Shadow Shot Sunday 83 - Christmas Canoes in Costa Rica....

This time last year I was travelling and spending Christmas in Costa Rica with my sister. We were staying in the heart of the rainforest way down south over the festive season, and decided to escape to the beach for a few hours on Christmas Day in the Piedras Blancas National Park. A group of canoeists moored close to us for a while taking a break, and I was able to get this calm, tranquil shot. Happy Christmas everyone in the blogosphere, and all the very best for New Year 2011. Small Fish is on a magical odyssey all around the North of Mexico, starting in the wild west frontier town of Durango in the desert - and will be posting again at the end of 2010. For other shadow shots this week, don't forget to check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here. Enjoy!!

Shadow Shot Sunday 51 - Monteverde CR

Here is a shadow shot quiz for you this week to see if you can work out the object that is throwing the shadows in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Here is a little more of the top....

Have you managed to figure it out yet?? Well here are the delightful little creatures who alight and visit, sporting such gorgeous names as Violet Sabrewing and Crowned Brilliant.....

It is one of the humming bird feeders at the garden near the Santa Elena Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica....

Costa Rica is the perfect travel destination for "twitchers" of any persuasion, and the tropical cloud forests of Monteverde are home to an astonishing array of species including the extremely shy and elusive Quetzal Resplendent. This bird is both a powerful symbol of freedom as it always dies in captivity and thus can only be observed in its natural habitat, plus a powerful symbol of Aztec and Mayan culture as ceremonial head dresses were made from the bird's incredibly long tail feathers (which can be regrown.) Here is a very plump, puffed up male Quetzal gorging himself on wild avocado fruits....

To join in the fun of weekly shadowhunting check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here. You may become an addict!!

Shadow Shot Sunday 49 - Costa Rica

Back in the beautiful rainforests of Costa Rica this week with these leaf shadows.....

All the subtle greens of the canopy are so stunningly rich and vivid, but I also like this little, more delicate shadow pattern I found nearer the forest floor...

For more shadowplay check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here. Enjoy!

Shadow Shot Sunday 44 - Sarchi, Costa Rica

Wandering the back streets of Sarchi,Costa Rica, I stumbled across this ox cart workshop "Taller Eloy Alfaro e Hijos" responsible for creating the largest coffee cart in the world (see previous post) and so of course I took a look around...

The workshop was deserted but full of lots of ancient wheels, dusty corners and rusty tools all bathed in sunmotes and shadows....

Outside were the finished carts all lined up and ready to go - such a contrast to the dusty, abandoned workshop with their bright colours and patterns...

I will leave you with a final shot of that largest coffee cart in the world as testament to the exquisite craftsmanship of this particular Sarchi workshop....

For more shadowplay from around the world click here for Shadow Shot Sunday.

Costa Rican Coffee Carts......

The beautifully patterned and painted old ox carts which used to transport coffee throughout Costa Rica are now the country's strongest artistic symbol of craftmanship. Here is the biggest ox cart in the world located at Sarchi home to Costa Rica's coffee cart workshops..

The bold patterns and painted designs are a little reminiscent of Romany style art...

Some older carts incorporate beautiful paintings of local birds such as toucans, macaws, and even the elusive quetzal resplendent in the design.....

But most of the carts fashioned in Sarchi today stick to the original resplendent kaleidoscopic circular patterns in a variety of dizzying colours.....

As you can see it was hard to stop taking photgraphs of these gorgeous designs which unfortunately are no longer a feature of daily life in Costa Rica except on more remote coffee fincas and haciendas....

Sarchi is a lovely day trip from San Jose as it is only 45 minutes North of the Capital and Sunday is a good choice as many things are closed in San Jose at the weekend. For other gorgeous glimpses around the world this week check out the My World Tuesday postings by clicking here. Enjoy!!

Shadow Shot Sunday 42 - Sloth-Spotting in Costa Rica...

Manuel Antonio National Park is a beautiful place in Costa Rica where the rainforest meets the sea with pristine beaches and crystalline waters. It is also home to a wide range of birds, insects, and wild life from bats to butterflies, tarantulas to howlers, and capuchins to sloths. Here on the beach everyone is catching a glimpse of a sloth through the guide's swarovski scope.....

Sloths sleep for up to 19 hours a day and descend from the tree just once a week for a bathroom visit. They look weighty and portly, but in fact, most of this is shaggy fur, and they actually only weigh in at 6kg on average. They have 4 stomachs and regurgitate food like a cow with everything being done in slow motion including mating. They can live up to 30 years, and judging by the smile on this sloth's face, it must be a wonderful lifestyle - probably the origin of Costa Rica's famous catchphrase "Pura Vida"....

A "Pura Vida" lifestyle that tourists and visitors find no trouble in quickly imitating and equally enjoying.......

For more fun with shadows check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here....

Costa Rica - Manuel Antonio National Park...

Where the rainforest meets the sea, Manuel Antonio National Park is a pristine place with white sand beaches, dense green forest, and crystalline blue waters..

The skies are vast and infinite, and the sunsets beautiful to watch...
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And don't forget that there are plenty of other visitors to the beaches, in addition to the tourists, who are certainly into people-watching!! ...and not always terribly impressed or entertained by what they see!!

Manuel Antonio is just 3 hours from San Jose and only 35 USD by shuttle bus Interbus or GrayLine. Be sure to stay in Manuel Antonio village rather than the base town Quepos, as then you are only 5 minutes from both the beach and the entrance to the National Park.

Esquinas Rainforest Lodge - A Costa Rican Christmas with the Austrians...

Welcome to Esquinas Rainforest Lodge deep in the Piedras Blancas National Park near Golfito in the South of Costa Rica. It was opened in 1994 by the organisation "Rainforest of the Austrians" who are also responsible for setting up the National Park and thus protecting 70% of the rainforest in this area of the country.... and what beautiful rainforest it is too....

The tranquil and peaceful setting is a beautiful habitat for flowers...

Delicate and fragile wild orchids and violets abound...

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.and it is possible to observe some beautiful toucans and scarlet macaws in the wild (of course the toucan turned up in the tree right outside our cabin after we had hiked for three hours through the rainforest looking for him!!)

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..and wildlife of course - here is an iguana, red-eyed tree frogs (caught mating) and a sinister looking caiman emerging from the dark depths..

At the lodge there is also a biological research station for scientists and the lodge itself is a model of eco-sustainability for which it has received a three leaf rating amongst Costa Rican hotels. It has a special relationship with the local village as a significant percentage of profits are invested in La Gamba and recently a school, health clinic and cultural centre have all been funded. All employees at the lodge are from La Gamba as are the local guides. The lodge offers an array of tours from kayaking and mountain biking to guided hikes and horse-riding with such beautiful destinations as this nearby waterfall "El Chorro".......

You are served three meals today which are excellent and all derived from local produce, ingredients and juices. On Christmas Day all the guests were invited to make tamales with the kitchen staff which proved to be a very enjoyable (and fortunately edible) experience.....

All in all it was a very special place to spend Christmas 2009, and if you are interested in the lodge then go to http://www.esquinaslodge.com/ and the founding organisation go to http://www.regenwald.at/ for more information. Do remember though that you are going to a RAIN forest and even in the dry season that means RAIN - everyday!! For more gorgeous glimpses on the world check out My World Tuesday postings by clicking here. Enjoy!!

Shadow Shot Sunday 41 - In the Cloudforests of Costa Rica

High up on the elevated walkways and hanging bridges above the canopy of the cloud forests in Monteverde, Costa Rica, I was keeping my eyes peeled for the very elusive and shy Quetzal Resplendent, rare bird of Mayan myth and legend, that can only be spotted in the wild as it cannot survive in captivity. Sweeping my eyes through the trees, I spotted this shadow instead of my sister and I, imprinted on the dense green of the forest.... Costa Rica is a wonderful country rich in diverse habitats from rainforest to beaches, and cloudforests to volcanoes where wildlife and birds can be observed at very close quarters; a place for communing and connecting with Nature at its best...

And yes, the elusive quetzal turned up right on cue the following day to fully confirm my newfound "twitcher" status. For more fun with shadows check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here.....Have fun!!

Happy New Year 2010 : Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

This is the spot where I welcomed 2010 in the infinity pool under a full moon overlooking Arenal Volcano - all in all a pretty special place to celebrate the advent of a new decade. It certainly was special because after this one sighting, the volcano was shrouded in mist, fog, and rain - and we never saw it again!! Instead we had to be content observing all the beautiful birds which alighted on the lodge balcony - the blue gray tanagers, the scarlet-rumped tanagers, the pacific olive tanagers, and the kiskadees ......

There were also orioles, banaquits, crimson-collared tanagers, wrens, and two non-native hyacinth macaws who all came avisiting. Consequently, I became quite the "twitcher" in Costa Rica..

For more windows on the world click here for My World Tuesday Postings. Where did you have the good fortune to welcome in 2010??