Rainbow from the terrace

Flamingo Rainbow

This perfect rainbow, puffy Cumulus clouds and shimmering Pacific signal brighter times ahead. Flashback to last May; this was taken from our upper terrace at Casa Las Brisas after a week of thunderstorms and high winds. Instead of sipping our customary morning coffee outside in the rocking chairs listening to the parrots chatter or watching whales frolic in the ocean, we spent our days indoors reading, playing cards, watching movies and cooking a lot of great food (and maybe lots of day drinking…) Hmm, this is sounding a lot like what we have all been doing for the past month during these difficult times of social distancing and quarantine. But then one morning we woke up to a lovely sunny day and this huge rainbow parked right over the ocean in Flamingo Bay off our terrace. It signaled the end of the stormy weather and the return to our normal beach life and days filled with hikes, golf, lunches at our favorite restaurants, lazing around the pool, and maybe more day drinking:)

Brahma on the Beach

Cow on Potrero Beach

The lovely white sand beaches are all currently closed in Costa Rica because of the quarantine in effect until April 30. But that hasn’t been much of a deterrent for the cattle here! This is a Brahman bull who is quite happy having the run of the beach to himself. Literally to himself, as you can see the beach and Potrero Bay in the background are totally deserted, per government order. This normally would be one of the busiest tourist weeks with Semana Santa (Holy Week) being the most important holiday for Costa Ricans.

Brahman cattle are most common in Guanacaste because of the arid terrain. They are raised mainly for beef and are grass fed, making them lanky and thin. I love their sweet faces and those long soft ears. The cattle farmers frequently move the herds down the beaches to avoid conjestion on the narrow roadways. But that doesn’t mean you won’t round a turn and find 5 or 6 or these beauties standing in the road completely unconcerned about making way for your car!