"A New Earth"

O.K. Everyone. I blogged about this before but the time has come and it is NOW. Here's your big chance for a new awakening. Oprah has been promoting her on-line class for the book "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle and the on-line class starts on Monday night. It's free. You can go to Oprah's site (www.oprah.com) now to register. It's a little involved. First you need to sign-in to Oprah.com for a membership, and then register for class, then download a special program they give you so you can participate in the class. Of course, you need to read the book. I downloaded the book from the internet since I can't buy it here.
It was easy ($14.00). The on-line class is every Monday for 10 weeks. C'mon, commit!
Anything worth having involves a little effort. The class is free and who knows, maybe you will be enlightened to a new way of being!! Hope you join me.
It's going to be AWESOME!!
Pura Vida and see you there, Teri

Watch for Oprah's "BIG GIVE" (on ABC) on SUNDAY night!! Previews on today's Oprah show.
I want a t-shirt that says "I love Oprah, ask me why". I've learned so much from her shows.
Now she's one you can say - "You've come a long way baby!!"

REMEMBER - It's YOUR BEST LIFE.

Manuel Antonio National Park

Protect the monkeys.

Last week when I was there, I ran all over looking for monkeys. Hardly any.
Today, the white faced monkeys were everywhere around the picnic tables area. They were looking for food. I saw one monkey make a clean swift sweep across a table and swipe one guy's cup of something. It was amazing, like a blur the monkey moved so fast and was up the tree again inspecting his find.

You're not suppose to feed the monkeys. They are kind of pitiful looking in their search for anything edible.
I could stay all day watching the monkeys. There were Howler monkeys, too.
I love, LOVE, LOVE monkeys.
Click here for more photos from Manuel Antonio National Park.

My Flickr website:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ticamachatourscostarica

Crocodile Man Tour in Tarcoles

I would highly recommend taking this tour if you are in the neighborhood. I couldn't believe all the different kinds of birds we saw while cruising down the Tarcoles River. Our guide, Ronnie, actually got in the water with a crocodile and tempted him with a piece of chicken. We saw a really big male croc and a really big female croc. I was REALLY afraid for Ronnie to be in the water with either one of them and doing his "tricks". He did this twice!! with two different crocodiles. Great tour, full of excitement mixed with the tranquility of nature.

I've downloaded some of my photos from the tour so you can enjoy it for yourselves.
Go HERE and click on "View as Slideshow". It takes a little time to load. You can sit back and enjoy the ride down the Tarcoles River with the Crocodile Man Tour.

Flicker site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ticamachatourscostarica/sets/72157603996752540/

Blog a Blog

When you're busy living it, it's hard to find the time to blog about it.
Here's Peggy's blog on her recent trip to Costa Rica to visit me.
Click here - http://naplesportraits.blogspot.com/2008/02/costa-rica.html
Great Fun!!
I have others visiting now and today we go on the crocodile tour!
Hope to get some killer shots of the guy feeding chickens to the crocs.


NOTE TO Yo-Yo READERS:
I love comments (doesn't everyone?)
You don't have to sign up to Blogger to comment, just hit anonymous and
at the end of your message, put your name so I know who wrote it.
I blog for comments so leave one and keep me motivated!

Green Parrot Snake

To my subscribers:
If you click onto the title "Yo-Yo In Paradise" on the notice Feedblitz sends you, it will take you to this site, not just to that specific post. It's a timesaver for me when I go to other people's sites to go to the whole site. That way I can scroll down to see if I'm caught up. I sometimes go back on my blog and change things, add photos, etc.

Sloths

This mother sloth was on the move with her baby. I've seen many sloths but I've never seen one move much and never have I seen them move very fast. I think she was a little nervous with all the cameras pointing at her.
Lots of people in the park yesterday, people from all over the world.

Manuel Antonio National Park

Another fun day. The park is a beautiful place, even with all the people.
The dark ridge you see on this sloth's back denotes it's a male.
Is this sloth smiling for me?

Tres Pisinas

The locals call it "Tres Pilas" and it's three waterfalls that form three pools.
We searched for hours (in the car scaling mountains) for this "hidden" spot and finally found it at almost 'darktime'. We parked the car and walked a long way through a cow pasture and a stream only to find the waterfalls were very small.
It's dry season now. It was pretty though. We made it back to the car just before it got too dark to find our way. Almost a repeat of yesterday's hiking adventure.

Note to self:
start exercising
prepare for these tours (flashlights, bugspray, flares)
go back and get better shots when it's still daytime now that I know where to find it

Pura Vida Waterfalls

It twert that easy to get to the spot where I took this photo today.
It is beautiful but the trek on this long path, up and down, to get to that lookout,
through the jungle...
leaves me speechless.
I tired.

On Vacation

Every blue moon or so, I have a visitor come visit me here in Costa Rica. Presently, I have my photographer friend, Peggy from Naples, here visiting for a week and I have been playing tour guide. It's great fun showing off my "secret" paradise. Hopefully, I will have some new photos for you when I return.

The dog, the cat, and the rat

This is a video of one of a homeless man in Santa Barbara and his pets. They are a family. The man who owns them rigged a harness up for his cat so she wouldn't have to walk so much (like the dog and himself). At some juncture the rat came along and as no one wanted to eat anyone else, the rat started riding with the cat and often, on the cat! The Mayor of Santa Barbara reportedly filmed this clip and sent it out as a Christmas card.
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Thanks for sending me this Tex.

Sunset Sunday

After awhile, they all look the same, just different each day. A daily miracle.
The guy on the rocks is fishing. Not with a rod and reel but a fishing line and a spool.
Photos from April 2003.

Earning a Living

EARNING a living. Why do we have to earn our living? I've never had a grip on that concept and have had many occupations in my life. I guess I have ADD because I would lose interest doing 'that job' and move onto another skilled 'living'. I've been to college, I've taken numerous classes and received licenses to practice for various things. All of which are useless in Costa Rica. I cannot legally 'earn a living' here. I can make a business, hire locals and earn a living from the profit but that's it. I have always been independent and depended on my efforts for my income. Not the efforts of others.
In Jaco, you see all sorts of people walking the streets selling whatever. They don't have vendors license but no one bothers them. Not so easy for a Gringo. We raise all sorts of red flags here by just our appearance. Ask anyone just driving, minding their own business and passing through a traffic stop of Transito. They stop the Gringos first and foremost to check their papers. They all know me by now but there was a time that I was stopped EVERYTIME. One, I'm female, two, I have a big ass car, and three, I'm blonde. They even ask personal questions like if I am married, where do I live... that sort of thing. The last time they stopped me I told them to take a good look, I live here and don't stop me again and they haven't. I guess I got fed up with their tactics. I said it friendly so we wave now as I pass.

Wondering what my point is? My point is many people think they can come to Costa Rica and it's the land of opportunity. So many needs but trust me, your hands are tied and you are limited as to what you can do here to 'earn a living'. It's surely my biggest problem and many others face the same situation that come here with no income. It is not as easy as it seems when you are doing the research on Costa Rica and think it's cheap to live here. Earning a living is by far my biggest challenge.

YOUR BEST LIFE

People just don't understand why I arrange my day around 3pm when Oprah comes on. It is my lifeline to what I need to know right now. Knowledge for A Better Life. Lately, Oprah is all about living your best life and she has guest to show you how to do it. Yesterday was about clutter and how it affects your weight, mentality and LIFE. Oprah had guest, Peter Walsh, author of "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat". Yes, I am a hoarder. I've confessed this before but living here where things are not readily accessible, I feel justified in stock piling things. I'm an organized hoarder but not so organized that I can find things when I need them. It's gotten way out of control, I admit it. I've learned we hoard things for two reasons: "Memories" and "I might need this someday". Sound familiar? I am definitely counting on my "stuff" to remind me where I've been when I've lost my recall.

I once belonged to the "Craze of Consumption" but no longer. I once had the money to shop as entertainment but not here. I shop carefully here and no longer use charge cards as my instant gratification link to poverty. I have learned that the things that are truly important, I must honor and respect. If that means washing my car once a week then so be it. I love the freedom my car gives me but I don't honor it very well. I never wash it. Stuff like that.

I learned to go for the GOOD, not the easy. That follows through with how I eat. I have changed my life habits living here, even before Oprah told me.


This is a challenge I have taken on to live my best life. After all, that's why I moved here. For "The Good Life". (remember that show? where people leave their comfy lives to live the REAL life their heart desires?)
I've also signed up for the online class for "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle. Somehow, I have got to get my hands on that book before the class starts March 3rd. You can enroll on the www.oprah.com site.

For some, this will hold no interest but for me, this is the "authentic" key to getting the goodie out of my life and my remaining unknown years.
Hang in there with me. I hope you accept the Challenge for Your Best Life.

Check it out - Oprah and Dr. Oz and here.
Dr. Oz has taught me so much about good health. I know, there's a lot of links. Hopefully they will work and you will be on the path to your best life.

Sitting Duck

In this instance, it was a parked car of my friends. It was parked on the main strip in Jaco and sometime after 2am, it was side-swiped by another car. Yes, drunk driver, yes, hit and run. The owner of the parked car was awake and alert and got the license plate number of car basher so it's just a matter of time before the whole matter goes before a judge.
Jaco, if you are going to drink (and get drunk), TAKE A fricking TAXI!!
Stupid is as stupid does.

SUNSET SUNDAY

Sundays I wake up like a house a fire with all the projects in mind I want to tackle. I love Sundays. Sundays are quiet and tranquil. I have a running mental list of things I want to do but first, I want to colorize this photo with my Marshall oil paints I brought from the States. Playday Sunday.

Ya HOO!!

Today is Mr. Softy's (Microsoft) second attempt (unsolicited proposal at $31. a share) to acquire Yahoo. Microsoft has been trumped by Google and is scrambling to get back on top with it's proposed acquisition of Yahoo. For all those that woke up this morning holding Yahoo shares (YHOO), it's a good day with Yahoo soaring up over $11. a share in before market trading hours. YHOO leveled out around $28, plus. I hope Yahoo holds out for $35.00 a share.

This has nothing to do with Costa Rica except for the fact that all us foreigners here use the Internet as our link to "back home" and the well, the world of endless cyberspace. Without the internet, I couldn't live here. I would feel disconnected. I use it for just about everything, especially as a resource tool. I just felt this proposed acquisition by Microsoft was blog worthy because THIS TIME, it will probably happen.

And then there was Google. That is an amazing $85/share IPO story.
(2004 GOOG story here - if you read it, keep in mind GOOG recently traded up over $747 a share)
GOOG chart