Author: Charlie

Retired American nature-lover, living in Costa Rica, photographing birds and other jewels of nature. This site simply reports on my joys of being RETIRED IN COSTA RICA!
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Advertising the Small Town Christmas Fair & Parade

Friday-Sunday, Art & Music Festival in Central Park
 Sunday Night Conclusion with Light Parade
Not advertised this well the last 2 years

There is a good chance you will see some photos of the feria and festival on this blog!   🙂
The 3-day feria is a Christmas Arts & Crafts Fair with a stage for live music.

I missed it last year (2016) and don’t know why except for Angel Tree and preparation for my trip to Sarapiqui over Christmas Week and more Christmas parties.

My excuse for missing it in 2015:  “TOO MANY CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES!”  🙂  blog post
Or more specifically I was at a Christmas Dinner that night which I won’t do this year!

So I’m bound and determined to see both this year! Some here say “Festival de la Luz” is the best parade of the year. I’ll give my opinion after the 16th.  🙂

Other culture photos in my gallery PEOPLE & FIESTAS

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Banded Skipper

Banded Skipper Butterfly
 In my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

Photo Gallery of Butterflies & Moths

Selfie of Old Man on Daily Walk
Atenas, Costa Rica
Strangler Fig Tree in Background

And a gallery of Other Photos of Me for those who say I only have bird photos


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BROWSING My Photo Gallery


Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA
To get to gallery, click above image or title, then click Browse or scroll down to the above.
Each of  the 9 titles/images above take you into a folder of photo galleries on that subject. 
Here’s an outline of what is in each folder: 
Costa Rica Birds (242 species)
Nicaragua Birds (98 species)
Panama Birds (57 species)
Mexico Birds (24 species)
Guatemala Birds (18 species)
Cuba Birds (11 species)
Brazil Amazon Birds (17 species)

Other Insects (40 species)
Mammals (27 species)
Amphibians (18 species)
Reptiles (25 species)
Others Not fitting above (1 species)

My Home Gardens
Caribbean Coast
Pacific Coast
Talamanca Mountains
Monteverde & Arenal/Poas
Rancho Naturalista Flowers
Guanacaste
Villa Blanca Cloud Forest
Walking in Atenas

VISTAS, BEACHES, SUNRISES, SUNSETS
From my Roca Verde Terrace
From the Hill Above my House
From Hacienda La Jacaranda Apartments
Caribbean Beaches
Pacific Beaches
Miscellaneous Costa Rica Vistas
Neighboring Country: Nicaragua Vistas
Neighboring Country: Guatemala Vistas
Neighboring Country: Panama Vistas
Neighboring Country: Mexico Vistas

WATERFALLS
Campesinos Waterfall, Quepos
Cloudbridge Reserve Waterfalls (2)
Corcovado National Park (3)
Hanging Bridges Waterfall
La Paz Waterfalls (5)
Manantial de Agua Viva Waterfall, Carara
San Gerardo de Dota Waterfalls (2)
San Luis Waterfall, Monteverde

PLACES AND THINGS
Costa Rica Lodges & Hotels (33)
Nicaragua Lodges & Hotels (5)
Panama Lodges & Hotels (4)
My Rent House in Roca Verde
Hacienda La Jacaranda Apartments
Atenas General Shots
Atenas Public Art & Grafitti                   RAN OUT OF TIME LINKING TITLES!
Atenas Home Business Signs                                    Sorry!
Churches Costa Rica
Churches Nicaragua
Alajuela, Costa Rica
San Jose, Costa Rica
Small Towns Costa Rica

PEOPLE & FIESTAS
Tamale Making Class
Independence Day Parade 2017
Independence Day Parade 2016

Independence Day Parade 2015
Oxcart Parade 2017
Oxcart Parade 2015 & 2016
Day of Cultures 2017
Other Fiestas in Atenas Central Park
Atenas Easter Processional 2017
Granada, Nicaragua Easter Processionals 2016
Atenas Easter Processional 2015
Cuban Swan Lake Ballet, San Jose
My Visitors from the States
My 75th Birthday Party
My 76th Birthday Party (Let’s wait until 80th now!)
Photos of Me

TRIPS
2017-Dec-3–InterNations at Zooave
2017-Nov-14–Atenas Expats Tour San Jose
2017-Nov-6-10–Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort
2017-Sept-Oct–Three Day Trips Nearby
2017-Sept-4-8–Caribe Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo
2017-July-29–Tarcoles River Day Trip
2017-July-3-7–Rancho Naturalista, Turrialba
2017-May-1-6–Drake Bay & Corcovado
2017-April-22–Camino de Costa rica Day Hike
2017-April-13–Tarcoles River Day Trip
2017-March-18-22–Tenorio Park & Celeste Mtn. Lodge
2017-Feb-16-18–San Jose City Visit
2016-Dec-23-27–Sarapiqui Selva Verde Lodge
2016-Dec-16-Tarcoles River Day Trip
2016-Sept-15-20–Manzanillo Tent Hotel
2016-Aug-21-24–Flamingo Beach & Palo Verde Park
2016-Jun-28-30–Western Nicaragua
2016-Jun-18–Zooave
2016-May-22-23–Carara Park & Cerro Lodge
2016-May-20-22–Campesinos near Quepos
2016-Mar-22-30–Nicaragua Bird Tour
2016-Mar-10-13–Monteverde
2016-Feb-15-17–Tortuguero
2016-Feb-14–Toledo Coffee Farm Tour
2016-Feb-13–Zooave
2016-Feb-12–Atenas Railroad Museum
2016-Feb-11–La Paz Waterfall Gardens
2016-Jan-27-30–Healthcare Tour & San Ramon Visit
2015-Dec-30–Visa Run to Nicaragua Border
2015-Dec-6-9–Rancho Naturalista, Turrialba
2015-Oct-8–Visa Run to Penas Blanca, Nicaragua
2015-Sept-25-27–San Gerardo de Dota
2015-Sept-23-25–Chirripo & Cloudbridge
2015-Aug-21-24–Bribri Yorkin Reserve, Caribe
2015-Aug-20-21–Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
2015-Jul-29-Aug-1–Tarcoles & Carara
2015-Jul-8–Visa Run to Nicaragua border
2015-Mar-29+–Five CR Towns Visited w/ Kevin
2015-Mar-28–Zooave
2015-Mar-25-27–Manuel Antonio Park
2015-Mar-25–Tarcoles River 
2015-Mar-23–Poas & La Paz Waterfalls Garden
2015-Mar-22–Toledo Coffee Farm Tour
2015-Mar-15–Visa Run to Nicaragua
2015-Feb-28–Tope de Mercedes
2015- Feb-19–Tarcoles River Day Trip
2015-Jan-22–Zooave
+10 Latin American Trips BEFORE moving to Costa Rica

HAIKU PHOTOS
A gallery of 22 Haiku Poems, each on one of my photos, 3 en español


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Sorry but I ran out of time linking every gallery title, but I hope you will explore my photo galleries and realize that the TRIPS gallery is almost like a photo diary of my trips and is where you get a chronological report of what I do in my retirement in Costa Rica. Enjoy!  


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ZooAve with InterNations Group

InterNations is an organization of expats around the world
with a San Jose chapter for Costa Rica. I’m checking it out.
They sponsored this outing today.

 
The famous toucan from Grecia with broken bill that ZooAve saved
and 3-D printed a prosthesis bill which he doesn’t always wear. 

This pigeon was brought in from penitentiary where he had
been delivering drugs to an inmate. Interesting.  

For even more photos, see my TRIPS Photo Gallery InterNations at ZooAve

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Christmas Trees in the Mall

This one has blue elves and a train!

There are more than these two trees at City Mall Alajuela, but these are a sample of how into Christmas people are here. Every store is of course decorated better than the others and people are starting to decorate their homes. Christmas is in the air and Christmas Carols playing everywhere, more in English than in Spanish! In Atenas our Christmas Art Festival is 14-16 December with the Festival of Lights Parade the evening of 16th. It’s really a big deal!

And Poinsettias grow in our yards!   🙂


¡Pura Vida Christmas!
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Mi libro de aventuras

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New Neighborhood Swimming Pool

Complete with Racing Lanes, It opened this morning for an event.
I think it is a private club promoting triathlons, but no sure.
Atenas, Costa Rica

See my March 6 post on the construction of this commercial facility, complete with sign describing the purpose of it. I think the early morning event here was a small triathlon for primary school children, probably to promote the facility and gain membership. My neighbor walked by between 7:30 and 8:00 this morning seeing a couple of hundred parents and children here and then later saw the children running through town. I missed the activity but cellphone photoed the pool that I walk past every day on my way to town. There is a high interest in health and sports here, though not a lot can afford a private club, if that is what it is. 

Triathlon “Motivational Quote”
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Early Bloomers

Our “winter”  or el invierno (rainy season) generally goes through November with “summer” or el verano (dry season) starting in December, with some flowers like the yellow & orange below not blooming until January. Even though we still have some rain (less now) the flowers indicate summer. It has been a very wet rainy season, so I guess a very dry season coming!  🙂

Bougainvillea
 Atenas, Costa Rica

Yellow Bells 
 Atenas, Costa Rica

Triquitraque 
 Atenas, Costa Rica

Once de Abril 
 Atenas, Costa Rica
Flowers are restful to look at. 
They have neither emotions nor conflicts. 

~Sigmund Freud


All of the above flowers snapped on my cellphone in my personal garden yesterday. Love it!

And for more flowers, see my Flora & Forest photo galleries! Beauty year around here!


¡Pura Vida!