charliedoggett.net
And yes, there were red flags out today, meaning dangerous riptides or undercurrents, stay out of the water! Surfers are young invincibles who ignore such warnings. And the rasta guy falling above had nothing to do with riptides! Oh well, makes good photos for me and good fun for the kids! 🙂 And fortunately no one was swept away while I was there.
“The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun.”
– Phil Edwards
¡Pura Vida!
The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
¡Pura Vida!
Yep! That little landing strip above is what we landed on, right on the beach south of Limon, parallel to the Atlantic Ocean (or South Caribbean Sea). I got here early before my room was ready, had breakfast, arranged 3 tours, walked the beach to “downtown” Puerto Viejo, photographing people and street scenes before visiting an art gallery then taking a taxi back to the hotel where my room was ready with the best deck view of all the rooms; the only one with a view of the beach. A snack, little nap, on computer and will soon go for my 4 PM relaxation massage, then dinner. Tomorrow I hang out here with tours the following 3 days and then return home.
¡Pura Vida!
Life is made up of small pleasures. ~Norman Lear
Photo of flower Costa Ricans call “Once de Abril” (11th of April) to commemorate the only war and battle Costa Rica ever fought and of course won with the heroic help of Juan Santamaria (name of San Jose Airport). It is so delicate with such tiny blooms like Santamaria was just a boy.
See more tiny pleasures in my photo gallery Flora & Forest.
¡Pura Vida!
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity…” ~John Muir
Panorama photo of the hills of Atenas from my terrace in Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica, by Charlie Doggett. For more see my Vistas photo gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
Every day I do a few simple, light exercises to regain the movement in my right arm toward recovery from the rotator cuff damage and surgery. (Up to 3 times a day.) Thanks to Andrés for loaning me some of his tools to use at home! Photo captions explain the use of each one.
While in the Caribbean next week I will continue to exercise but may not take all of this equipment. 30 pound baggage limit on the small plane.
“And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!”
– Dr. Seuss
🙂
“Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.
~Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
I watched the funeral of John McCain today all the way down here in Costa Rica thanks to modern technology. His casket sat in the very spot where I partook of communion in the worship service I attended there back during my 2013 Visit to Washington, DC.
With all the ugly divisiveness coming from the White House and Republican Congress now, it was good to see a bipartisan celebration of a truly good man’s life today. There is still hope for America that different political parties, races, religions and lifestyles can come together to make a difference, to build a country on ideas that make it truly “A shining light on a hill” for democracy and equality for all mankind! But it still depends on the actions of every American and the Hemingway quote struck me the most from the funeral, “But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.”
God bless America! I had about given up hope for you.
Next Thursday I’m back to the most laid back part of Costa Rica, Caribe Sur! That’s the South Caribbean and my favorite hotel there, Banana Azul (in their best room overlooking the beach!) And now there is a new video about the town it is located in (best seen fullscreen):
And the first song (De Cabin in de Wata) in that video is an original Costa Rica Caribbean and not Jamaican like so many of the singers there use. I immediately thought of the theater movie Güilas, which I wrote about earlier that used this same song in their Limon Province story. The song also has its own video that’s as good if you like more nature instead of people and this one includes the words on the screen:
And the same Costa Rican singer, Walter Ferguson, also has this nice song:
Everything is very relaxed and authentic on the Caribbean side. I try to go every September or October when rain is lowest there and will go again in February to another favorite place, Tortuguero. Part of my . . .
¡Pura Vida!
One of my regular activities when not traveling and photographing nature has been to work on the total rebuild of my personal website while continuing to build a collection of Blog Posts or Articles about being “Retired in Costa Rica” which is now at the same location of my website, charliedoggett.net.
I moved my personal website that was Joomla-generated and continuing to give me technical problems to an easier-to-use WordPress.com hosting service. And since WordPress.com started as a blogging platform and is considered by many to be the best for blogs. I transferred/moved my blog from Blogger.com to WordPress. The blog part transferred everything but the subscriptions so that I still have my blog history of the big move to Costa Rica and now with many more ways to find articles about different subjects I have written on, though most are under “Nature” and the “Places” I have discovered here. But there are some practical articles about actually moving here, residency processes, healthcare possibilities, and even some more mundane daily life issues for the followers who are considering a move here.
In addition, as with my old website, there are many “static” (WordPress label) pages about me, my adventures, family and family history as aids to those writing and researching their own family history related to my family lines. i.e. I have several family cemetery inventories with photos, lots of old family photos and reports on family reunions, etc. I also have extensive research recorded on my Uncle Earl Doggett whose plane was shot down in World War II.
For both fun and to get to know me better I have an extensive About Page full of details and fun “Life Stories,” “Biographies,” “Schools,” “Doing Good,” “Art Lover,” “Photographer,” and more! And a lot of fun and interesting history is wrapped up in my extensive research on the ship or Frigate Charles Doggett in the 1800’s with ties the Mutiny on the Bounty, the nickname of “Old Glory” for the American Flag, the American Civil War, Nashville, and South Sea Island adventures! As I approach the end of my life I will have it all documented or reported on right here on this website and along with the failures and disappointments, some great experiences and accomplishments to help me see that my life did have value. And maybe a tiny bit of inspiration for someone.
So, for a boring, rainy day you might want to explore my website which is still being built. The Header Menu or Top Menu could be divided into these three sections: (1) BLOG, (2) LINKED PAGES, and (3) STATIC PAGES
But I felt like I needed at least one thorough explanation of my new website/blog combination. You got it! Contact me with any questions and I try to respond quickly to all comments on blog posts.
Why we need to break down the barriers between us and nature.
An article on the BIRDLIFE website. I have to include a little nature in all posts! The birds require it! 🙂
Read all the details at:
This is one of the oldest and most visited national parks in Costa Rica and has been greatly missed for nearly a year now after some serious eruptions. Safety is always the first concern and you can be confident that it is safe to visit again now. Some say that it is the best or one of the best volcano parks in the world to visit. It is the only one here where you can look down inside the cone. Plus it is a beautiful cloud forest and nature reserve! I highly recommend seeing it when in Costa Rica and always best early in the morning since clouds often move in to hide the volcano by or before 10:00 AM!
The photo above is one of many made on a trip to Poas in 2015 with Kevin Hunter. See the TRIP Gallery Poas Volcano 2015.