 project. As you can see in this photo, Playa Flamingo is not a large place. There would not be a lot for cruise ship visitors to do right in Playa Flamindo, although they could go out and make the beach very crowded, depending on the size of the cruise ship.
It is more likely that cruise ships would generate lots of business for people who run excursions, as the cruise ship tourists would probably buy shore excursion packages for zip lines, wildlife river trips, etc. Tamarindo would be the nearest town with shopping and other resources that cruise ship visitors frequent. I am sure that the business would be welcomed by many, although my impression of towns that are flooded with cruise ship visitors is that they often have lots of shops selling t-shirts and trinkets, and do not necessarily bring more desirable amenities.
This week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site, we are showing photos of Peru, including photos from an area that is very remote.
Playa Flamingo is a little farther up the beach from Brasilito, about 20 minutes from Tamairndo. Flamingo is more developed than Brasilito, but a lot less developed than Tamarindo.
Flamingo has a nice, protected bay, as you can see in this photo. There are lots of fishing boats moored there. There was even a proposal to build a pier to accommodate cruise ships.
Tomorrow, I will show you more of FLamingo and tell you what happened to the cruise ship terminal development.
Although I think that Tamarindo beach is near-perfect, there are lots of other beaches in the area. I will give you a tour of a couple of them during the next couple of weeks.
This is the beach at Brasilito, which is only about 15 minutes north of Tamarindo. Brasilito is a very small town with a few guest houses or small lodges, restaurants and shops. It is not developed like Tamarindo and still has the feel of a Costa Rican beach town, rather than a resort town with hotels and condos that cater primarily to foreigners.
This is the same sunset that I showed yesterday, a little later as the sun started its drop into the ocean. Even though there was a marine layer of clouds, the sun penetrated the soft layer of clouds to bathe the beach with a golden glow and to paint the sky.
Yesterday I showed a rather muted sunsel, whose primary interest was in the shape and outline of the clouds. This is a more classic sunset photo, showing the fishing boats in Tamarindo Bay. This is same sunset that I showed yesterday, but is just earlier in the sunset's descent into the ocean.
This week we are showing photos of Peru, including some rather remote areas, on our www.VivalaVoyage.com. You may click on the icon a the left to reach that website.
Usually the sunsets that I show have fiery red colors. Here is a sunset from the balcony of our Langosta beach condo on a very cloudy day, with muted colors. Even on cloudy days, there is the potential for sunsets that have certain character and flair, courtesy of the clouds.
Please take a look at the photos of Peru that we are posting this week on ww.wVivalaVoyagecom. A link is at the left.
This is a ginger flower in bloom, similar to yesterday's pink ginger bud.
Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our travel photo site, VivalaVoyage.com. This week we are posting some photos of Peru. Coe take a look by clicking on the link at the left.
We have lots of tropical flowers in Costa Rica Here is a pink ginger bud getting ready to bloom.
If you hurt your back while surfing, there is a chiropractor in Tamarindo. Here is her office. I think I would feel better just walking through her front gate and relaxing amidst this lush tropical vegetation.
Her back yard is even better than the front yard. Right behind this home/office is the beach.
If you don't need a chiropractor but would like someone to massage your back, there are several day spas in Tamarindo where therapeutic massages are available for about half the price of what you would pay for a massage in the USA. In fact, there is one that I have seen advertised for sale on the Century 21 website, so if there is anyone out there experienced in the spa business who wants to live in a little beach resort town, there is an opportunity for you in Tamarindo.
This week we are showing photos of the children and animals of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.
This is the lobby of the Cala Luna Resort. This is typical of the open air lobbies of the hotels and restaurants in the area.
The Cala Luna is not right on the beach, but it is a short 1 or 2 minute walk on a path get to the beach. The accommodations at the resort are individual bungaloes, which are also available for purchase. It is in Langosta, a quiet, upscale residential area of Tamarindo, about 2 blocks from our Langosta condo.
Sushi is not what I would have expected to eat in a Costa Rican beach town, but there are several restaurants in Tamarindo that serve sushi, including the Cala Luna Resort.
One of the things that is nice about Costa Rica is that Americans and Canadians can eat the food and drink the water, even the tap water, without problems.
There are very few countries that are considered the developing world where I would eat sushi. In Tamarindo, I eat the full range of food that I would eat back in the USA.
Probably the sickest that my wife has ever been was after she ate a shrimp and avacado salad at a roadside cafe in a remote area, with no town around several hours south of Lima, Peru. She fortunately she recovered just in time for our departure to go into a remote area of the Amazon, as we did not want to go into a remote area while she was very ill.
This is a view of approximately the same scene as yesterday. The Cala Luna Resort serves dinner at poolside.
The bright light by the bar area across the pool from the restaurant is a TV set. It was on because there was an important football (soccer) game at the time. The team from Liberia, which is the capital of the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica where Tamarindo is located, was playing in a crucial game in the capital of San Jose. We ate in the lounge over by the bar. Tomorrow I will show you what we had for dinner.
The pool provides an inviting backdrop for lunch at the Cala Luna Resort. Most of the tables are covered, but some are out by the pool. At the far end of the pool is the bar and lounge. At night, you can eat dinner either at the restaurant on the side of the pool shown here, or over at the bar.
This is a walkway and driveway on the grounds of the Cala Luna Resort, which is about two blocks from our Langosta Beach condo. We walk down this lane to go to and from the resort for lunch or dinner. The driveways on each side of the lane lead to bungalows where guests stay.
We like having hotels and resorts nearby, as they provide very good dining choices and a variety of venues. The grounds of the Cala Luna are a lush tropical oasis, as you can see from this photo.
Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of children and animals in Tanzania.
This is a close view of the squirrel that I showed yesterday. The reason I think this is a variegated squirrel rather than a red squirrel is that his reddish color is on his belly, and red squirrels most widely have red tails and backs, which is the opposite of his coloration.
This squirrel was in a small tree about two blocks from our Langosta condo when we were walking back from lunch at the nearby Cala Luna Resort.
On our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week we are showing photos from a recent visit of mine to the Hotel Del Coronado in Coronado, California. Come take a look at the Victorian charm and ideal beach weather.
There are two types of squirrels in Costa Rica, the red-tailed squirrel and the variegated squirrel, which means that they come in a variety of colors. In Spanish, they are known as ardilla.
This is a closer view of the flowering bush that I showed yesterday. The Ixora flowers are only 4 cm (1.5 inches) long. They have four petals and are symmetrical.
I would like to share with you some news from Costa Rica. Last Saturday was the inauguration of the first woman President in the country's history, Laura Chinchilla. She won the election last year in a landslide. She was Vice President under the outgoing President Oscar Arias. Dr. Arias finished a second successful term as President, as he was also President in the 1980's, when he won the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering a peace in Nicaragua.
Presidenta Chincilla is devoted to public service, as she is the daughter of a high government minister. She is a centrist. She is not a crusader on what some people consider to be women's social issues. She emphasizes economic issues and measures to combat crime, even though crime is not a particular problem.
This flowering shrub, ranging from one-half the 3 meters high