Rhythm of Life

Sol........Mas Sol......... Mucho Mas Sol .  Since our arrival on December 28 the sun ( sol ) has shone everyday and I am enjoying the sol but I do wish it would rain just enough to help the plants since we are truly in a very DRY season .  Mi esposa is muy contento though.........with the dry weather there are very few mosquitos so no bites .  I do believe we have the mosquitos under control for this month .

We took a trip on Monday to Rio Claro and as always a trip from Zancudo means one of two things.........a boat ride or a very long bus ride just to get the first leg of your journey under way.  So , we opted for the boat ride to Golfito and then a taxi ride to Rio Claro to " The Paradise Tropical Garden " , and a tour by Robert Beatham who has lived here since 1964 , he was originally from Maine .

Robert Beatham and the giant Fan Palm

An amazing 28 hectares of property he has worked and groomed into a beautiful garden that provides us inspiration for our property on a much smaller scale .

Cj and Sherry at Paradise Tropical Garden, Rio Claro

Mi esposa has always said I have a Grande Cabeza ( Big Head ) but I disagree and I have the proof

Small Head Big Frond

Enough......as I want to share some other pictures of the gardens

Shampoo Ginger

The ginger in the photo above can be used to wash your hands or hair  by simply cutting off the blossom and turning it upside down the liquid just pours out.........quite amazing and so beautiful .

Upright Heleconia

And I could go on an attach the 50 other pictures we took of the numerous varities of heleconia , gingers , torch gingers , and palms of all varieties .  The most amazing part of our trip to visit Robert was his knowledge of the plants he grows and how many of these plants are used as medical remedies to fight and control hypertension , diabetes , cancer and skin conditions .  Please take some time and check out this website I have attached .  I look forward to spending time volunteering at " The Paradise Tropical Garden " to learn more about the native Costa Rican Tropical plants from Robert Beatham .
http://paradise-garden.tripod.com/
                                                         

As the weeks have passed here at our Casa here on Playa Zancudo..........we are at WAR.......Si........WAR with the monos .

1 of the 30 Caupuchin monkeys raiding our bird feeder

Oh yes.........if you think squirrels are good at eating up everything you try to feed your birds......then let me introduce you to the.............Bottomles Pit of the Thieving Banana Muncher........aka , the cute little white faced CAPUCHIN.........just don't stand under the tree looking up because those little *#$@#* will piss on you.......Oh YES they will .  A possible solution to our war.........Give them the Casa and a large supply of  bananas and we go off and live in the jungle .  I must admit they are quite cute and very entertaining to watch but when it comes to getting a banana or 20 bananas they can be aggressive .  We stopped feeding them at the back of our yard at the jungles edge and forgot that we have numerous fruit trees on our property so they are just enjoying the buffet of gauvas , cacao , carambola, water apples and some type of long dark pods ( name unknown ) with a licorce tasting seed in them .  But if they even think once about eating our gwanabana ( we have 6 on the tree now ) which can cost $10 to $20 dollars for each piece of fruit.......we are having monkey stew every noches Martes  ( Tuesday night ) .

It seems our social calender stays somewhat full here on Playa Zancudo .  This past Friday we had great guests for diner and wonderful conversation and laughter especially when the large frog leaped from above onto our guest and onto the side of the sofa without histeria .  The frog was cute with big brown eyes........hey we are living outside inside , it is the jungle .  Our guests / friends have done an awesome job getting the library up and running here in Zancudo for the children and adults so if you have time please take a minute and check out all they have accomplished with Biblioteca de Zancudo , Thank you Susan and George . 
http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-0466-4bc6-8a65?ln

Life here is wonderful , the food , the people , the beauty of the jungle and playa and most of all the simplicity..............just like our big fish hanging on our porch

My Rooster Fish from a Palm Frond

 

Fresh Heleconia and Ginger from the jungle in our Bamboo Vase

Any least not forget mi esposas wildlife photo of the week

 Sherry named  her discovery " SPOT "

Life continues here in paradise.........no regrets and a lifetime to enjoy our tropical Casa.........Pura Vida