HOLA !!

So far, so wonderful.     After a short flight from Orlando into San Jose (the kids were oohing and ahhing during the roller coaster descent, the adults not so much ! ) we arrived to  dry sunny weather.    The Hotel Bougainville is lovely with art and sculpture filling every space and an 8 acre garden to wander freely about.
We met our eclectic group and I think we are a well matched group.    Mindy, the botanical artist from Gainesville and Nancy, the professional photographer from Durango are a perfect pair to guide us through this adventure.    Others in our group are a husband and wife from NJ...he a child psychologist and she a tutor....they both dabble in drawing birds and animals.    A Dr in research genetics from Yale who recently retired and also lives in Gainesville.   She layers microscopic pics of the cell structure of a plant and overlays a photo of the plant....all done using slide film.   She is having a show at the Natural History Museum in Gainesville in April.    A younger artist from NJ who does beautiful botanical art but earns her way by doing massage, reflexology and ancient body therapies.   A lovely woman who lives in Peru and Toronto and travels widely and does gorgeous colored pencil work....but mostly she adores her grandchildren.   She does work for Crayola and Thermos.   She is so interesting.   A tall , serious woman from Alberta Canada is a teacher of science of some sort and draws constantly and does very beautiful botanical art.    She is very happy in the warm climate.     And then there's us !     We also have a guide named Jimmy who has a degree in Tourism.   He is young and easy on the eyes.   He knows everything about the country, the flora and fauna and even photography.

 I am learning slowly about photographing flowers and they don't always turn out .    Blogger is giving me fits this morning so I am only posting a few to give you an idea.    These were taken using two different cameras, 3 different lens by two different people.   No tripod, just trying different settings.  And it was windy yesterday so much of what we did is not so great blown up....

This interesting item is a seed pod, hanging from a tree mostly barren of leaves.   We managed to grab one and Jimmy cut it open.   Normally, it dries a bit, pops open and the seeds are eaten and carried off by the birds.

 To discourage birds from opening them too soon, they are filled with a milky, sticky burning liquid which each of us managed to get on our fingers....its like tree sap and doesn't want to come off.   We asked Jimmy the name and he said scientific or common.....we said common and he said "whores balls"...it sounds better with a spanish accent.

 We got in our comfortable 20 passenger bus with our driver and headed over to Lenkester Gardens.   There we met the director and a lovely botanical artist from Italy who divides her time between the two countries.   Her work is light and fresh and lovely.    I had hoped to pick up a small card but the gift shop was closed by the time we finished.    This Botanical garden is known worldwide for its work with orchids and has over 1800 species.       It was very cloudy out so the colors seem subdued but you get the idea.  

One of the more interesting plants that we see everywhere, including in large pots at the hotel, is the helliconia.   It grows to be about 3 feet long and is a brilliant reddish orange.   

 It is related to the bird of paradise.

Today, we will leave here and stop at a small chocolate factory and then a Toucan Preserve before arriving at the rain forest.    No TV there so no Superbowl but since we can't even keep track of the days or the news of the world, we are enjoying our hours absorbed in the beauty of nature.

PS:   For those of you wondering about the hair.......and I know there are many....   It got whacked off some more and the grey is gone....well, diminished and altho I asked for blonde repeatedly, it isn't.   Its a light brownish, touched with my grey, a light blond and is gradually fading to an all over lightish brownish shade....sort of.   I prefer not to look at it or dwell on it but I still do a doubletake when I look in the mirror and wonder who I am.

PPS:   Not sure when we'll have internet again.... tried a new app for the iPhone...Mag light with magnifying glass.....or something like that.   Gives off a very bright light , useful for searching for things in the dark while your spouse is still asleep, or highlighting small things and it magnifys an object  for the camera.....try it, its free.