• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

“But what about the lurkers?”

The revolution will be supervised.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On the Road and In Your Backyard

On the Road and In Your Backyard

by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)|  February 8, 20195:00 am| 12 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture

FacebookTweetEmail

On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

On The Road and In Your Backyard is a weekday feature spotlighting reader submissions. From the exotic to the familiar, please share your part of the world, whether you’re traveling or just in your locality. Share some photos and a narrative, let us see through your pictures and words. We’re so lucky each and every day to see and appreciate the world around us!

Submissions from commenters are welcome at tools.balloon-juice.com

 

Ready for Costa Rica? I bet you are – Have a wonderful day and weekend and enjoy the pictures!

Today, pictures from valued commenter tybee.

Where it was taken: Costa Rica
When: April/May 2018

Flew into San Jose Costa Rica about noon on Saturday (April 27th,  2018) and drove to the Pacific coast to a house on the beach.

First day there we wandered around, got lost a bit, found a decent grocery store and generally got settled in.

Monday we went on a croc tour on the Tarcoles river.

The crocodile tour would let you get out of the boat and feed the things. The gif attached shows me feeding one from the bank.  I may have cut that a bit close.

A Tarcoles river croc:

 

We rented a house in Tarcoles, a small fishing village on the Pacific coast. This was done deliberately as we didn’t want to be in a “resort” area and get only a “tourist” experience.  The mountains came right down to the coast.  The roads sucked.

 

 

About 3 people in a village of about 3,000 spoke fluent English.  We didn’t meet those folks.

Communication was.interesting but we were able to buy beer in the markets, buy fruit from roadside vendors, locate rum for daiquiris, find a bathroom and generally get around.  Everyone was friendly and eager to help/sell.

Did manage to find one farmer up a side road selling melons and other fruits who spoke NO English, was not interested in American currency and finally just gave us the fruits for what little Costa Rican currency we had on us just to get rid of us.

Crazy week.

The house had a pool, coconut palms, mango trees, almond trees and the lot was covered in flowering plants.  Birds of all types through the yard all day.

Saw a common black hawk nail an iguana (or a big snake) out of the back yard.  Scared both me and the hawk but he didn’t drop dinner.

The beach was across a dirt road from us and was black volcanic sand.

Fruit was dirt cheap and we ate lots and lots of mangos, avocados,
pineapples, bananas, papayas and other stuff, generally run through a blender with lots of ice and alcohol and then consumed.

 

A motmot with black iguana:

 

The gazebo which had a view of the beach and almost always a breeze:

 

The underpowered pos we rented.  The roads sucked.  Their “major highways” were not well marked, not well lined and not well paved.  Did I mention that the roads sucked?  I’d always heard about third world drivers.  It’s all true.  Those crazy people would pass you on a blind curve, a blind hill, cut you off and generally scare the bejeebers out of us poor innocent touristas.

 

We had iguanas living around the pool that would eat little soft doggie treats.   Pretty amusing.

The one in the pic is about 3 feet long.  A bigger one would show up on some afternoons and run him off.

 

Scarlet macaws were everywhere, from dawn to dusk.  Noisy as hell, too. Squawk, squawk, squawk all damn day.  Pretty birds, though.

This one is in an almond tree which apparently was one of their favorite foods:

 

Those chicken things showed up dawn and dusk, made a weird “tweeeEEET” on a rising scale and then two clown nose honks.  Very skittish.  Probably a gray rail.

 

 

Shot of the fishing fleet on that black sand beach and all the rocks from the mountains crumbling into the sea.

Many of the hills next to the coast showed evidence of recent landslides.

 

A sunset, looking at the mouth of the gulf – which led to the Pacific – from further away from the beach in the field across from the house.  Small almond trees and bananas in the grass, mountains on the left, peninsular on the right.

Would go back in a heartbeat.  Next time will be the Cloud Forest in the high mountains.

 

 

Thank you so much tybee, do send us more when you can.

 

Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.

 

One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Friday Morning Open Thread: Watching the Legislative Detectives
Next Post: Competition vs single offerings? »

Reader Interactions

12Comments

  1. 1.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 8, 2019 at 5:34 am

    Central America. Some day I’ll get there.

  2. 2.

    JPL

    February 8, 2019 at 5:43 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Just remember the roads suck.
    Tybee, What an amazing adventure.

  3. 3.

    raven

    February 8, 2019 at 5:49 am

    I expected at least one fishing pic!

  4. 4.

    tybee

    February 8, 2019 at 6:10 am

    @raven: i have some. :)

  5. 5.

    JPL

    February 8, 2019 at 6:43 am

    @tybee: Please send in more pics if you have them.

  6. 6.

    HinTN

    February 8, 2019 at 6:44 am

    @tybee: How did you arrange the house? We went to Nicaragua several years ago but had an in-place host to visit.

    ETA: Lovely story and pix. Thanks

  7. 7.

    frosty

    February 8, 2019 at 8:01 am

    Wow, for all the wildlife. Great pix and so close, especially the croc. Yikes!

    We’re currently on our 5th Annual Snowbird Road Trip. Florida panhandle this year – I’ll send pix if I see something worth passing along.

  8. 8.

    stinger

    February 8, 2019 at 8:03 am

    Yikes, gorgeous, and amazing! Great stories, too!

  9. 9.

    RAVEN

    February 8, 2019 at 8:58 am

    @tybee: I knew it!

  10. 10.

    waratah

    February 8, 2019 at 9:09 am

    Looked like your house was in the jungle! Thank you great photos and the story of your trip.

  11. 11.

    Elizabelle

    February 8, 2019 at 11:08 am

    What an amazing place, and the animals and birds. Moar photos, please.

  12. 12.

    J R in WV

    February 8, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    Hey!

    I’ve heard the roads can suck in the Jungles… any truth to that? ;-)

    Great photos, thanks for sending them around to us!

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - Albatrossity - Flyover Country Spring 2
Image by Albatrossity (5/18/25)

Recent Comments

  • Redshift on Late Night Open Thread: Flag Humper’s Day D.C. Parade (May 19, 2025 @ 1:19am)
  • prostratedragon on Late Night Open Thread: Flag Humper’s Day D.C. Parade (May 19, 2025 @ 1:17am)
  • NotMax on Late Night Open Thread: Flag Humper’s Day D.C. Parade (May 19, 2025 @ 1:13am)
  • Ohio farmer on War for Ukraine Day 1,179: Putin Keeps Probing for Mush (May 19, 2025 @ 1:12am)
  • prostratedragon on Late Night Open Thread: Flag Humper’s Day D.C. Parade (May 19, 2025 @ 1:10am)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!