Chachagua Gardens

The grounds of the Chachagua Rainforest Hotel were beautiful with plenty of great photo opportunities.  Of course, heliconias are one of my favorite things to photograph because of the repetition and color.  When George saw this photo he said, "That photo is so you" and I had to agree.

The photo below is of some crazy prop roots on an unidentified type of palm tree.  Supposedly one kind of palm tree (Socratea exhorrhiza) can actually move its position by throwing out prop roots in the direction it wants to go and has thus earned the name "walking palm." Although this has not been scientifically proven, I like to imagine these trees slowly moving in a millipede-like fashion to find a nice sunny spot in the rainforest.

The "red" bananas below were right outside our cabina.  Costa Rica has many kinds of bananas that are not available to us in the states because they spoil quickly and are hard to transport, but boy are they tasty!  My favorite are called "quadradas" (due to their squarish shape) and they are extra sweet and delicioso!  The other photos were just random things that caught my eye.

Chachagua Rainforest Hotel - Costa Rica

George, my Dad and I just returned from a great trip driving around the wilds of Costa Rica.  Our first stop was Chachagua Rainforest Hotel.  It wasn't a bad drive from San Jose but the road up to the hotel is a bit of an adventure if you have never driven the rocky gravel roads of Latin America.  I love that we had to drive through a stream to get to our room!  The first thing we did after checking in was wander over to the beautiful open-air restaurant and order a round of drinks.  I was quite pleased when my strawberry, mango, banana "batido" showed up with this straw topper.  Little things can make a girl so happy.

I was also very pleased with our cabin.  We stayed in #202 and although I didn't see all the cabins I felt that we had the best one on the property.  We were the closest cabin to the stream and you could sit on the porch and watch birds or just lay in the hammock.  I also thought the room was very clean and tastefully appointed (bird art - you can't get better than that!). 

After settling in we took a hike around the property.  It is truly an oasis and was a nice introduction to Costa Rica.  If you visit this hotel I recommend at least a day just to hang out on the property and wander the grounds.

The short trail leads back to the reception desk and there are two traditionally decorated oxcarts around the back side of the building. Of course you know I am crazy-drawn to these decorations.  Another thing we found in the reception building was a book called "1000 Places to See Before You Die" and there is a nice write-up of Chachagua Rainforest Hotel.  Now I only have 999 things to do!

January - Pods and Puddles

I don't usually bring my camera when I walk but today I did and boy was I rewarded!  Sometimes January can feel so drab and soggy that I don't feel like leaving the house.  But once I get outside I always feel better and just look at what I saw today!  Amazing scenes abound out there!  So next time you have the winter blues go foraging for seed pods and puddles.  It brightened my day and I hope yours too.  Happy January everyone!

I love you bananas!

The week before Christmas I was walking from the kitchen to the dining room when I spied these bananas.  That Georgie o' mine is so sweet sometimes (OK, he is sweet all the time, but this was extra nice.)  It made me laugh and smile and feel so lucky to live with this funny, clever boy.  I asked him how he did it and he said he just wrote on them with a pen with the tip pushed in...any pointed object will do.  So next time you have bananas in the house surprise your sweetie with a banana message.  It will make their day!