You can electronically thumb through the book by clicking on the right arrow beside or below the image above. No obligation to purchase. But I appreciate you sharing the link. This will be the first of many little photo books coming out of my Costa Rica Retirement Experiences. Enjoy!
Ripening Mangoes & Coffee Research
The most eaten fruit in the world!
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| This tree has red or purple ones, while some are turning yellow or orange. Shot from my balcony, Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
One website lists 4 different cultivars of mangoes in Costa Rica:
- Costa Rica: Haden, Irwin, Keitt, Tommy Atkins (click name for description)
I believe my photo above is of the Tommy Atkins variety (purple). On the property here (formerly a mango farm) there is at least one other variety or cultivar. It is turning yellow & orange which I think is the Hayden. A lot of the different varieties were developed in Florida, trying to create year around crops.
This Ojochal blog declares Mango “King of the Fruit World” listing health benefits and describing the 4 cultivars.
Nature’s Pride (a distributor) has lots of recipes and some “How to Prepare” videos
This “Fruit of the Month” article has a couple of mango recipes.
I have been eating a mango a day recently and keep a bottle of mango pulp in the frig for making one of four smoothie-type fruit drinks I have at least one of every day: mango, guanabana, mora (blackberry), and pina (pineapple). The mangoes that fall from the trees are bruised on one side and I cut that side off before eating the rest of it. I can get better ones in the market that aren’t bruised but were picked ripe or near-ripe. There is nothing better than a tree-ripened mango! I said the same thing when I lived in The Gambia.
And by the way – I signed the contract on the rental house Tuesday. Move a week from Thursday, 23 April. The virtual tour of my new house is still on the Realtor’s site for now. It will be taken down eventually.
And for you STARBUCKS COFFEE LOVERS: Starbucks Costa Rica Coffee Research Farm is
supposedly trying to help coffee growers raise disease-resistant coffee plants IF they will sell to Starbucks at ridiculously low prices – American ingenuity or greed? Coffee farmers have to eat too!
Boxes From Heaven?
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| Boxes picked up in the streets just as I was needing boxes to move! |
Read into it what you like, but on one of my daily walks downtown I was thinking that I need to get some of the flattened boxes from the Supermercado to help me with my move on the 23rd. Though it is a lot of trouble to have to tape them back together again. Then, presto! I saw two good boxes in the middle of the street. I recklessly ran out into the street, picked them up and took’em home. This happened three times in three days. I’ll try not to read too much into this, like “God wants me to move and he provided the boxes,” but you can interpret it however you like. 🙂 Someone in Nashville told me recently that I live a “charmed life,” whatever that means, though I think it means I’m incredibly fortunate to have the life I have, to be where I am, and to do the things I get to do. “Thank you God!” (Whether you provided the boxes or not!) 🙂
“Doing Good” Video Interview of Me
Before leaving Nashville I was interviewed by a staff person with Fifty Forward Donelson and the “Doing Good” program that encourages retirees to volunteer in activities like the FLIP (Friends Learning in Pairs) reading tutor program of which I was a part. I’m always nervous on camera, but even with nervousness, I think it turned out okay and hope it helps motivate someone to volunteer. It was impromptu, no script, just her asking questions.
(Click title to see short video.)
Do good! It will make you happy! Volunteering in Costa Rica is on the horizon, but I’m still getting settled now and really need to learn the language to do much good locally. It will happen! 🙂
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| Me as a reading tutor at Tulip Grove Elementary School last year. |
To be doing good deeds is man’s most glorious task.
-Sophocles
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Hebrews 13:16 ESV
“Costa Rica with Kevin” PHOTO GALLERY
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| Kevin Hunter at Poas Volcano in front of a “Poor Man’s Umbrella” Plant |
Finally I got all the photos sorted, culled, and organized by events in a new online gallery called:
Enjoy!
My Lotusland?
Some of you know that I subscribe to Merriam-Webster’s “Word of the Day” and today’s word is my post for today.
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April 12
lotusland
 LOH-tus-land |
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Definition
noun
Go to Word of the Day website
I have carefully avoided using the word “paradise” to describe Costa Rica or my little small town of Atenas, but the above description of the word lotusland, has a more natural or realistic image of what I am experiencing in my new home.
1. It is partly the place, partly the simple lifestyle, partly the lack of stress, and partly the people that induces contentment for me here. Though the word “idyllic” may be a stretch, it is a place in nature and close to more nature experiences than I have had in any other living situation other than maybe The Gambia, to which I have regularly compared Costa Rica, though everything is better here. My idea of idyllic is being in nature, so maybe it fits as an idyllic living situation for me.
2. I must admit that there is an element of self-indulgence for me here, especially in eating what I like and want and often doing whatever I want to do. I’m trying to avoid groups and commitments that have expectations of me as I felt in so many ways in the states. The planned move to what is a luxury house for me (small and simple but with so much more than the current apartment) is another form of self-indulgence. I will of course share more about it after the move. I may live on that deck! 🙂
Okay, so I’m moving to a rich neighborhood in a gated community of big houses like I said I would never do! Well, mine is probably the smallest house in Roca Verde and at about the same price as my apartment. And this is my indulgence now. I will probably be the only person who will walk to the Supermarket, and that is okay with me. I’ll be healthier without an SUV! And if its raining, I use a taxi! And I will be just one mile from the town center. And you can still see the VIRTUAL TOUR of my new house. |
Moving to a New House
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| Realtor photo from deck looking at similar neighbor house. |
As the unofficial marketing director for Hacienda La Jacaranda (I write about it so much >g<), it may shock you that I am moving away from it. But from the first week when I realized there was some poor construction and poorer maintenance here, I have kept my eyes open for another place, preferably a house. I’ve looked at three other older ones that just were not right for me. Last week I talked with Andrew, a local Realtor, about the possibility again, as a last resort before the rainy season begins and the delivery of my shipped boxes. He pulled up this listing on his laptop and I pretty much knew immediately that it was the one, but scheduled a look inside, evaluated the pros and cons of moving, and decided last night this is the right move. If you’re into that kind of detailed evaluations, you can see my pros and cons chart below – never fool-proof but always helpful to me. Here from the Realtor web listing is the “Virtual Tour” which I don’t know how to embed, so just click the linked words below:
“Full Screen” looks best 🙂
And when I tried to copy photos from the listing, they were too small to share here except the one above, a view of my only closest neighbor from my kitchen window. On my tour we didn’t have time for me to make photos. Of course you will get photos from me later. 🙂
We start paperwork Monday, meet with owner Tuesday to sign the contract, and if all works as planned I will move in 23 April, one day before the next month’s rent is due here, and of course I will lose the deposit by not giving the impractical two-month notice. I’ve talked with the new manager at La Jacaranda and he is not angry, just disappointed. We will stay friends. I like him and I love the grounds here and may come back for photos. It is really the main thing I will miss, all the big trees with birds and monkeys! Just not my mold allergies in the musty, moldy bathrooms that will require new drain plumbing to fix, a big expensive job.
Saturday I walked over to the house to check mileages to different places with my pedometer and try to get a cell phone photo, but of course the house gate was locked and I could only shoot from the street. This shows the large balcony deck with a killer view, outdoor dining table and chairs where I expect to eat most meals. Use the virtual tour to see inside the house and views of the deck.
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| Cell Phone view from outside my locked gate. (No clicker yet!) Notice the dry season look compared to green season look at top. |
Pros & Cons of Moving to the House |
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| POSITIVES | NEGATIVES |
| 1. New, better construction | 1. Cost will increase up to $150 with utilities |
| 2. Appears to be better management | 2. Poor parking space but I have no car |
| 3. Screens on sliding glass doors to deck | 3. Not as many big trees near house as apartments and probably not as many birds & monkeys, but don’t know that yet |
| 4. Bigger deck as extension of living/dining with second dining table outside | 4. It is at beginning of complex, near gate, but on three visits, very little traffic |
| 5. Ceiling fans in LR, BR, Office/Guest Room | 5. One bathroom (but, single guy, few visitors) |
| 6. No plumbing mold, mildew issues like my apartment will always have (1 of my allergies) | 6. No air conditioning |
| 7. More privacy | |
| 8. Larger, more space | |
| 9. Office with desk and nice couch/futon bed | |
| 10. Kitchen better equipped, nicer | |
| 11. Washer AND Dryer in big laundry room with two deep sinks | |
| 12. Beautifully decorated! But I can add some of my art. I love their art which goes with mine. Modern nature theme. | |
| 13. Equal or better panoramic view | |
| 14. Nicer, larger bedroom (& office/guest rm) | |
| 15. Nicer, larger bathroom | |
| 16. No A/C will save on electricity cost | |
| 17. Near entrance gate helps on walking distances and it is actually 2/10 mile closer to Central Park than La Jacaranda, about same distance to grocery store | |
| 18. I can plant flowers outside & have more room for potted plants than at apartment | |
| 19. I can more safely ride a bicycle from this house and hope to rent one first, to see how it works before buying one | |
| 20. The hills are less steep than between apartment and town for walking or biking | |
| 21. Best security with guards at entrance gate and patrols 24/7, plus alarm system in house and separate gate to my cluster of 3 houses | |
| 22. He will add carport if I get a car | |
TMI? Maybe I share too much information, but this blog is partly to help others considering a move to Costa Rica and full honesty can be the best help. I know that such blogs helped me before my move.
And at first, I would never have considered a move to a gated community of probably half expats, but my little nest for writing, a photography & travel base, and rest needs to be allergy-free and comfortable. This is more than I had ever hoped for and I could stay really long term here, though the contract is for just two years. We’ll see.
SORRY! I WAS WRITING THIS TO POST SUNDAY NIGHT & HIT WRONG BUTTON.
I try not to publish two posts on the same day – oh well – its done!
CATUCA
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| CATUCA is in an historic old house near Central Park by La Carreta, one of my cafes |
CATUCA is an acrostic of the Spanish name for the Chamber of Tourism and Commerce for Atenas, Costa Rica. They just reorganized and opened this building last week. There was suppose to be a craft fair there today, but only about 5 crafts persons showed up. Inside is a room with a person to help tourists and newcomers find things in Atenas and they have free post cards which would have been nice when Kevin was here! They hope to add T-shirts, etc.
There are about 4 or 5 permanent craft shops with everything from wooden toys and clothing to a frame shop. There is also a little cafe serving Tico food. It reminds me of some small towns in Tennessee who turned their old train station into such a tourist stop, then had trouble staffing it and getting tourists there. The truth is, Atenas is not a regular tourist town. We will get some on Saturday 18 April for the Tope (horse parade) and Wednesday 29 April for the Oxcart Parade.
For friends coming to visit, let me be your tourism information. It is hard to find out what is happening when, but I’m learning how to beat the bushes.
Caring for Nature
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| Celebrate Your Life Care for Nature |
I recently noticed this sign nailed to a tree in Central Park Atenas below some air plants. Costa Ricans are known for celebrating and enjoying life! And the country is a haven for nature unlike most others. Maybe someone put this sign here to educate the youth who hang out in the park a lot, since many of them are more interested in things than nature. As a nature-lover I’m glad to see it anyway.
The government and tourism leadership are working to make Costa Rica one of the “greenest” tourist countries in the world. Maybe now they will work harder on educating the local people concerning littering and misuse of things like the greywater I wrote about earlier. There is not much they can do about volcanic ash, but at least it is fairly rare with some volcanoes erupting only every 400 years. All of these little environmental concerns are important because together with the daily destruction of forests by man’s hunger for wood, land, and “progress,” we are systematically destroying the world that God made for us. The “care for nature” is still minimal in our world, even in Costa Rica. May we all celebrate life by caring for nature!
Now this good news as it was reported in “Costa Rica Insider” one of the newsletters I get:
100% renewable energy
More exciting news recently out of Costa Rica. The country’s electric utility company, ICE (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad) announced that during the first 75 days of 2015, the country had been running completely on renewable energy resources—with no burning of fossil fuels needed to generate electricity. The primary source is hydroelectric (Lake Arenal was actually created to power a hydroelectric plant), followed by geothermal (all that volcanic activity underground comes in handy), wind, and a good bit of solar, too.
Costa Rica has set an ambitious goal of being completely carbon neutral for its power generation by 2021. And it already generates more than 90% of its power on average through renewable sources.
Ticos and expats are psyched. And the achievement has also attracted attention from environmental watchers and media organizations from around the world.
“We cannot think too highly of nature, nor too humbly of ourselves.”
Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832)
“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”
― Chris Maser, Forest Primeval: The Natural History of an Ancient Forest
The Majestic Vulture
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| Turkey Vulture glides over my balcony, Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
The poor ol’ garbage collector gets a bad rap and he is really graceful in the sky and so beneficial on the ground! And note this cool quote from a bird book . . .
The face is ruddy and wrinkled and topped with an embarrassingly sparse cap of feathers. Its expression is uncommonly serene and there is something about it that suggests infinite patience. Huddled on their perches, wrapped in shabby vestments, the birds look like a group of balding monks gathered in prayer.
Pete Dunne, The Wind Masters
Spoiler alert: Tomorrow I’m scheduled to look at a new house for rent in the Roca Verde development. Downside is it will cost a little bit more and the walk to town is a little bit further, but upside is much better construction than what I’m in, better maintenance, more privacy, and I’ll still have a deck or balcony view and lots of birds around. We’ll see. I have to decide now whether I stay or move with my current contract up for renewal and some boxes ready for delivery. Hopefully this is my last big decision for awhile. You can pray that I make a good decision, not that either would be bad.