Parrots

 

Of the pictures that I took on my recent trip to Costa Rica this is the one that I am most satisfied with. It is certainly not the most beautiful. It is also not very clear. My tiny digital camera cannot capture detail at that distance. But this picture is the one that captures best my experience of Costa Rica.
When we think back over places we have been usually one or two things stand out. When I am asked what a trip to Spain several years ago was like, my first word is "hot." When I look back on this recent trip to Costa Rica, the word is "parrots." We were the guests of a flock of parrots. They lived mainly in three large palm trees in front of where we stayed. My guess is that before the houses were built the jungle at our back door spilled over the whole area and was the home of the parrots. They did not leave.
We heard them before we saw them. Around sunrise their raucous chatter filled the air. Then we might catch a glimpse of them flying off for the day. As they came home before sundown their chatter seemed even louder.
With some patience and a pair of binoculars I began to distinguish them in the palms. They were red-lored parrots. One late afternoon I was lucky to see, at different times, four pairs. I was very taken with the devotion they showed to their partners. This picture, however, was the best I could do to capture them.
I was reminded again of the tension between surrendering to nature and trying to capture it in a picture, between surrendering to the Divine Mystery and trying to comprehend It.