Langosta Beach Club; A walkway towards the beach

For the last two days I have showed photos of the entrance and exercise room of the Langosta Beach Club. What is out the back door of the building? There is this staircase and a walkway heading towards the beach.

Yesterday Jack of Hartford Daily Photo commented that there were no people in the photo in the fitness room, so I interpreted that as a request to show a person. So Jack is responsible for my showing the woman in a white bikini in this photo.

I wonder what we should do next. Maybe we should walk down this path behind the woman in the white bikini. It is for a good cause, as there might be something else to photograph to post on my Daily Photo site. I know, it's a tough job, but someone has to do it. At least that's what I'll tell Julie when she sees this post.

Please check out photos of Easter Island on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Langosta Beach Club; Exercise Room

This is the inside of the building I showed two days ago. The Langosta Beach Club has a fitness room for people who want to work out, as Jarart of Prescott, Arizona, Daily Photo was able to perceive from the outside of the building two days ago. I think it is very pleasant for the large windows to provide a view of the outdoors while people are working out.

But I also agree completely with Jarart's comment two days ago, as I would rather walk on the beach than walk in one place on a treadmill in an exercise room, no matter how pleasant the exercise room is. What can be a better place to walk that an unspoiled beach?

Please check out photos of Easter Island on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Langosta Beach Club Entrance & French Ex-Pats

Yesterday I showed the exterior of the building at the front of the Langosta Beach Club. If you want to come inside, here is the entrance. The forested site allows the use of glass without too much of a greenhouse effect, and the glass has a clean and modern look.

When I walked in, I was greeted by a very friendly staff person, a young French woman. I asked her where she is from, and she replied Toulouse. I commented that the young woman at the activity shop in the center of Tamarindo is also from Toulouse, and it turns out that they are friends who came here together.

The young woman who handles reservations for the property management company that manages out two condos is also French, as is the interior decorator who furnished our two condos and the professional photographer who did the interior photos of our condos for the websites where we list them for rental. No, I don't know why there are so many young French residents of Tamarindo, but all I have met are delightful and doing well.

Tomorrow, let's go inside the Langosta Beach Club.

Please check out photos of Easter Island on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Langosta Beach Club; Its Background

This is the front of the Langosta Beach Club from the street. Tropical architectural and furnishings are popular in Costa Rican Pacific beach communities, as this design reflects.

This building was the sales office for a large multi-purpose condo development called The Preserve. Some of the condos have been constructed near the point that separates Tamarindo and Langosta, but the rest of the project appears stalled by the downturn in the market.

The original plans called for condos to be built on the inland side of the Langosta estuary, which was rather controversial from an environmental standpoint, a nature trail, a shopping area, and more. With the project stalled, the sales office is now being used as the Langosta Beach Club, open to others, not just residents of The Preserve, for a fee.

Tomorrow, let's walk up to the entrance for a closer look.

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

Langosta Beach Club

Today I will begin a new series of photos to show you the Langosta Beach Club. It is located along the southern end of Tamarindo Beach, as the view across Tamarindo Bay to Cabo Velas, the point of land at the far left, is visible beyond the swimming pool.

The Langosta Beach Club is a good concept for people who do not live or are not staying in a condo or hotel right on the beach. For a daily, weekly or monthly fee, you can hang out at the Beach Club and use its facilities. I will show more of its features in the coming week.

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

A hole in the clouds on a stormy day

I usually show photos of the beach in the nice sunshine that we enjoy in Tamarindo most of the time. But at times we have clouds and tropical rains (but not during the Nov. - April dry season.)

This photo is a deviation from my usual sunshine. Here are some storm clouds over the ocean, with the sun peaking through a hole in the clouds. You can see that it is raining out over the ocean.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are returning to Easter Island to show more photos of the Moai statues.

Surfer with a long yellow board

To achieve gender equality with the 2 days of photos of the woman riding a horse in a bikini, here is a second photo of a guy surfer. He is walking towards the southern end of Tamarindo beach, where the larger waves roll ashore.

I don't quite understand why he is wearing what appears to be a wet suit shirt. The water in Tamarindo is warm. It is even pleasant to swim in the middle of the winter, as there is no winter.

This week we are showing photos of Lake Como, Italy, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Surfer finishing his ride

Here is a photo of a surfer finishing his ride near the shore on Tamarindo beach. Because I showed the bikini horseback rider during the last two days, I had to post a photo like this in order to maintain gender neutrality.

My wife keeps me compliant regarding gender neutrality, and any transgressions in that regard are simply my testing her to see if she is paying attention and still vigilant.

This week we are showing photos of on of our favorite places, Lake Como, Italy, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Bikini horseback rider, a closer look

As I promised yesterday, here is a closer photo of the woman in a white bikini horseback riding on the beach.

Why would I show this photo? Well, I showed other photos of her a while back and I found that I am getting hits on my website from people who are doing searches for bikini horseback riding on a beach. So, this is just a cheap trick to drive more visitor traffic to my site.

By the way, did you notice the size of the driftwood tree on the beach? I didn't think so.

As long time readers of this blog may recall, when I show a photo like this, I usually promise "equal time" for the other gender the following day. Tomorrow will be no exception.

This week we are showing photos of on of our favorite places, Lake Como, Italy, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Horseback riding on the beach in a bikini

After my series on the sunset, I figured I better show something different to spice up the website. So here is a photo of a woman in a bikini horseback riding on the beach. Guys, before you take the trouble to click on the photo to enlarge it, I'll save you the trouble. I will post a closer photo tomorrow.

I earned Horsemanship Merit Badge when I was a Boy Scout. I don't remember that there was anything about riding on the beach barefoot in a swim suit.

This week we are showing photos of on of our favorite places, Lake Como, Italy, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Sunset Series, 9

This is the end. The day is done. The last bit of color is disappearing from the sky that has turned dark above and below a narrow ribbon between the clouds that gives a peak towards the Pacific Ocean, across which Hawaii and other islands are still enjoying the late afternoon sun, and Asia is busy in the midst of the day.

I think that the quintessential setting for a sunset is looking west into the ocean. We love that feature about our Tamarindo condos. I feel sorry for the East Coast of the USA, as watching the sun rise over the ocean is just not the same as the sunsets into the ocean.

This week we are showing photos of Lake Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. It is one of our favorite places. If you visit the website, it will be easy to see why.

sunset Series, 8

The colors of the sky have now retreated to a to a ribbon of deepening colors and darkening skies.

I need a tripod to take the late sunset photo, in the dim light, and using the zoom, such as this one. I was using a relatively small and light camera, not a DSLR, for these photos so I did not need a regular tripod. I have a small pocket tripod with pliable legs that are only about 6 inches long. I can wrap the legs around the railing of our condo and set the self timer for two seconds, and push the shutter button.

In low light conditions, it is better to use the self timer because pushing the shutter button can cause a slight movement of the camera.

Tomorrow will be the final scene of this sunset that I have been showing during the past week.

This week we are showing photos of Lake Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. It is one of our favorite places. If you visit the website, it will be easy to see why.

Sunset Series, 7

This photo is a closer view of the sky of the same sunset from our Langosta condo balcony/patio that I have been showing during the past week. Clouds enhance the sunset by capturing color. Too many clouds, of course, can ruin the sunset if they block the sun's rays from reaching the closer clouds.

When photographing sunsets, I will try multiple exposures to try to find the exposure that best captures the light and color of the sun. Usually, taking the photo at a setting for a faster shutter speed, or a higher f-stop or two, than the camera's light meter would select. In other words, I take the photo as though there were more light to under expose the setting. That captures the colors at their best.

Today is Mother's Day in the USA, but not in Costa Rica. In Costa Rica Mother's Day is in August and is a national holiday. Banks, government offices, and many businesses are closed so people can have a day off of work to spend the day honoring their mother.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of one of our favorite places, Lake Como, Italy.

Sunset Series, 6

Even after the sun disappears below the horizon, the sunset is not over because of the crimson painting of the clouds.

Why do some areas have more colorful sunsets than others? Here is what I have been told. One of the factors is the lack of humidity in the air, which is why desert sunsets are more colorful. Think of what things look like under water. Blue is the predominant color, even though water is clear, not blue.

The for the blueness under water is that the water filters out the red colors and leaves the blue colors of the spectrum to predominate. The same filtering effect of water occurs in the air. When there is little humidity, there is less filtering out of the red colors so the sunsets appear more colorful.

I do not have a background in science, so I make no assurances of the accuracy of the above explanation, but it does make sense to me.

This week we are showing photos of San Xavier del Bac Mission, the White Dove of the Desert, outside Tucson, Arizona, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Sunset Series, 5

This is a wider shot photo of the same sunset that I showed in my posts during the last few days. When I zoomed into the horizon, the clouds looked darker than the photo posted today, which shows that the sky above the marine layer of clouds is still slightly blue.

The high clouds offer an opportunity for an epilogue to the sunset, as I will show in the days ahead. The presence of clouds like this add suspense to the sunset, as sometimes the clouds are thick and block the color as the sun drops into the ocean. Most afternoons the clouds allow the sun to drop behind them and the capture the color of the sunset and add texture and extend the duration of the colors.

This week we are showing photos of San Xavier del Bac Mission, the White Dove of the Desert, outside Tucson, Arizona, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Sunset Series, 4

The sun is gone, dropped below the horizon of the Pacific Ocean from our Langosta condo. The sunset is not over, however. The clouds in the sky continue to cling to color and begin a new phase of the sunset.

Now would be about the time to consider whether to have a second glass of wine, if we have had some cheese and crackers or bread and olive oil along with the first glass of wine and if we followed our rule of drinking an equal amount of water along with any consumption of wine. Also, we walk rather than driving to dinner when we are in Tamarindo.

This week we are showing photos of San Xavier del Bac Mission, the White Dove of the Desert, outside Tucson, Arizona, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Sunset Series, 3

The disappearing sun is about to drop below the horizon as it paints the clouds a deep crimson.

On very rare occasions, when the sun drops into the ocean there is a green flash. It is an optical phenomena that lasts for a second or two, caused by the reflection of the sun's light in the atmosphere.

My wife has seen the green flash in California. We have not seen it in Costa Rica. I have seen the green flash only once, and that was in the Cook Islands of Polynesia. Someone on our Solar Eclipse cruise there actually captured it in a photo.

When the sun disappears below the horizon, the sunset is not over, as I will show in the days ahead.

This week we are showing photos of San Xavier del Bac Mission, the White Dove of the Desert, outside Tucson, Arizona, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Sunset Series, 2

A few moments after yesterday's photo, the sun started to dip into the ocean, and the sky reddened.

Jack of Hartford (Connecticut) Daily Photo) had the right idea in a comment he left yesterday about passing a glass of wine. My wife and I will have a glass of wine to accompany the sunset. French wine is expensive in Costa Rica. California wine is available, but we have that at home in Arizona. We usually select an Argentine or Chilean wine.

Sunsets are not static, of course. They evolve. The clouds play a crucial role in either blocking or texturizing the sunset. I will continue to post more photos of this same sunset to show how it evolved.

We are showing photos of San Xavier del Bac, the White Dove of the Desert, Mission outside Tucson, Arizona, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Sunset Series, 1

I will today start a series on the stages of a sunset. This photo is taken from the balcony/patio of our Langosta Beach condo. The sun is just above the horizon.

Each evening when we are at our condo in Tamarindo, we like to assess the sun and the clouds in late afternoon and predict whether we will get a good sunset. The answer is usually "yes." They don't call our area the "Gold Coast" without reason.

I will take you through the stages of this sunset so you can see how it evolved.

This week we are showing photos of the San Xavier del Bac Mission, the "White Dove of the Desert," just south of Tucson, Arizona, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Theme Day: Mailboxes

The worldwide Daily Photo theme for May 1 is "mailboxes." We do not have any mailboxes in Tamarindo, so for a Costa Rican interpretation of this theme, I am showing this photo of leaf cutter ants delivering their mail.

Costa Rica does not have street addresses. People traditionally lived in villages and everyone knew where people lived. As communities have grown larger, people identify their location by saying where they are near, as a system of street addresses never developed. For example, the "address" for our Langosta Beach condo is "125 meters north of the Barcelo Resort." In the capitol city of San Jose, with more than 1 million people, they are only now starting to develop street addresses.

In a country without street addresses, Costa Rica has not developed a modern, efficient postal service. People do not rely on the government postal service, as it is unreliable. People can receive mail in Tamarindo from the USA by having things sent to a P.O. Box in Miami and the UPS will deliver the mail or packages to a Mail Boxes, Etc. store one block from our condo, and then people can pick up the mail or packages from there. Of course people use the internet instead of mail for most communications.

I am sure Americans find the lack of postal service perplexing, but I should point out that the USA has 5% of the world's population but sends and receives 40% of the world's mail. Mail is not part of the culture of some developing countries.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of San Xavier del Bac, the "White Dove of the Desert" mission south of Tucson, Arizona. It is an architectural, cultural and historical gem.

To view how other Daily Photo bloggers interpret the theme of mailboxes, Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Soccer (football) field

Almost every Costa Rican village has a soccer/football field in the center of the village. This photo shows yet another example. I think you could fit most of the houses of this village within the soccer field in the middle of the village.

We have photos of the statues on the beach of Easter Island this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

A stroll on Tamarindo beach

I can't think of a better place to walk a dog than along Tamarindo Beach. I am sure that the couple and the dog in this photo are enjoying the sand between their toes, the waves lapping at their ankles, and the view of the ocean, waves, boats bobbing in the bay, and the hills surrounding Tamarindo Bay.

My wife and I love to walk along Langosta Beach, around San Francisco Point, and then down this stretch of Tamarindo Beach. We walk to dinner this way most evenings when we are staying in our Langosta condo.

For views of a unique beach, with moai statues on Easter Island, please visit Viva la Voyage, our travel photo site.

Moss growing on a flying buttress tree

The moss that I showed yesterday was growing on the flying buttress truck of this tree. The same patch of moss that I showed yesterday is the spot of green visible in the lower right center of this

Flying buttresses in the trunk of a tree serve the same purpose as flying buttresses in the side of a cathedral. The buttresses add strength to the tree trunk to support the giant size of the trunk and tree above.

This week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site we are showing photos of moai statues on Easter Island that are located on a sandy beach.

Moss

This is different than the type of photo that I usually post. This is moss that certainly is not growing on a rolling stone. Tomorrow I will show where this is growing.

This week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site we are showing photos of moai statues on Easter Island that are located on a sandy beach.

Langosta beach

Here is another photo of my brother-in-law on Langosta beach, which I also showed yesterday. This photo shows the view up the beach and illustrates one of the things that we like about Langosta -- the lack of crowds.

As this photo shows, there is no one else lounging around on this stretch of beach. Langosta is a quiet, residential area. Some people walk up and down the beach. Occasionally someone like my brother in law will plant themselves on the beach with a beach chair or towel.

We never see a scene like beaches in the USA where you have to worry about other people nearby making noise, playing loud music, or kicking up sand as they walk by.

For a very different beach scene, check out our photos of Easter Island this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

A spot on the beach

This is a photo of my brother-in-law from when he visited Tamarindo last year. He planted himself on Langosta Beach right behind our condo.

Judging from the color of his skin, he does a good job of covering up even though he lives in the intense desert sun of Phoenix, Arizona. That is smart, given what the sun can do to one's skin.

He is positioned facing the Pacific Ocean, and several thousand miles away is Easter Island, with it mysterious statues that are the subject of our post this week on Viva la Voyage, our travel photo site.

Tamarindo beach

I have shown photos of several other beaches recently, such as Playa Panama, Playa Hermosa and Playas del Coco, so I thought I would post photos of Tamarindo and Langosta beaches for a few days.

This is a photo of Tamarindo beach, looking from the south to the north, at low tide. You can get an appreciation from this photo of how gently sloping the beach is. Swimmers can wade out into the water a long ways and still stand up.

This southern end of Tamarindo bay is protected from the ocean waves by an island and reef to the left of this photo. The area for surfers is to the right of this photo.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our travel photo site, Viva la Voyage. This week we are showing photos of some of the maoi statues on the beach at Easter Island.

Exaggerated roadway signage

I think the highway engineers got a little carried away when they designed the sign in this photo. I have never seen a car on a hill this steep. Not even in San Francisco.

I think this sign succeeds in getting attention and communicates its message.

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

Signage on curvy, hilly road

If Costa Rica is going to start putting up signs like this around all of the curvy, hilly roads, I recommend an investment in the sign company. This signage and the guard rail look like what one would expect in the USA, not a rural Costa Rican road.

We have good, paved roads all the way to Tamarindo. There are many country roads in the area that are still unpaved

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

New hilly, curvy road

If there are condos in the hills around Costa Rican beach towns, there must be roads to reach them. Here is an example of a new hilly, curvy road to reach some of the hotel and condo deveopments in the area around Playas del Coco, Playa Hermosa and Playa Panama.

This reflects that Costa Rica has made improvements and investments in its roads in rural areas. People who own projects in areas that are waiting for the completion of paved roads are encouraged by new roads such as this, and hope that the roads will be upgraded in their areas soon.

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

Unfinished condos

This photo shows an unfinished condo project on which there is no sign of continuing construction. Some buildings are nearly complete, but empty. Others are an unpainted shell, without roof tiles. The swimming pool is empty. The deck is a steel frame, but no deck. A very few units are completed and occupied.

This is a sad scene. It reflects a developer who has probably run out of money and, more important, purchasers who have paid money and have not realized the enjoyment and benefits that they expected.

During the boom years of 2000 - 2007, many new condo projects were sold, and it was common for the purchase price to be paid 1/3rd down, 1/3rd when the roof was installed, and 1/3rd at closing. This means that some people have paid a substantial amount of money and it is uncertain when, or whether, they will receive delivery of a new condo.

Developers were building projects with financing from buyers, but if the projects did not sell out or if the buyers did not make their second payments when the market collapsed, some developers ran out of money to finish the projects. Julie and I bought both of our condos in projects developed by the owner of the Tamarindo Diria Resort, the largest hotel in the area. We figured that he would have the resources to finish the projects, and he did. Both projects are successful.

People like to say that real estate is a matter of "location, location, location," but it is also a matter of "timing, timing, timing." The difference between some successful projects and projects such as the one shown today in some cases is that the failed projects hit the market at the wrong time.

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

Hilltop condos

This photo shows a hilltop condo development, with a view out to the ocean. During the real estate boom from about 2000 - 2007, there were quite a few ocean view condo developments.

In my opinion, some of the developments, such as this one, reflect the fact that developers thought anything with an ocean view would sell. For the boom years, that was correct. Some projects lacked creativity and quality amenities.

This photo shows a condo project that consists of unimaginative, square buildings, without architectural features, and with few amenities other than a view of the ocean. Many Americans within the past 10 years bought ocean view land relatively cheap, as the land had little previous economic use, and built projects such as this. During the development frenzy of about 2000 - 2007, projects like this would sell. Since that time, however, the market has been soft because the downturn in the U.S. economy affected the willingness or ability of Americans to buy a vacation or retirement condo in Costa Rica.

Tomorrow I will show what happens to a condo development that was under construction when the market turned soft.

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

Hilltop condos

Here is another photo of the type of houses and condos that have been built in the hills above places like Playa Panama, Playa Hermosa and Playas del Coco. These homes have views out to the ocean.

The views are nice, but as I mentioned yesterday and several people who left comments agreed, I prefer a condo where we can walk to dinner and enjoy the activity of a community like Tamarindo, rather than a hilltop where you have to drive everyplace you want to go. Plus, we like to walk out our door to the beach.

Tomorrow and the day after I will show more of the recent real estate boom, and will discuss that real estate is more than "location, location, location."

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

Playa Panama housing

This photo shows some houses or condos across the bay at Playa Panama. These people have a nice view of the bay and ocean.

My wife and I prefer Tamarindo, however, where we have a view of the beach and ocean, but there are also about 40 or so restaurants to which we can walk for lunch or dinner. A house or condo in a place like this would require driving to dinner, or cooking yourself.

Hotels in places like Playa Panama are destination resorts, as there are not many places where you can walk and enjoy both the beach and a variety of restaurants.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing some photos from Julie's brother's trip to Iceland.

The bay at Playa Panama

Here is another view of the bay at Playa Panama, shot with a telephoto from the same spot as yesterday's photo. As this photo shows, there is lots of land around and some people have got caught up in the real estate boom of 5 or 6 years ago. In a few days I will show you the sometimes not-so-successful results.

This week we are showing photos of the cathedral in Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Overview of Playa Panama

This is a view of Playa Panama from the road approaching from the south. This shows something that I commented upon yesterday, which is there there is not much of a town at Playa Panama.

Some people enjoy building houses in the area, or buying condos, that have ocean views, such as the houses in this photo and a few more photos that I will post in the coming days.

This week we are showing photos of the cathedral in Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Playa Panama

Here is a photo of the beach at Playa Panama, looking in the opposite direction from the view that I howed yesterday. As I commented yesterday, the beach here is so sheltered by the bay that it is similar to the shore of a lake rather than the ocean.

I did my little road trip to the beaches about an hour north of Tamarindo on a cloudy day, and there were not many people out on the beach. There is not much of a town at Playa Panama. There are some houses, condos and hotels scattered around.

This week we are showing photos of the cathedral in Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Playa Panama

This is a photo of the beach at Playa Panama. It is sheltered by the its location within the a bay deep in the Gulf of Papagayo, so it does not receive ocean waves or surf. It is ideal for easy swimming.

This area has the advantage of having the closest beaches to the international airport in Liberia, just about one half hour away.

There is a Hilton Papagayo Resort near this spot. It is an all-inclusive resort where guests pay one price that includes their room and their meals. I have stayed in all inclusive resorts in very remote locations, such as Easter Island, Torres del Paine National Park near the southern tip of Chile, and the Atacama Desert, but my wife and I prefer getting out and enjoying some of the local restaurants in communities that have good restaurants.

This week we are showing photos of the cathedral in Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Playa Panama

Today I will begin a short series of one more beach north of Tamarindo, close to the Gulf of Papagayo. This area is under the location where airliners fly over the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica when they make their approach to the international airport in Liberia, about one hour north of Tamarindo.

I previously showed photos of Playas del Coco and Playa Hermosa. The area under the aerial photo I am showing today is Playa Panama. Tomorrow and the next day I will show this area from the beach.

This week we are showing photos of the cathedral in Como, Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Monkeys jumping on the boat

Yesterday I showed a monkey in his natural habitat. Here are some monkeys not in their natural habitat. These monkeys have jumped onto one of the tour boats that takes visitors on wildlife boat trips in Palo Verde National Park.

The monkeys are quite used to the visitors. Although there are signs asking people not to feed the wildlife, people find it irresistible to feed the monkeys. They are playful and smart. They have learned to expect the tour boats at certain spots on the river. They have trained the tourists to hand them banana pieces.

This week we are showing photos of the cathedral of Como, Italy, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Monkey reaching for food

This is a photo of a white-faced Capuchin monkey reaching into a hole in a tree for some food. I don't know what he thought he would find. Maybe some bugs. I don't know about you, but I would not stick my hand into a hole in a tree. This monkey is braver than me.

I apologize for the quality of this photo. I took this picture in very low light with a slow shutter speed, as this monkey was under a very dense tree with a heavy canopy. The scene was dark and I had to lighten the photo and it is not as crisp as I would like, but I thought it is still worth posting because it shows the monkey in his natural habitat.

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

Diria Condo Pool

This photo completes my little series about our condo at the Tamarindo Diria Resort. Our building is seven stories tall, and our condo is on the fourth floor.

There is a palm tree the the center of this photo, and our condo balcony is barely visible through a hole just under the palm fronds of that palm tree.

This swimming pool, parts of which I have shown in the past, is a free-form pool, with walk-in beach type sides, islands, bridges, fountains, and a swim up snack bar. It is the largest pool in the area (10,000 sq. ft./930 sq. m.). Some people who stay in the hotel rooms at the Diria Resort do not even know this pool exists, as most people hang out at the nearby beach, and there are two more pools facing the beach that are very popular.

This week we are showing photos of the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona and the cooling waters of Oak Creek on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Diria Condo Gardens

This is a photo of part of the gardens at our condo at the Tamarindo Diria

Resort. Our condo, which I showed yesterday, is on the fourth floor of this building. Our balcony is barely visible in the top center of this photo.

These gardens surround a large swimming pool and are very pleasant to walk through on the way to the beach or to the main beachfront street where many shops and restaurants are located next to the resort.

This week we are showing photos of the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona and the cooling waters of Oak Creek on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Rise and Shine; view from the bedroom

A few days ago I showed a photo of the walkway to our condo at the Diria Resort. I received more comments than usual, so I thought I would show this photo of the view from the bed in our master bedroom. Yes, a view like this does make it easier to get up in the morning.

There is a small "Juliet" balcony on the right, with a view across to Playa Grande. On the left is a door to the balcony off the living room, with a splendid view of the beach and ocean.

The trees are part of the lush landscaping of the Diria Resort. I will show a couple of photos of the reverse view from the ground during the next two days.

Playa Grande, by the way, is the nesting site for the endangered Pacific leatherback turtles and is a protected national marine park. The tortoises swim to that beach all the way from the Galapagos Islands to lay their eggs.

This week we are showing photos of the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona and the cooling waters of Oak Creek on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Whoa, Fido.

The little dog in this photo seems to be putting on the brakes so he does not get in the way of the bigger dog. It is nice to see dogs playing together nicely.

This week we are showing photos of the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona and the cooling waters of Oak Creek on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

"Hey, little dog. Wait for me."

As regular readers of this blog know, I like to post a series of photos that tell a little story. This photo shows more of the scene when the lady with the three tiny dogs walked along the beach. This little girl seems to want to follow the dogs, sort of like the Pied Piper.

The 3 little dogs I showed yesterday were hyper-active in exploring the beach and in making friends. Tomorrow I will show the dogs interacting with another four legged creature.

This week we are showing photos of the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona and the cooling waters of Oak Creek on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

A day at the beach

I like to walk along the beach in Tamarindo and Playa Langosta. In addition to the surf and sand, the beach offers an opportunity to observe an array of animals, such as pelicans, sea gulls, iguanas, crabs, and some non-native species, people and dogs.

What caught my eye in this photo were the three small dogs walking down the beach with the woman. The dogs were playful and active, exploring the beach and greeting the people and other dogs along the way.

I took this photo on Playa Langosta using my zoom lens, which compresses the images in the photo and gives the appearance that these people were closer to each other than they were.

This week we are showing photos of the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona and the cooling waters of Oak Creek on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Tamarindo Sunset

Last evening I returned from a business trip, driving from Las Vegas to our home in Scottsdale, and I stopped the car several times to take photos of the dramatic Arizona desert sunset. The thought occurred to me that I have not posted photos of a Tamarindo sunset lately.

Here is a photo of my younger son silhouetted against the brilliant sky of the sun setting into the Pacific off Tamarindo. You can see why they sometimes refer to the area around Tamarindo as Costa Rica's "Gold Coast."

I did not do anything to enhance the colors of the sunset. This photo is exactly how the camera captured the scene, using the camera's automatic exposure setting.

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 red rocks of Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona, including some photos of the rushing Oak Creek.

The condo corridor

This is another photo that I considered posting for yesterday's Daily Photo theme day of "edge." This is the hallway leading to the front door of our condo at the Diria Resort in the middle of Tamarindo. Our condo is on the right at the end of this corridor.

It is a pleasant walk to return home and look out over the town, the beach, the boats in the bay, the endless Pacific ocean, and then to go into the condo, relax, and enjoy yet another view of the beach and ocean.

For a view of an ocean (actually a fjord) filled with sailboats, and other delightful scenes of Norway, be sure to check out the photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Theme Day: Edge

The worldwide Daily Photo Theme for April 1 is "edge." Tamarindo is a small beach resort. It does not have a lot of "edges." But because the beach is the essence of the town, I selected this photo, as it shows multiple edges.

There is the edge of the ocean, the edge of the beach, the edge of the clouds, the edge of the horizon, and the edge of a storm front.

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

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