Costa Rican Buddhas

This does not look like Costa Rica.  The Buddhas suggest a scene from Southeast Asia, but this is Tamarindo.  I will show more of this scene in the next couple of days to place it in context.

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

Sand dollarts

This photo is a scene not created by nature.  Some people have put sand dollars in the flower bed near the area where people can rinse sand off their feet after coming up from the beach before returning to one of the condos in out building on Langosta beach.                                  

Yesterday I discussed Costa Rican money a little.  And speaking of money, there was an article in the newspaper about a big dispute and government proceeding because a new train line is opening up connecting the capitol of San Jose with the outlying city of Cartago, 16 miles (28 km) away.  The dispute is over whether the fare should be set at 550 or 565 Colones.  That is the difference between $1.10 and $1.13 USD.  I have never heard of such a controversy over three cents.

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 architecture of Grenada, Nicaragua.

Sand dollar

This is a sand dollar, of course, although perhaps in Costa Rica they should be called a sand Colones.

There are about 500 Colones to one dollar.  All of the stores, restaurants, and other businesses in Tamarindo will accept dollars.  The price tags and menus often list prices in dollars. The ATM machines in Tamarindo even give you the option of taking out cash in either Colones or dollars.

This week we have photos of the wild animals of Tanzania posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Sunset surfer flailing away to keep his balance

Yep.  He is a beginner, all right.  One arm is pointing up and the other is pointing across his body.

Maybe he would say he was not flailing away to keep his balance.  He was just trying to signal to someone on shore that he will meet them for dinner at 9:00.

Either that or he was flashing semaphore signals while surfing.

This week we have photos of the wild animals of Tanzania posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Beginning surfer at sunset

This surfer does look like a beginner, based on his arms positioned way out to the side to keep his balance.   Let's see how he does in tomorrow's photo.

This week we have photos of the wild animals of Tanzania posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Surfing at sunset

Sometimes I post photos of surfers.   Sometimes I post photos of sunsets.  And if I can't decide which, I guess I could post photos of surfers at sunset.

This photo certainly shows why they call our area the Gold Coast.

This photo was at the southern end of  Tamarindo Bay, where the waves are gentle because of a reef and island that shelters this end of the Bay.

Why would people surf in the gentle part of the Bay?  Perhaps they are beginners.  We will check during the next couple of days.

This week we have photos of the wild animals of Tanzania posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Cutting short a ride

Sometimes surfers ride their waves to the shore, sometimes they wipe out, and sometimes they decide to turn out and cut a ride short and catch another wave.  I don't surf, so I can only surmise that this surfer decided that the rest of the ride on this wave would become tamer than his preference, and he cut short his ride in anticipation of a better wave. Picky.  Picky.  Picky.

This week we have photos of the wild animals of Tanzania posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Catching a wave

Here is a surfer who has caught a good sized wave on Playa Langosta. As usual, I will show the outcome of this ride tomorrow.

This week we have photos of the wild animals of Tanzania posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Sunset sail

The afternoon and sunset sail excursions from Tamarindo bay are popular with visitors.  This is the sunset sail boat as it is returning from its excursion.

I like to sail.  When I was in high school in St. Louis County, Missouri, I was a Sea Scout, which is part of the Boy Scouts, except we learned about and went sailing  instead of camping.  We sailed in a wide part of the Mississippi River just above the Alton Lock & Dam.   We had to stay out of the way of the large and frequent barges.

I think sailing in the Pacific off the coast of Tamarindo is much better.

Today is Mother's Day in the USA, but not in Costa Rica. Mother's Day in Costa Rica is in August, and it is a national holiday.  People get off work and many businesses are closed.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of some of the wild animals and a coffee plantation in Tanzania, Africa.

Round red stone or coral

You never know what you might find looking in the crevices and tide pools along the beach.  This attracted my eye, as I initially thought it was a berry, but it appears to be an unusually colored stone or piece of coral.

This week we have photos of street scenes of Marrakech, Morocco, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Mossy beach area

This is a closer view of a portion of the mossy area along Langosta Beach.

There was an article in the Tico Times this week reporting that Costa Rica continues to be the most popular destination in Central America for tourists from Europe, and European tourism to Costa Rica was up 16 percent last year.  Hopefully that will lead to more direct flights from Europe to Costa Rica, which would bring even more tourists by making it more convenient than changing planes in the US or Panama.

This week we have photos of street scenes of Marrakech, Morocco, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Mossy tidepools

This is another view of a mossy patch that changes the pattern of sand and volcanic rocks under the surface of Playa Langosta at low tide.

This week we have photos of street scenes of Marrakech, Morocco, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Moss covered rocks

I don't know why, but in a couple of spots along Playa Langosta there is moss covering the rocks, unlike the vast majority of the beach that has sand or volcanic rock without moss.

Of course walking across the damp moss is rather tricky.  We stay up on the sand and walk around the mossy patches.

This week we have photos of street scenes of Marrakech, Morocco, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Coral or shell encrusted rocks

Here is another view of the coral or shell encrusted rocks on part of Langosta beach.  I don't understand why there are certain places where certain types of shells or coral congregate, but there is quite a diversity of sights on a walk on even a short stretch of the beach.

This week we have photos of street scenes of Marrakech, Morocco, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Tide pools

The tide pools along Playa Langosta provide a wide variety of shells, coral, rocks and marine life.  This appears to be coral or shells covering a rock that is submerged at high tide but is exposed at low tide.

This week we have photos of street scenes of Marrakech, Morocco, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Airborne spray

This is a view of some of the rocks at San Francisco point.  A wave has crashed on one of the rocks in a way to send its spray airborne.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of street scenes in Marrakech, Morocco.

Tide pools

This photo shows the volcanic rock that is under the water at high tide and that provides a locale for tide pool exploration at low tide.  This is near San Francisco point, which divides Langosta from Tamarindo.


This week we have photos from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, including a photo of the endangered chubb fish, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Volcanic rock forming patterns in the sand

This is a wider view of the type of sand and rock patterns that I showed yesterday.  The ocean floor under the water at Playa Langosta is the remains of a volcanic lava flow.  There is dark volcanic rock that is under the water at high tide, but is exposed at low tide.

In some parts of the beach, the volcanic rock forms tide pools to explore.  In this location, sand has gathered to fill in the low spots in the rock, leaving the ridges of the volcanic rock exposed in these patterns.

Welcome to Costa Rica, President Obama!  Later today President Obama will arrive in Costa Rica for a quick visit.  He will hold meetings with Central American government and political leaders in the capitol of San Jose.  Hopefully this will lead to enhanced economic opportunities for all countries in the region.  He is the first AMerican President to visit Costa Rica since President Clinton nearly 20 years ago.

This week we have photos from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, including a photo of the endangered chubb fish, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

More patterns in the sand

After yesterday's photo of a crab making patterns in the sand, I thought I would show another photo of patterns in the sand.  I will explain this with a wider view tomorrow.

This week we have photos from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, including a photo of the endangered chubb fish, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Theme Day: The Creative Artisan

Today's world-wide City Daily Photo theme is "The Creative Artisan."  I like to showcase distinctly Costa Rican interpretations of the Daily Photo themes, such as last month's photo of monkeys crossing the street for the theme of pedestrians.

So, today I am stretching the interpretation of the theme by choosing a photo that shows the artisans of mother nature.  These artistic patterns in the sand are a work in progress by tiny crabs that crawl beneath the sand and leave little piles of sand pushed up in their tracks.

This process reminds me of a miniature, abstract version of the Nazca Lines in Peru.

My son, Stuart, has even taken a video showing these little lines as they are being created.  It is not exactly a high drama, action sequence.

This week we have photos from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, including a photo of the endangered chubb fish, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

To see how other City Daily Photo bloggers have interpreted the theme of artisans at work, click on this link.

A ribbon of shells

My photos from a walk along Langosta Beach have heretofore featured broad views of the surf and waves, so I will do something different during the next week.  I often overlook details, unlike my wife who excels in macro shots.

So, I will try to show a few of the details of the beach scene, beginning with this shot of a curving crevice in the sandstone rock that apparently captures and retains the tide water, providing an attractive habitat for some crabs in this ribbon of shells.

This week we have photos from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, including a photo of the endangered chubb fish, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

The end of the walk along the beach

Walking to the south along Langosta Beach brings us to the spot where the Langosta Estuary empties into the ocean.  The lifeguards at the Barcelo Langosta Resort have put up a red warning flag, although there is a swimmer in the mouth of the estuary in the distance who has ignored the warning.

Julie is surveying the scene, and will soon turn around.  At low tide it is easy to walk across the estuary mouth and continue walking for miles along the beach.  At high tide, however, it is best to turn around, as the walk along the shore up into the estuary will soon be blocked by mangrove thickets.

This week we have photos from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, including a photo of the endangered chubb fish, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Langosta view to the south at high tide

This is a view from the beach where our condo is located to the south, with the relentless onslaught of waves massaging the beach.

This is one of those spots where it makes sense to walk around the point in between the waves, although there are paths up through the barrier of trees.

In Costa Rica, all beaches are public property from the high tide mark and for 50 meters inland.  Unless property was grandfathered by being recorded on property records before a law that was passed in the 1970's, it is illegal to build within 200 meters of the high tide mark.  Our condo is within that zone.

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 Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, including a photo of an endangered species, the chubb.

Langosta Beach view to the north

I took this photo with the telephoto lens zoomed down to the point south of our condo on Langosta beach.  We like the solitude of being alone with the waves, sand, trees and sky.

Tomorrow I will show the view in the other direction at high tide.

We have photos of the colorful architecture and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Crashing wave

Rather than looking up the beach, let's zoom in for a straight on view of a crashing wave.   I don't know what it is, but we never tire of the ocean.

We have photos of the colorful architecture and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Foam at high tide on Langosta Beach

This is high tide on Langosta beach, with the foam from the waves nearly covering the sand.  There is still room to walk down the beach, even at high tide, but there are a couple of spots where we time our walk to coincide with the gap between waves.

We have photos of the colorful architecture and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Waves crashing on Langosta Beach

This is a view north up Langosta Beach.  Tomorrow's photo will reveal whether this photo was taken at high tide or low tide.

We have photos of the colorful architecture and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Silhouette of a surfer

I think this surfer must be contemplating, "Shall I go out for more?"

He is standing along the edge of the mouth of the Langosta estuary.  This is high tide, as the estuary is wide.  You can wade across it at low tide, and walk for miles on the beach on the other side.  But at high tide it is can be a challenge.

We have photos of the colorful architecture and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Just waves

Usually I show surfers, dogs, birds, children, fishermen, or other sights along the beach.  Even when no one is around, which is often on quiet Langosta Beach, there is always something to see.

The waves, ocean breeze and roar of the surf are as relentless as the rush hour traffic and the ringing of the phone and tone of incoming emails at work back home in the USA.

I took this photo on the beach just below our Langosta condo.  Julie and I have a USA phone in our condo, and of course we are connected to the office by internet.  But it is nice to take a little break from work and walk on the beach when time permits.

We have photos of the colorful architecture and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

A flock of pelicans

The flock of pelicans I showed yesterday bunched up a bit from the long line in yesterday's photo, so I cropped this little tighter view.

I had only my 200 mm lens this day. I will need to borrow Julie's 300 mm lens and spend more time at the beach on our next trip down to Tamarindo to enjoy one of our condos down there.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of colorful architecture and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua.

A line of pelicans cruising the top of a wave

We enjoy watching the pelicans fly by our Langosta condo.  They seem to use the beach as an aerial highway, as we see them flying up and down the beach often, but rarely see them inland, nor farther out to sea.

Sometimes they fly high, and other times, like this group, they fly at low altitude along the top of the breaking waves.  I suppose this gives them a view of fish to dive down to catch.

We have photos of the wildlife of Africa posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Surf fishing, without poles

In addition to surfers, there are sometimes fishermen on Langosta Beach.  I don't understand how people can fish without a pole or a net, but these men are doing it.

I would think the waves would just cause the line to roll around on the sand, but I guess there must be a chance that the waves carry the line out to deeper water where the fish are.

We have photos of the wildlife of Africa posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Spectators at the beach

I have shown a number of surfers lately on Langosta Beach.  I am not the only one who likes to watch what is going on at the beach.  As you can see form this photo, there are others hanging out at the beach.

Most of these people are probably guests of the Barcelo Langosta Beach Resort, which is very close to our Langosta  beach condo.  

In the days ahead I will show a few photos of other scenes, besides surfers, that can be seen along the beach.

We have photos of the wildlife of Africa posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Wipe out

All good waves must come to an end.  When this wave broke, the surfer found himself airborne in a shower of ocean spray.

Langosta Beach maintains its International Blue Flag certification for clean water.  If you're going to be in this much contact with the water, it should be clean.

Costa Rica takes the cleanliness of its water seriously.  Several years ago environmental authorities shut down a new Spanish-owned hotel in the middle of the tourist season because they discovered that one of the buildings was not hooked up to its sewage treatment system.  The several hundred evicted guests did not complain about the government's action because they realized it was the right thing to do, even if they were inconvenienced.

We have photos of the wildlife of Africa posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Surfing form

This surfer looks to have good form. Do you think there is a wipe out in his future?  Is the sky blue?

We have photos of the wildlife of Africa posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

Surfer

I think I will show a few more photos of the surfers enjoying Langosta beach right by our condo.  Langosta attracts some excellent surfers.

We have photos of the wildlife of Africa posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.

The dog resting. And posing.

After the vigorous workout fetching the stick, the dog was ready to rest in the shade of the trees along the beach and to cool off in the nice ocean breeze.

He also seemed to be quite confident posing for me.

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

The dog fetching the stick

This dog seemed to know that he was the center of attention.  He paused to reposition the way he was bringing back the stick, and perhaps to get a glance behind time to check on his admirers.

I will conclude this series tomorrow.

A comment about efforts to increase tourism from China.  There was an article in the Tico Times this week about the Costa Rican tourism authorities' efforts to increase tourism from China by having an exhibit in a big tourism exposition in China this week.

There are 1.1 million Chinese who visit the USA annually, 243,000 who visit Canada, but only 10,000 Chinese visit Central America.  Those figures suggest that there is certainly the potential for a lot more tourism from China to Costa Rica.

We have photos of Jerash, Jordan posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.  It is the largest excavated Roman city outside of Italy.

The dog overruns the stick

The dog I have shown during the last few days was so exuberant in chasing a stick and was running so fast that he overran the stick and had to pivot and change directions.

We have photos of Jerash, Jordan posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.  It is the largest excavated Roman city outside of Italy.

A fluffy flash of a dog

The dog was calm when returning the stick, as I showed yesterday, but when his owner tossed the stick for the dog to fetch, he was a fluffy flash in joyful concentration to reach the stick as fast as possible.

We have photos of Jerash, Jordan posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.  It is the largest excavated Roman city outside of Italy.

Dog fetching a stick on the beach

This little dog caught my eye because  he was so playful and was clearly enjoying himself on Langosta beach. It was a breezy day, so his long, fluffy hair was blowing as he ran around fetching a stick, as I will show during the next few days.

We have photos of Jerash, Jordan posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.  It is the largest excavated Roman city outside of Italy.

Wipe Out: There is a body in there somewhere.

The next stage of the surfer's wipe out shows a body tumbling in the crashing wave.  I can recognize an arm and hand flying above the wave, but I can't make out where the rest of his body is.

We have photos of Jerash, Jordan posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.  It is the largest excavated Roman city outside of Italy.

Wipe Out

The surfer that I showed yesterday pointed his surfboard too high into the wave, and I caught this photo just as he was about to go airborne.

Of course, he would probably say that he meant to do this.  He perhaps was tired of riding that wave and wanted to cut short the ride and head back out for a better wave.

Tomorrow I will show the next stage of this wipe out.

We have photos of Jerash, Jordan posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week.  It is the largest excavated Roman city outside of Italy.

Surfer

I have shown some photos recently of a surf shop, and photos of surfboards being pulled by a bicycle trailer on the main street in town, so it is probably time to show some more real surfers.

How do you think this surfer will do?  Will he ride this wave to shore or wipe out?  The answer, as ususal, will be shown tomorrow.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of Jerash, Jordan, which is the largest excavated Roman city outside of Italy.

Bicyclist pulling a trailer of surfboards

The bicyclist seemed to do just fine pulling a trailer loaded with surf boards through the main intersection in the middle of Tamarindo.

He is leaving the beach front road, so my guess is that these are the surf boards from a lesson given at the beach, and he is returning the boards to a surf shop, so the customers do not have to carry the boards back.

It must be cheaper for the surf shop to have someone deliver the boards to and from the beach than to pay the higher rent for a beach front location.

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

Bicycle trailer for surf boards

This is somewhat of an odd shot, (taken through the car window while driving).  It is a bicycle pulling a trailer loaded with surfboards.

I guess if you have s surf shop business and you need to get the boards from point A to point B, or maybe you need to borrow some boards from another shop, here is the answer to your transportation needs.

It looks like he is dragging one strap that is supposed to be securing the surfboards.  Let's hope they don't take a spill when rounding a corner.

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

Nightclub

I don't patronize night clubs.  I therefore cannot give you a review of the night clubs in Tamarindo.  Tamarindo is the only town in the area with enough tourists to have a lot of restaurants and a few night clubs.

Every once in a while, I see young women, who before they came apparently read in guide books about night clubs in Tamarindo, walking around at night in high heel and little black dresses.  It looks ridiculous, as most of the streets are not paved, and everyone else is in t-shirts and shorts in the casual atmosphere of a Costa Rican beach town.

This week we are showing photos of the Church of the Holy Seplulchre in Jerusalem 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.

Theme Day: Pedestrians Crossing -- Monkeys

The worldwide Daily Photo theme for today is "Pedestrians."  Here is a uniquely Costa Rican interpretation of the theme -- monkeys as pedestrians crossing the street!

I took this photo only one block from our Langosta beach condo.  This is the main road that runs along the beach.  Although howler monkeys are common in Costa Rica, it is very rare to see them as pedestrians.  This is the only time that I have seen howler monkeys on the ground rather than up in the trees.

The reason this mother and child were on the road is that she could not leap from the tree branches across the road, and the rest of her pack had gone from one side of the road to the other.  This demonstrates why it is important to keep trees in the community even as there is more development in order to maintain the habitat and paths of travel for the monkeys.

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

To see how other City Daily Photo bloggers have interpreted the theme of Pedestrians Crossing, please click on this link.