This fellow is a JC lizard from Costa Rica. Like Peggy and me, he likes to hang out in interesting places.
Today marks the beginning of a new series for me: Using Wednesdays for photo essays. When you hang out with cameras in lots of interesting and often beautiful places, as Peggy and I do, you end up with a few photos. Right? Our digital collection is approaching 90,000! What in the heck do you do with all of those photos? I have mainly used ours to illustrate blogs. Usually that involves looking at a hundred or so photos and reducing them down to 20 or 30. I’ve decided to use a few more by doing a “Photo Essay Wednesday.” It will be light on writing and heavy on photography. I’ll simply scroll through our photos, pick out an interesting subject, and download the photos onto WordPress. Voila!
It has an added advantage of being quick, which my more writing-focused posts aren’t. Given that I am now well into my next book, It’s 4 AM and a Bear Is Standing on Top of Me, I need to free up all the writing time I can.
My first photo essay is based on a trip Peggy and I made to Costa Rica in 2012. I blogged about it at the time but I am going to assume that most of you weren’t reading my posts then. Grin. Without further ado…
Costa Rica is a beautiful country that includes mountains and seashores on both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Peggy and I spent time in both settings.Monteverde.Much of the country is covered in rainforest.Which includes strangler figs like this. I think Tarzan would be excited.Peggy spent a lot of time with binoculars looking for monkeys. We were up on a high walkway that perched above the rainforest when I took this photo.This was the view down. We were fascinated with how this light green tree stood out in a jungle of dark trees.We also visited a coffee plantation where Peggy was invited up to learn how to be a coffee taster. Sip and spit.As you might expect in the tropics, plant life was both interesting and impressive, as with this daisy like flower.Know what this is? It’s the head of an opening fern.And how about this. It’s a want-to-be bunch of bananas waiting to grow up.On a jungle night hike we found this colorful fungus…And these strange ants guarding their perch. I was careful to keep my fingers at a distance.One afternoon, a family of coatis stopped by for a visit. Their tails were quite impressive.We rented a canoe and paddled into the jungle on the Caribbean coast. Crocodiles lurked in the shadows along the way.While we enjoyed all of the areas we visited, my favorite was Corcovado.This was our home.One day we looked out and saw a boa constrictor slithering across our lawn. Of course it was a photo op we couldn’t pass up. The boa wasn’t very happy with me chasing him down and decided to coil up. 🙂Down on the beach we discovered a treasure trove of skulls some naturalist had gathered.I am always fascinated by carvings and traditional art, so I conclude my first photo essay with three. This guy reminded me of what we found lurking along the Caribbean Coast.A sufficiently scary mask.A Mayan sculpture and someone you would not like to meet on a dark night. That does it for my first Wednesday Photo Essay. Who knows where we will be next Wednesday. I don’t.
NEXT POSTS: 1) Clickety Clack 3. We travel home from Washington DC, to Chicago, to LA and back to Sacramento on Amtrak. 2) A preview of Peggy and my travel plans and blogs for 2020.
Those ants are lined up with almost military precision. Odd, to be sure. My favorite photos are the pair just below the family of coatis. There’s something about palms bending over a beach that’s flat appealing, and the variety of greens is especially nice.
We love those type of beaches, too, Linda. And it was a great walking beach. The ants were weird. I caught the photo because I heard something moving around in the brush and was shining my flashlight around. A lucky find. Never did find the animal hiding out in the brush. –Curt
He got off rapidly, AC, when I screamed. 🙂 Even faster than I got out of my sleeping bag! Glad you enjoyed Costa Rica. It will be somewhere else next Wednesday! Thanks. –Curt
My first book, “The Bush Devil Ate Sam,” is the story of my Peace Corps experience in West Africa, Anne. I feature it on my blog site and it is available on Amazon. I included a section on modern Liberia that now needs a serious update. The sections on what led me to join the Peace Corps (think Berkeley of the 60s and the Vietnam War) will remain the same. I self-published the book. My long hike will be the conclusion of my backpacking book, the one with the bear title. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the photo essay. My objective is to make it a Wednesday regular. Thanks. –Curt
What a great idea: Photo Wednesdays! Looking forward to all of them. In this one, I especially love the unfurling fronds of the fern. Reminds me of eating fiddleheads in Maine! Wishing you all the best!
Fiddleheads, exactly! I was fascinated with them and have since seen many other ferns behaving in the same way.
One of my chores this evening will be to scroll through my photos and see what I feature next. It’s kind of like a trip down memory lane, Rusha. 🙂 –Curt
Peggy and I will be stopping there briefly on a Panama Canal cruise we are going on next month, Dave. I’d like to go back for a couple of weeks again, or months. And the ants were strange. I was lucky to get the shot. –Curt
A great idea for a regular feature of your 90,000+ photos! These are wonderful and give such an exotic feel for the country. btw I love the title of your latest book … it’s just calling to be opened up and read … what happened next!😀
Odds are, I will never run out. Especially given the fact that I just keep on taking the things. I think it was over 300 in Bandon alone!
My thoughts on the book title as well, Annika. At least my hope. 🙂 –Curt
Wandering through Time and Place 
Nice work. Thanks.
Appreciated! –Curt
Those ants are lined up with almost military precision. Odd, to be sure. My favorite photos are the pair just below the family of coatis. There’s something about palms bending over a beach that’s flat appealing, and the variety of greens is especially nice.
We love those type of beaches, too, Linda. And it was a great walking beach. The ants were weird. I caught the photo because I heard something moving around in the brush and was shining my flashlight around. A lucky find. Never did find the animal hiding out in the brush. –Curt
It’s a lot prettier than I’ve always pictured.
It’s gorgeous, G. And not that far away from Florida. 🙂 –Curt
Thanks for the tour. I’ve been to Costa Rica once, but would love to see more.
Our trip was marvelous in that it gave us a great overview, Peggy. But like you, I am eager to get back. You are welcome! –Curt
Dang!!!!! Gorgeous!
Grin. Yes indeed, MB. Peggy and I have a brief stopover on a Panama Canal cruise we are doing in March. Thanks. –Curt
Loved the line-up of ants. At first thought it was an expensive piece of jewellery.
Weren’t they interesting, Gerard. I haven’t the foggiest idea what they were up to, other than guarding their territory. Thanks. –Curt
A wonderful vicarious visit, thank you two. Hope the bear gest off your chest now and again to allow for food and blogging 😉
He got off rapidly, AC, when I screamed. 🙂 Even faster than I got out of my sleeping bag! Glad you enjoyed Costa Rica. It will be somewhere else next Wednesday! Thanks. –Curt
What gorgeous shots! And I love the title of your second book- what’s the status of the first one? (That’s the chronicle of your long hike, correct?)
My first book, “The Bush Devil Ate Sam,” is the story of my Peace Corps experience in West Africa, Anne. I feature it on my blog site and it is available on Amazon. I included a section on modern Liberia that now needs a serious update. The sections on what led me to join the Peace Corps (think Berkeley of the 60s and the Vietnam War) will remain the same. I self-published the book. My long hike will be the conclusion of my backpacking book, the one with the bear title. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the photo essay. My objective is to make it a Wednesday regular. Thanks. –Curt
Oh neat! I suppose, I usually read through the reader, and haven’t gone to your actual site. I’ll have to check it out…
Please do. 🙂
thanks for this visit to the tropics!
My pleasure.
What a great idea: Photo Wednesdays! Looking forward to all of them. In this one, I especially love the unfurling fronds of the fern. Reminds me of eating fiddleheads in Maine! Wishing you all the best!
Fiddleheads, exactly! I was fascinated with them and have since seen many other ferns behaving in the same way.
One of my chores this evening will be to scroll through my photos and see what I feature next. It’s kind of like a trip down memory lane, Rusha. 🙂 –Curt
Costa Rica should be on everyone’s bucket list. I’ve enjoyed a couple trips there, and wouldn’t rule out another. That ant shot is cool – and unique.
Peggy and I will be stopping there briefly on a Panama Canal cruise we are going on next month, Dave. I’d like to go back for a couple of weeks again, or months. And the ants were strange. I was lucky to get the shot. –Curt
A great idea for a regular feature of your 90,000+ photos! These are wonderful and give such an exotic feel for the country. btw I love the title of your latest book … it’s just calling to be opened up and read … what happened next!😀
Odds are, I will never run out. Especially given the fact that I just keep on taking the things. I think it was over 300 in Bandon alone!
My thoughts on the book title as well, Annika. At least my hope. 🙂 –Curt