Seriously who would go to Costa Rica in August when it is almost at the Equator and probably full of bugs, especially mosquitoes carrying dangerous stuff.
At first I didn’t want to go, then after saying I would go, I really didn’t want to go, but I went and loved it:
HIGHLIGHTS7 Day Classic Costa Rica.
Up into the mountains by a scary dirt road to Monteverde. There we stayed for two nights at El Establo (the stable)
The hodgepodge of pictures we took, with plenty of captions, are here (IGNORE “VIEW PANORAMA”)
Forget the first day; that was dedicated to getting to San Jose (big zero) by plane from Los Angeles via Dallas/Fort Worth.
The next day we traveled by bus to Arenal Volcano – actually to La Fortuna near the volcano. Following is a schematic of the Arenal portion of the trip
Actually we stayed a bit farther down the side of the volcano where we could evacuate quicker if it got active again.
The hodgepodge of pictures we took are here
On Thursday, those of us who were the brave segued over to Los Chiles near the Nicaraguan border to cruise on Cano Negro (NOTE THE TOPICAL MAP OF COSTA RICA).
The pictures we took as we cruised along are here
DON’T WE ALL FEEL LIKE WE’RE DOING THIS SOMETIMES?
Those who comment on the financial markets often mention that what is most obvious is uncertainty – those who trade in markets are uncertain about the future. In previous times there has not been firm certainty about the future, yet the current feeling is one of malaise (nod to President Carter).
It’s just not knowing whether markets are going up or down the next day; it’s more than that. It’s not knowing whether life will be as it has been in the past. It’s not just markets; it’s global warming, flooding major cities, population explosion, food and water shortages.
Who is certain that the global warming crisis will be solved in time (Humans do not solve problems that are not imminent)? What will happen when major seaboard cities have become unlivable? Where will the inhabitants have gone? What will happen when the poor in a country are fighting the rich for food and water? What will happen when poor undeveloped countries are “fighting” rich, developed countries for food and water?
It’s too late for contraception to head off the population explosion. The effects may be resolved by a nuclear war or the outbreak of a killer virus.
The people who trade in financial markets have these things in the backs of their minds. The man in the street on streets around the world have these things in the backs of their minds as they distrust their governments and other institutions to improve their lives. Even the Pope senses his church has “gone wrong.” He hopes trying to right its course may save it and its mission.
Our main certainty may be that no one and no movement can save us from possible calamities that will be the solutions to our major concerns.
As I looked out my window yesterday I saw a dragonfly near wires across the way. It seemed to be struggling with some problem I couldn’t see, but as the sunlight caught it just right I could see it had become entangled in a long single strand of cobweb. The spider-owner was nowhere in sight. It’s rare that a dragonfly stays in one place long enough to be photographed, so thinking this was an unusual opportunity I reached for a camera. Because of the distance,the dragonfly’s size and the limitations of the available camera I was not able to get a clear picture (the photo above from Wikipedia was certainly not the one I took). The photo I might have hoped to get actually comes from fir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.au
I didn’t want to leave my place yesterday. Somehow I felt hanging around to watch would help it in its struggle to become free again. As I watched, first one, then eventually 4 dragonflies, arrived circling around their caught compatriot. I thought they might be wanting to help free it, but from what I read in Wikipedia they might instead have had the intention to help eat it. After spending my afternoon at the beach, I arrived home dreading what I would see as I looked across to where the caught Dragonfly had been. It was gone! I had to imagine what the scenario was that I had missed. I decided that the outcome had been a good one. Its continual struggles had paid off, and it had freed itself. Any spider that might have owned the web would have been in danger of being eaten itself by the Dragonfly if it had come out to attempt to complete its web.
A man at the ticket window of a theater asks for two tickets.
The ticket seller asks who is going in with him.
He replies his pet chicken.
The seller tells him he cannot take a chicken into the theater. This makes a problem for the man because his pet especially wanted to see this movie.
He solves the problem by putting the chicken inside his pants as he buys only one ticket.
Inside the theater his chicken is getting too warm, so he opens his pants so his chicken can get its head out.
A girl next to the man sees what he has done and tells her friend to look at that man who’s opened his fly. Her friends tells her not to get upset if she’s seen one before because they all look alike.
“This one’s different,” the girl says. “It’s eating my popcorn!”
