Saturday Morning....

We were having coffee...  waiting for the water to come on this morning...  and heard some strange noise coming from the valley below us.  Sounds a bit like dogs...  but not really.  We suspected we were hearing the Howler Monkeys.  I came inside and Googled it, getting a audio/video of their sound.  Sure enough...  that's what we heard.  That was around 6 am this morning...  I've read that they're night critters, so maybe they were just welcoming a new day.

I forgot to buy scouring powder at the grocery the other day, and we kind of salvaged a couple of chairs from the unoccupied condo next door that we could use on the back patio if we had towels or something to cover them.  So, after breakfast, it was off to Coco....

 This herd of cattle live just down the road...  they came over to the fence to greet us as we passed by.  Brahman cattle are popular in Mexico, and Central and South America.  They can withstand the heat better than breeds we are used to in the US.

 Trees and flowers in bloom everywhere!  And just look what's in the top, center photo... Kudzu!

If you've every traveled in the South (USA) you'll quickly recognize that vine that takes over everything!

We walked down to Playa del Coco....  watched gulls, and terns, and frigates....  I'm not quick enough to get photos of most of them...  I don't take my Leica on these walks, and my Canon doesn't have view finder...  which I need most of the time.

We did see these Black Vultures...  

They were having a good time checking out the dumpsters... 

I think they scored because there was trash everywhere and these guys weren't in any hurry to leave when we walked by.

Just past that area, to leave the beach and head towards the soccer field, you have to cross a wide creek.  I just can't help myself...  I think...

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Hopefully, when we have to make a decision further down the road, we all will have a more substantial bridge to cross...  or else, like me on this one...  do a lot of fancy footwork and hang on tight.

We were kind of early walking into town, so while there were lots of folks out and about, it wasn't nearly as populated as it will be as the day goes on.

Lots of souvenir shops...

All kinds of transportation...

Lots of restaurants, art galleries, and just about anything you want.

Except...  I didn't bring any hummingbird feeders with me...  and they just aren't to be had here.  We tried all the hardware stores, grocery stores, "Wal-mart"-type stores...  even a veterinarian office.  Nope...  not here.  Maybe we'll go into Liberia (2nd largest city in Costa Rica) sometime and I'll find one there.

We need some "throws" for those chairs and think these might be okay...

But we didn't price them, and they may cost way over what we'd spend.

But it might be fun to sit around on lots of money.

Remember that Christmas Tree that I showed in a previous blog?

I'm not the only one who thought those were big clover leafs... or even flowers...  at first glance.

Turns out "Kolbi" is one of the telephone systems here...  like Verizon or AT&T.  I guess that little frog is their logo...  maybe they sponsored that tree, I don't know.

There are lots of fruit and vegetable stands...

I have to check them all out...  

Today we came across a new fruit (to us)...

This is a lychee ...  you may have bought lychee nuts at an Oriental market.  Well, those spiny fruits are easy to open..  inside is a white ball that looks an awful lot like a big peeled grape.  It even tastes a bit like a very flavorful grape.  And there is a seed inside...  one big one that is in the center of the pulp.  We bought a half kilo to see if we'd like them.  Yep!  Pretty good!

We got home just before noon.  My pedometer recorded over 6 miles walked.  Of course we took the long way...  down to the beach and into several places along the main street.  No monkeys today, but lots of folks around...  walking, bicycling, motorbikes, cars, golf carts, ATVs...  it's Saturday...  a time to get out and enjoy life.

That's All For Today!