Friday, July 24, 2009

When in the World?

The Sunday Scribblings prompt is "Where in the world?"

My question is not so much "where" in the world but"when" in the world. I would give anything to be in a "when" with Otto still by my side. So this is the story (much condensed) of our last trip together outside the United States - a journey to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We traveled by small cruise ship (40 passengers) with extensive land excursions.


This beautiful bromiliad and these burgeoning new coconut palms were in a private preserve on the island of Curu. We visited it on the day after we had boarded the ship after busing from the airport in San Jose down to the coast, and, while many people took advantage of swimming on the pristine beach or being led on a nature walk, I chose to prowl with my camera, entranced by the tropical foliage. This was my last trip without a digital camera, and, stupidly, I had brought no telephoto lens. There were unusual animals and birds, a tribe of monkeys, a tri-colored squirrel, but the photos we attempted showed mostly jungle with teensy dots of the critters which were perfectly visible to our eyes.

We had to settle for this humongous toad (about the size of a man's foot) who was occupying a corner of the communal shower for the swimmers.

This macaw was at a highlands ranch called Los Innocentes to which we traveled the next day.

On the last day on the Costa Rican side of the border everyone explored, in zodiacs, channels in the nearby mangrove swamp -

where this pelican was sighted - probably looking for snakes rather than fish - according to our accompanying naturalist.

The next morning, after the customs inspectors had left our ship, we landed for the first time in Nicaragua. I came ashore before Otto so that I could take a picture of him landing. That's he with the wide-brimmed sunhat.

We then traveled by bus up to the town of Rivas, where these pics show some of the produce for sale.


Otto holds a long specimen of papaya, his favorite fruit.

This shy little girl wore her best clothes to go to market with her mother.

Another day we traveled to the Vulcan Masaya, which has a lake of fiery lava in its center, and where parrots nest in cliffs of the crater in the noxious gases.

For a trip to the cloud forest (isn't that a lovely name) our bus was not deemed sufficiently powerful to take us up the steep and winding road, so we transferred to this truck.


These boys by the side of the road watched our climb.


And the above are what grow in the cloud forest.

These musicians serenaded as we boarded launches on Lake Nicaragua to attend a fancy barbecue at a beautiful home (roll of film lost).

On our last day in Nicaragua, we visited the city of Leon and were treated to the following sights. First, street theater with elaborate stilt figures...


and the cathedral with this dramatic scene through its bells.

As I look at this very condensed version of a memorable trip, I realize how seldom Otto and I took "We were there" photos. Neither of us figures in any of these pictures, although both pairs of eyes saw them, though two people talked, compared, enjoyed them together. Maybe I should have called this post "WHO in the world".

Guess whom I would have chosen?

30 comments:

Jinksy said...

Weren't you both the intrepid travellers?! What a fantastic store of memories to treasure in the album of your mind.:)

Rinkly Rimes said...

What wonderful memories for you to hold in your heart.

Maggie May said...

Lovely to be able to look back on the things you shared together and of course the memory will always be there.
What a brilliant trip you had. Looks a great country to visit.

Understanding Alice said...

wow, what an interesting and exciting trip - sucha good thing to have memories of x

Irene said...

Thank you for sharing Costa Rica..

Marja said...

What a beautiful memories of such a great trip. I love all the exotic pictures and the cute little girl. I am not so fond of toads. Thanks for sharing

Giggles said...

Such brave adventurers! Thanks for sharing your trip. Having lost so many family members I remind friends not to balk during photos that will one day be a comfort to loved ones.
Hmmmm I think I just learned why I have such an insatiable need to capture family images!

Thanks Phyllis great jaunt down memory lane! Always interesting!!

Big hugs Sherrie

Linda Jacobs said...

Looking at these makes me want to get on a plane and fly anywhere! I love to travel. Thanks for sharing your memories!

Americanising Desi said...

my God my eye twitched :)
really awesome prompt attempt :)

Check out my prompt at
Where in the world

George S Batty said...

nice pics of a great trip. your blog is much better than a travel log.
thanks

Anonymous said...

Looking at these photos must bring back wonderful memories much like taking that journey once again together. Your pictures are beautiful, the story even moreso!

Stan Ski said...

Very similar to S E Asia, providing lasting memories, and wonderful experiences, Im sure.

Jeeves said...

Wonderful memories and pictures. Thanks for sharing

anthonynorth said...

A trip to be treasured.

awareness said...

I shared your post with my 12 year old son who is going on a trip to Costa Rica after Christmas this year with a group from our city. He will be staying there meeting other kids from around the world and forming a "camp" for a month!!

Lovely memories you have of your journey with your beloved Otto. I am sure they feel so bittersweet... Granny. A smile within your tears.

thank you for sharing this...

June said...

The word that comes to mind is "rich." What a rich experience to have had . . . together. And how fortunate you have been!

linda may said...

Thanks for sharing Granny, I know you miss him sooooo much mate, you had something really special together in your companionship. Hugs from me to you.

Winifred said...

What wonderful photos. I know what you mean about taking the pictures of yourselves. Mine are always of places and other people. Sometimes my husband's back as he walks away when he's eager to move on.

You must have been so brave going in that truck. They are fantastic memories of your trips. Must be nice to wander down the paths again and thanks for taking us with you.

Devil Mood said...

Ah, who in the world :)

What a fantastic trip it must have been and, all in all, the location was the least important part.

Mystic Indigo said...

What a great trip! Before I was married, I worked on small cruise lines like the one you adventured on..Sven Olaf Lindblad's line. I was single, and in Europe, when I realized that while I was having a good time, it would have been so much sweeter to experience it with someone I loved. I decided in Ireland to get serious about finding that person and 2 years later I met the love of my life. Great post...and thank you for the reminder.

Serena Shay said...

What a wonderful trip you and Otto must have had! The pictures are beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

Keith's Ramblings said...

What an amazing adventure. As of now it's on my wish list of places to visit!

Tumblewords: said...

I'm particularly fascinated by the stilt dancers and, of course, the photos are gorgeous and exude the joie de vivre you and Otto shared. How fortunate you are to have had so many wonderful years together and so many spellbinding adventures. Your blog is a source of pleasure for many!

Lion-ess said...

lots of wonderful travels and memories!!
beautiful!! Reminds me a bit of the Caribbean!

totomai said...

what a fantastic documentation of your travel.

interesting to see some tropical fruits in nicaragua :-)

sundaycynce said...

Wonderful pictures!! Precious memories. Thanks for sharing.

nonizamboni said...

So nice to see your writing on SS again and what a great tour guide you and Otto have been. Breathtaking, colorful and exciting, and that's just that gorgeous macaw!
Think of you often, dear friend...hugs from me to you.

present said...

Where in this wold would we go?When in this world would we travel back to? Who would we travel with? Always with those we have loved and love.
Thanks for, again, sharing one of your many adventures!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Oh, it looks like it was a wonderful trip. I'd love to go to Costa Rica one day.

and yes, I enjoyed the camping! We got home a few hours (and one nap) ago. Camping is fun, but it's always good to be home.

Unknown said...

First of all, forgive me for being so rude and not coming by sooner.

Your pictures and your narrative were breath-taking. Thank you so much for sharing them.

My favorite? That frog--how cool is that!

Nice to meet you!