Christmas in Jaco, Living Landscapes



The sky and ocean were spectacular today.  Both were imposing and yet beautiful, filling my eyes and camera lens.



Bright noon sunlight can work sometimes

We hiked above Jaco to get this view

This is another photo from the "big sky" day

Sun in the rainforest

No, they're not seagulls!

Ruins - but still could be renovated into a beautiful event location.  Imagine lanterns on all the posts.  There's a lower floor and bathrooms.  Also a fountain.  It actually could be used as a home since there are rooms below.



The view from Hotel Catalina in Jaco ~ Sabrina took this photo!



Hotel Catalina in Jaco. I woke up when the tide came in because we were so close to the crashing waves. 

The Wild Side


All of the following live in Costa Rica.  Some of them were in captivity when we took photos, but they seemed content since they were still in their natural habitat.  Many of them we have seen living quite happily in the rainforest along the shoreline.



Josh holds a blue Morpho





Josh holds two cans – or toucans.  Six species are found here.





These crocs are behind a chain link fence, but occassionally their friends in the river swim out into the ocean.  Cuidado!






Crocodile Smile




Crocodiles.  We walked out to the middle of a bridge and Joshua counted 19 of them scramble for a turkey carcass we threw to them.  It's much more fun than making soup.





Fer de Lance.  The most dangerous snake in Costa Rica.  Average Length: 5.2ft  Maximum length: 7.5ft  Abundantly found in Costa Rica and the viper kills an average of 10 people a year here.  Watch out! Even the small snakes are highly venomous and a litter may have as many as 90 offspring.





Two of the 50 species of hummingbirds that live here.  I often watch my favorite bright red hummingbirds look for nectar in the tree outside our house.






So serious.  I love lizards.






Capuchin Monkey





A tiny crab in the rainforest




Jaguars – we saw two of them (behind a chain link fence) playfully fighting and growling. 



Scarlet Macaws - a rare sighting of these shy parrots at Playa Hermosa.  They mate for life and live up to 70 years.  Their long tail forms a stately and unmistakable silhouette as they fly.



If you can find a sloth, they are easy to photograph because they move so slowly.  I wanted to video this guy move from one tree to another until I realized I would use up my entire memory card and it would be really boring footage.



White nosed coati – but you can't see his nose in this photo.  It’s in the same family as the racoon but has a long snout and tail.