wave do you think she wants? Do you think she gets up on her surfboard? Sorry for this tease. Answers, as usual, tomorrow.

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

Surfer

My guess is that the guy in this photo is a good surfer. He looks like he is very comfortable with the board, just by the way he is carrying it. Also, even though he is walking along the beach, he is clearly checking out the waves in anticipation.

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

A couple carrying surfboards

After showing a photo of a guy carrying a surfboard, then two girls carrying a surfboard, I guess it is time to show a photo of a couple carrying surfboards.

They are heading south towards the surf break near where the Tamarindo estuary empties into the ocean. That far end of Tamarindo beach is not developed, as you can see in this photo. It is the most popular area for surfers.

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

2 girls carrying 1 surfboard

Yesterday I showed a guy carrying a surfboard, so today I will balance things by showing two gals carrying a surfboard.

I hope that their sense of sharing when carrying the surfboard also works so that they share the surfboard when riding the waves. Or maybe they have two surfboards and they were just taking turns carrying them together back to their hotel or condo.

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

Guy carrying his surfboard

Here is a photo of a guy carrying his surfboard. I do not show a lot of "people picture" compared to some Daily Photo bloggers, but I went out in the late afternoon sun and took a few photos of surfers, so I will start a little series of photos of surfers.

Daily Photo bloggers who excel in showing people are Jilly of Monte Carlo Daily Photo and Steffe of Photos from Haninge, Sweden but the "main street" of Tamarindo where I could most easily take people pictures is the beach. So the people you will see are typical Tamarindo surfers.

As I have said previously, I am gender neutral. That should tell you what tomorrow's photo will be.

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

The village restaurant's white horse

The magnificent white horse in this photo belongs to the family that operates the restaurant that I showed during the last two days, and that has a boat for wildlife river trips.

I have mentioned before that Costa Ricans are proud of their agrarian roots. They have a stable for the horse in their back yard in the village, although here they have the horse out in front, by the road so the horse can watch life go by in the village.

This week we are showing photos of the architecture of the old town of Stockholm, Sweden on our Viva la Voyage travel photos site.

A typical TIco lunch

After the wildlife boat trips, a typical Costa Rican lunch is a nice stop. Here is a photo of the lunch at the village restaurant that I showed yesterday.

My brother-in-law is serving himself some flatbread. The main dishes are chicken and fish, accompanied by rice and beans, and refreshing fresh fruit juice. Rice and beans are the staple side dishes in Tico cooking. They are called casado, which means married, because rice and beans go together like a married couple.

Tomorrow I will show you a surprise from this same restaurant.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photos site. This week we are returning to Stockholm, Sweden to show some of the architecture of the old town.

Village restaurant

This is a restaurant in a village near where tourists can take the wildlife boat trips in Palo Verde National Park. This is in the same village where I showed the cattle drive through the middle of town.

The same family that operates the boat trips on the river also has this little restaurant. After the morning wildlife boat ride, they stop in their restaurant for a traditional Costa Rican lunch, which I will show tomorrow.

Like most restaurants in Costa Rica, it is open air. The kitchen is the little room in the back, and the rest rooms are the little blue building out back.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Monastero on the shores of Lake Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photos site.

Low tide on Tamarindo beach

This is a photo of Tamarindo beach at low tide. I hope that this photo gives an idea of how gently sloping the beach is. During high or medium tide, the entire sandy area that you see in this photo is under water, but even children can wade out into the ocean comfortably.

This photo is taken from the southern end of Tamarindo beach, where the waves are gentle because of the protection of an island and reef. Cabo Velas is across the bay.

One of our cameras has a viewfinder screen that swivels up, which makes it easier to take low angle shots like this, looking down at the camera rather than having to lie down on the ground to frame the shot.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Monastero in Varenna, Italy, on the shores of Lake Como, on our Viva la Voyage travel photos site.

Costa Rican wood products

Here is a photo of some of the additional Costa Rica wood products for sale in one of the souvenir shops in Tamarindo. The carved bowls that I showed yesterday I would classify as art. The products on these shelves I would classify as souvenirs.

I recently travelled to Chile and saw that a Costa Rican company that is known in Costa Rica for its coffee, Cafe Britt, has gone into the souvenir business. There were several Cafe Britt stores in the Santiago airport, another in the Miami airport, and even in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Santiago. In addition to the normal travel items, the stores sold Costa Rican wood products, coffee and chocolate. It was nice to see products from our adopted second home in far away places.

Yesterday Kate of Visual St. Paul Daily Photo site left a comment asking a question about whether the trees were endangered. Costa Rica plants 5 - 7 million trees per year to reforest areas that had previously been cleared. The sales guy in the store told me that some of the hardwood used for these products will no longer be available in the future, but I do not know if that was a sales pitch to try to persuade me to buy something because it might not be available in the future.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Monastero on the shores of Lake Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photos site.

Artistic wood bowls

I recently mentioned that Costa Rica is blessed with tropical hardwoods. Here is a photo of some of the wood bowls for sale in one of the tourist shops in Tamarindo. These bowls are works of art. Skilled artisans have selected wood with beautiful grains and shaped, turned and polished the bowls.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Monastero on the shores of Lake Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photos site.

Moss

This is a photo of some of the moss on the trunk of the tree that I showed yesterday. I normally think of moss as growing in dark and damp areas, but our part of Costa Rica gets almost no rain for almost half of the year.

I do not do many macro photos, unlike my wife, Julie, who excels at macro photography, as readers of her Scottsdale (Arizona) Daily Photo website know.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Monastero on the shores of Lake Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photos site.

Flying buttress trunk

Some of the old tropical trees have trunks like flying buttresses for strength. The flying buttresses of this tree extend to the sides in swirls.

Costa Rica has many tropical hardwoods and has an active program to plant millions of new trees each year, as the country is on track to become the world's first carbon neutral country in less than a decade.

This week we are showing photos of the Villa Monastero on the shores of Lake Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photos site.

A monkey's hug

I think the monkey in this photo is thinking, "Sometimes, when I am sad and lonely, this seat is the only friend I have."

The faces of white-faced capuchin monkeys are so expressive that it creeps out my wife. Julie does not like them because they are too human-like, and they sometimes look like they are scowling.

There is a bonus today. Bob of St. Louis Daily Photo is staying in our condo on Playa Langosta this week and he posted photos today from Tamarindo. He is an outstanding photographer, and his site is worth checking out today, as it is every day.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of the Villa Monastero in Varenna, Italy, on the shores of Lake Como. It is one of our favorite places, and IMHO it is worth a visit to the website to check it out.

"Hey, we should be monkeying around"

Let's move up the food chain from the reptiles of the last few days to mammals. The white-faced capuchin monkeys in this photo love to jump around on the roofs of the boats that carry tourists up the Tempisque River in Palo Verde National Park for wildlife tours.

At moments like these, I wonder what these monkeys are thinking. These two monkeys seem to be communicating with each other by reading each other's body language.

This week we are showing photos of Iceland on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

iguana profile

Here is a photo of the profile of a green iguana, to complement yesterday's photo looking straight into the face of the iguana. The large round scale on their jaw is a characteristic of their appearance.

It is the early part of the dry season now, so the iguanas have recently mated. Each male guards a territory containing 1 to 4 females during the mating season. Something seems out of balance with that ratio, unless maybe some of the other males have killed each other off, or driven them deep into the forest or jungle.

This week we are showing photos of Iceland on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Stare down with an iguana

As this photo shows, Iguanas could win most stare downs with humans. They watch us closely. They are often motionless. They seem to have nothing else to do. They don't have to check their Blackberries or iPhones.

I find their scales, spikes on their spines, and dew laps fascinating to look at, but they find something about humans fascinating to gaze at. Maybe they are just waiting to see if we are one of the stupid humans who will do something stupid, like aggressive, threatening moves towards the iguana.

This week we are showing photos of Iceland on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Tamarindo traffic jam

I mentioned yesterday how there are no traffic lights in Tamarindo. Where we sometimes need traffic direction is at the most popular surfing spots. The north end of Tamarindo beach is a place where surfers like to gather. As this photo shows, they manage to avoid running into each other, even without traffic control.

Nearby Playa Langosta is a great surfing beach, and there are very few swimmers there, so people love the surfing there.

This week we are showing photos of Iceland on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Bar One nightclub

This is a photo of the top of the Centro Commercial Plaza building, where the Bar One nightclub is located. The green light is a giant TV screen where I guess that they show movies, or maybe sporting events at times.

I have never been up there, as I generally do not go to bars. There are several night clubs, including places with live music, in Tamarindo.

I once drove by this night club at night and I saw two young women, who looked to be tourists, who were on the street either going in or going out. The were wearing high heels and little black dresses. They looked like they were ready to go "clubbing" in New York or L.A. They must have read in a guidebook before coming that Tamarindo has some night spots. Their dresses and shoes looked out of place in a little resort town where most of the streets are not yet paved. Tamarindo is nothing like Cancun (except we have a better beach).

Jarart of Prescott (Arizona) Area Daily Photo correctly guessed in her comment yesterday that the photo showed a video screen in a night club. Since she lives in Prescott, famous for its old West "Whiskey Row" of saloons, I guess she knows something about night spots.

We are featuring photos of Iceland this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Centro commercial plaza

Normally I show photos of the beach, animals, and, more recently, village life. Here is a more "urban" scene in Tamarindo. This is the Centro Commercial Plaza building at night.

This is an office and commercial condo building located at one of the two main intersections in central Tamarindo. The intersection is not busy enough to have a traffic light, however, as there are no traffic lights in Tamarindo.

On the first floor, there is a pharmacy and a real estate office. Tamarindo has lots of real estate offices. The light on the right side of the first floor advertises a tiny movie theater, with about 12 seats. That is the only move theater within at least 20 miles (30 km). The second floor in the front of the building is a yoga and dance studio.

On the top floor, you an see a strange green color. I will show a closer photo and reveal what is up there . . . tomorrow.

We are featuring photos of Iceland this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Shoe ox horn covers

This is a closer photo of the ox cart that I showed yesterday. The family put the child's shoes over the ox's horns. I guess that is one way to make sure that the boy does not lose his shoes.

You may notice in the photo a "Laura" bumper sticker, which I am sure was made with the intent that it would be displayed on a car or truck, not an oxen yoke.

Laura Chinchilla was elected last year as the first female President of Costa Rica. She had a distinguished career of public service in many positions in government, and her campaign emphasized fighting crime as a major issue. She graduated from the University of Costa Rica, and then earned a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photos site. This week we are showing photos of Iceland.

Ox Cart Transportation

This photo of a Costa Rican ox cart was taken about a block away from the grocery store that I featured in my posts during the past few days. Ox carts are a traditional form of transportation in rural areas of Costa Rica.

Many years ago, coffee farmers would travel for days bringing their sacks of the "golden bean" to the sea ports to sell for export.

Some ox carts are brightly painted and used for decorations for tourists. The ox cart in this photo is obviously a working ox cart. There is nothing decorative about it.

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

grocery prices

The price of these huge bags is the equivalent of about $10 U.S. Dollars.

The answer to my little question yesterday about the price of groceries in a local market is that our total bill came to about $11 U.S. Dollars. That is obviously a lot cheaper than similar products would have cost in the USA.

The grocery store where we bought the products was in a town that is about a half hour inland from Tamarindo, not in an with tourist facilities or attractions. It has what locals refer to as "Tico prices." The supermarket in Tamarindo, which carries many food products imported from the USA, and caters to foreign visitors and international residents, has higher prices.

We are featuring the style of Sweden this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Cereal

Here are two close up photos of some of the large bags of cereal that I showed yesterday.

I would have liked the top bag when I was a child, but nothing looks less appetizing to me now that sugary cereal with lots of artificial colors.

Here is a little tease about the price of groceries in a local grocery store. On this trip on our way to awildlife river trip, we bought 2 cut up chickens (to feed to the alligators), a bunch of bananas (to feed to the monkeys), 2 batteries, 2 bottles of Coke, and a lighter (so my brother-in-law could smoke a Cuban cigar).

How much do you think the price was for the total of all of those items? The answer, of course, will be tomorrow.

We are featuring the style of Sweden this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

bulk cereal bags

In the grocery store in a town of locals, not foreign residents and tourists like Tamarindo, here is a photo of a different section of breakfast cereal than the aisle I showed yesterday.

These are large quantity, bulk bags of generic cereal. One must need a large family to eat the amount of cereal in these bags before it would spoil.

We are featuring the style of Sweden this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Grocery store cereal aisle

In the past I have shown photos of the large, modern supermarket in Tamarindo that caters to foreign residents and visitors. Here is a photo of a grocery store in a local town that caters to locals.

While this part of the cereal aisle looks like what you might see in an American supermarket, tomorrow I will show you a different cereal section that is quite different.

We are featuring the style of Sweden this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Surfer chasing a wave, and a bird

As fast as the surfer in this photo must feel that he is going, the bird at the top right zoomed past, more agile, graceful and swift.

This week we are showing photos of the style of Sweden on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

A stroll along the beach

I wonder who is enjoying Tamarindo beach more, the person walking or the dog lying in the sand in this photo. The fishing boats in Tamarindo bay await tourists wanting to enjoy the adventure of deep sea fishing.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing some photos of the style of Sweden.

Theme Day: Favorite Photo of 2010

The worldwide Daily Photo theme for Jan. 1 is the favorite photo of the year. This is my favorite photo because it shows the intimacy of a meeting between man and monkey.

If Michelangelo had visited Costa Rica to take a wildlife or eco-tourism vacation, do you think he might have painted a scene like this in the center of a frescoed ceiling of a church? OK, I know. That was a stretch.

We are showing photos of the holidays in Santa Fe, New Mexico this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

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