Planet of the Apes via New York City
Life is short. When we travel we have never have enough time for gladdening the hearts of those we meet. We must make haste to be kinder.
Henri Frederic Amiel
The Osa Peninsula
On the way to San Juan in Costa Rica I got to stop in the Big Apple. New York is a city I like immensely. The hit as you arrive from the airport is like no other. Something to do with the saturation of the mind by New York movies.
I stayed in New Jersey which is pretty interesting in itself. Became one of the 'bridge and tunnel' crowd for a week. In late November NY is freezing and the contrast with Costa Rica was just funny. There they were in the hot, wet, green season.
After a nerve-wracking TAP flight out of JFK the tropics was only five hours away. At San Juan airport a jeep awaited. Somewhere. After a cabal of chatter the keys arrived. Only later did it become clear that there was no suspension. Pity because a 4WD was quite important. It was a 5 hour drive along a plain, over a mountain range, through cloud forest and into the remoter jungle parts of Costa Rica near the Pacific Ocean. The last 100 km was on unmetalled roads made up of thick mud, deep potholes and seven small rivers. Occasionally the road simply disappeared. My spine took a fearful battering.
Apparently the Osa Peninsula is the most bio-diverse location on the planet.
And that's how it looked
Scarlet Macaw hiding in an almond tree
These birds were 3 feet long and squabbled like children on the kitchen roof.
They only live in almond trees. Seeing them is a kind of magic.
A Cappuccino Monkey outside the kitchen window
Listening to:
Danny Elfman: Planet of the Apes theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsmAGSZBTsM
Artwork by Carlos Magno
An anteater.
This little guy didn't care whether we were there or not.
They walk in slow motion.
This eagle waited outside the kitchen window every morning.
If you like tea with your travel visit GuerillaZ's sister site Singing Bird Tea:
The Osa Peninsula is the last habitat of the endangered Squirrel Monkey.
I'm always amazed that monkeys don't have bananas in their diet.
But mere sight of
one (a banana) through a furlong of undergrowth drives them
insane. This works
with the Howler monkey, the Squirrel monkey, the huge Brown
monkey and the
Cappuccino monkey. Each morning a family of Howlers passed
overhead.
And back in the late afternoon.
Howler Monkeys sound like this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv1hgtWf1ms
The Brown Spider Monkey
Fruit from the Garden
Fruit gathered from the garden.
Garden after rain and the Pacific Ocean
Sweet Costa Rican girl and her mother help cook dinner.
On the way back from Costa Rica we stopped in New York City. Doing
this made
for an interesting contrast since Costa Rica is one of the
happiest places on the
planet whereas the US supposedly, ranks much lower down the list. Happiness here
involves measurement of ecological footprint, life satisfaction
and life expectancy.
Costa Rica as no.5 in the world rankings, the UK at around 100,
the US at
150. Zimbabwe bottomed out at 178 with Vanuatu at no. 1. All of it food for thought.
See the New Economics Foundation (NEF) website for specific data.
New York City Bus
I don't know why I captured this bus on camera. Guess I was so happy to be here.
David on his balcony in New Jersey.
Reading: Bright Lights, Big City by Jay Mcinerney
Listening to: New York by Alicia Keys
Times Square, Manhattan, New York City
+
A Pocketful of Dreams
New York by Alicia Keys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMX1sc3eOTE
Cheerio for now
Comments