Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!

Here are some pictures of Nilo opening his presents this morning. By the way, it was about 95 degrees here today!


















Nilo's Christmas... sack!


















Nilo and the Dinosaur robot he's "always wanted"... only, a miniature version!


















Minisaurus... Some cute looking robot!


















And there was Mars Mission lego...


















And some moon sand... and more lego...


















And here's this years Christmas stalk, (fallen branches of Peltogyne purpurea or Purple Heart, a rare tropical hardwood species with purple colored wood, trees of which exist in our forest reserve) and which Nilo decorated himself! We'll have to get a proper shot of it at night with it's rice lights. It's very pretty.

Amazing light

Where we've been working - it's a hard life! - Playa Preciosa as the light fades.














Looking across the Gulfo Dulce...














Looking towards Cabo Matapalo...


















Celestial blue clouds...


















Everything turns golden.

Nilo's driftwood sculpture

Nilo loves making driftwood sculptures on the beach.














Here's a picture of him at Playa Preciosa when he was just a nipper (he's the little guy with his back to the camara in the blue shorts), watching the big kids making one.














And here's him making one of his own last week.














My job was to select the pieces to be used.














Dada comes to inspect the work in progress.


















Last one back to the room's a rotten egg!

What a luxory!

Recently, we have been doing some work at Playa Preciosa on the outskirts of Puerto Jimenez and last week we were invited to stay over at the Pearl of the Osa/Iguana Lodge (www.iguanalodge.com), by friends - the lodge's owners - Toby and Lauren. What a luxory!!!


















Nilo admires himself in the elegantly lit bathroom mirror.














Careful!.... Those pillows might swallow you!














One of Lauren's (that's to say, she painted it) gorgeous paintings, many of which adorn the lodge. This is one of my favorites, a magenta colored Hibiscus flower.


















Oh! Lovely Dada... lovely!














Nibbles on the beach front.


















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Nilo and I on the beach head in the Reserva Playa Preciosa and Platanares.














Nilo climbing on driftwood roots.

Delicious!

Mmmmmm... Nilo chooses from the cake section at Delicias de Dominical.

Row your boat

Nilo tries his hand at kayaking for the first time.

Catch of the Day

While I was in the hospital, Nilo managed to catch this fish!

The Fern Garden

We are working hard right now to establish a small garden which features many of the regional ferns, among other plants. Our most recent efforts include levelling the central area for a stone table and chairs to then be added, also the white river rocks to define the borders and path. This is a big improvement to the upper gardens, as this area had been very scrubby previously. It looks very different now!

Last Sunday

We spent Sunday at the house of Steve and Maylen in Amapola. It was great to share time with friends.












Nilo and I.














At the table with many friends.

New Windows

The dining area just got screened.

The Road To Nowhere

We're on the road to nowhere...














A massive road project is underway here on the Osa Peninsula. The roadsides have been torn to pieces, and what used to be a rocky old country track of a road (with more potholes than you could shake a stick at) is fast being converted into what's beginning to look like an interstate highway!














The poor people whose houses are beside the road have been buried there, as the level of the new road continues to rise. As if it were bad enough to have already had a drainage channel dug across their front yards! This image shows one of the houses on the approach to the Rincon bridge, heading for home. So, looks like it's rope ladders all round!


















In this image, you can see just how much the level has changed.


















Great for sliding down!














The late afternoon sun catches tall grasses on the banks of the River Rincon.


















The light fades on the approach to the Rincon bridge

Insy Winsy Tarantula

Honey... I'm home!

Nilo and Sandy: Aerodynamics

Nilo and our good friend Sandy (Alexander) continue with their paper plane competitions...


















Nilo is rearing to go...


















The competitors take their places....


















Nilo makes his move... and it's a good one!


















Sandy's looking a little nervous about that as he prepares his craft.


















He makes a strong move!














The competitors retrieve their crafts from what has proven to be a challenging circuit.


















They return to the await the judges decision.


















And Nilo takes the round!

View from the kitchen

How many people get to eat breakfast where there's a view like this?