Green Winged & Scarlet Macaws~

On March 31, 2019August 20, 2021 By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Wild Life294 Comments

Green Winged Macaws have green feathers on their wings and red feathers on their faces. They are red, green and blue, and live in South America.

Scarlet Macaws are red, yellow and and blue, with white faces.

Scarlets live in South and Central America and Mexico.

I was amazed to come upon this friendly scarlet in Costa Rica.

I couldn’t figure out why he was performing for me, until his mate turned up, and I realized they were feeding their chick in a nest in the hollow of this tree.

I have never seen nesting wild macaws so this was quite a thrill!

Macaw populations are scattered in the wild and rare to find.

Their numbers have been decimated by habitat destruction and the pet parrot trade.

Macaws are highly intelligent and mate for life.

Cheers to you from the incredible Macaws~

Patagonian Sea Lions~

On March 21, 2019March 29, 2019 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Uncategorized, Wild Life134 Comments

Check out los lobos del mar playing in Peru!

This group was photographed in Los Islas Palominos off the coast of Lima.

They were quite curious about their unusual human visitors,

and kept popping up to get a better view!

This bull was hanging out near La Serena Chile.

Southern bulls are more massive and furry than their northern counterparts,

and they seem more threatening too!

These happy guys were playing around Islas Balestras near Pisco Peru.

I am only intermittently near functioning wifi so please excuse my absence, and cheers to you from Los Lobos del Mar~

Valparaiso Open Air Art~

On March 16, 2019March 17, 2019 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS221 Comments

There are hundreds of wall sized open air painted murals all over Valparaiso.

Click to enlarge this photo to see how the artist recycled plastic soda bottles to create living window planters for her imaginary town and writes about the need to creatively recycle plastics .

The talent and creativity of these artists blows me away.

In this hostel, I zoomed in on the art around the doorway in the photos below, so you can see the detail.

What strikes me is how talented these artists are,

and how many of them will remain unrecognized.

It is often luck that makes one famous, and another unknown.

In a fairer world, all these artists would be recognized for the true talent they have.

Valparaiso is full of gifted artists, but it also has so many poor people, and the largest slums in Chile.

The unfair fact this illustrates is that talent and poverty often reside together.

Please note: I am traveling by sea now and have limited access to internet. I will check in when possible but please excuse my inability to be responsive online.

Cheers to you from the talented artists of Valparaiso~

Café del Pintor~

On March 13, 2019March 13, 2019 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS220 Comments

Wow! The everywhere art in Valparaiso Chile exceeds it’s reputation for being arguably the best street art in the world.

There is so much amazing talent to share with you, but let’s start here, this is the front door of the ‘Café of the Artist,’ painted by a male Chilean art student depicting everyday scenes from the town of Valparaiso.

The waiter explained to me that the art in this restaurant was painted by two art students, one a French female whose mind boggling talent you are looking at now. (Please click to enlarge).

Since internet is slow, I can’t look these artists up, but I will when I can.

Maybe you can find out for me?

All I know is pure talent when I see it.

The first two paintings of the café sign and the entry door were done by the Chilean student, and are depictions of Valparaiso, as is the one above.

Here is another mural focusing on culture and heritage.

I didn’t take photos of the food which is a shame because I was too distracted by the art, but the food was ethereal. If you come to Valparaiso, eat here and bring your camera.

Cheers from Valparaiso, the city of living art and excellent food~