Category: Atenas

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Cashew Fruit

Cashew Fruit is ripening on trees around Atenas now.
Photographed from my balcony, Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

This shot was made from about 50 meters away on a tree in a neighbor’s yard, shot from my balcony! The fruit reminds you of a red or yellow (come in both colors) bell pepper except for the seed or nut that hangs below it. Only one nut per fruit. No wonder cashews are somewhat expensive. Read about them in this Wikipedia article. New uses for the fruit itself are being developed, including one by Pepsi Cola. It is not a major export from Costa Rica. They grow in most tropical climes and we even had them in The Gambia. Most of what you get in the states probably come from India, Indonesia or Nigeria, where they are big exports. We stick with exporting bananas, pineapples, and coffee here! 
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Sharing the Mangos

The Male Mantled Howler Monkey eating one of the apartment mangos.
A few are getting ripe, though most are still green as you can see.
So the howlers will be here for awhile I suspect.
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

If you’ve never heard a howler monkey you must listen to the howler monkeys. We are hearing them more often now, day and night. But they don’t bother my sleep.

Mother-child don’t show their faces as much as Papa.
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica
Papa keeps a watchful eye on us humans looking up at them.
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

If you liked my simple cell phone photos of the Easter Procession at our Atenas Catholic Church yesterday, check out this video of Easter Procession in an Escazu, Costa Rica church.

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Resurrection Morning Mass & Processional

The Priest leads congregation behind the costumed children and statue of Christ.
Iglesia Catolica San Rafael De Atenas, Costa Rica
After the 9 AM Easter Mass, April 5, 2015

I finally did it! I went to the beautiful Catholic Church for worship instead of the evangelical church I have been attending and it was wonderful, though still in Spanish and not generally understood. The standing room only 9:00 AM Mass had an unseen choir of young voices leading the congregation in singing a few songs/hymns/choruses accompanied by a single acoustic guitar. Beautiful! I will never miss the loud, rock-style “Praise Band” here or anywhere else. The music was so much more worshipful at the Catholic Church – but I’m not yet ready to become a Catholic! There was a small processional into the service and a grand one afterwards that led the whole congregation around the Central Park as shown in the photos. 


Altar Boys and Girls Lead the Processional

Followed by a statue of the Risen Christ

A haphazard collection of unorganized shepherd boys (disciples?)
with family members and others following along with them
(The Mamas did great job on costumes! Probably Dads who didn’t organize them.)

And the girls, the only organized ones
marching in a straight line (Love the girls!)

Followed by the priest and as many of the congregation who wanted to follow
the march around the central park block (on left). 
The 9:00 AM Standing Room Only Easter Mass before procession.
There were also masses at 6 AM, 11 AM, and 5 PM
Sorry about low-light cellphone photo – It is really beautiful!
The room was made for worship and prayer. It helps you to do so.
Someday I’ll get a good photos inside with tripod, etc. 

Another interesting observation was that there were many more young adults and children than old people, which might have been related to the time and/or processional with children included. Never counted, but the Iglesia Biblica worship services seem to be about 50/50 older/younger adults with most children leaving after the hour song service for a children’s church. Both congregations are very family oriented with even teens sitting with their parents. This mass was a little over an hour long while the evangelical service is always at least two hours long with more than an hour of music and a 45 minute sermons, while the priest’s was maybe 15 minutes. Both churches are made up of very happy, friendly people, typical of Costa Rica! 

CHECKED OUT A LOCAL HOTEL
After this Easter Morning experience, I walked the half block to La Caretta’s for a brunch omelette to supplement my earlier bowl of cereal. Then walked to the upscale Roca Verde housing development and the nearby Colinas del Sol Hotel to check it out in case any future visitors want something different from my house or the Vista Atenas B&B I have already used. Colinas is larger, offers more services, and is within walking distance of the Central Park – for me, at about 12 blocks estimate. But Vista Atenas has the best view! You just can’t easily walk from there, up on a mountain top 2+ miles. And of course one person or a couple can stay for free in my guest room like Kevin just did with both view and within walking distance!


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Good Friday Mass

A cross draped in red and candles are
about to be brought into the Good Friday Mass
Atenas, Costa Rica

I love symbolism, ceremony, and beauty in worship and keep saying I will go to Mass and wish I had been dressed differently today for I would have enjoyed this probably more than the praise band I will hear Sunday morning at the Bible Church. But hey, I may surprise everyone and go to Mass instead. 

During Lent the cross in front of the Catholic Church has been draped in a purple cloth which was removed this week. 
Lent Purple at Catholic Church
Atenas, Costa Rica
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My “DIAPAUSE”

Diapause: a period of physiologically enforced dormancy between periods of activity.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary

My new word today is usually referring to animal dormancy, particularly butterflies in the pupae stage. I’m not in a pupae, unless you call my apartment that, but after preparation for two differents sets of visitors and a particularly full week with Kevin, I’ve kind of pulled into my apartment and mostly resting, reading, and taking care of just necessary business – not running all over Costa Rica looking for birds to photograph! This pre-sunset photo kind of symbolizes my diapause. It frequently looks like rain without ever doing it. It makes me look forward to May when the rain actually starts. It is very dry and grass fires are common. 

Rain Clouds that Don’t Rain!
Atenas, Costa Rica

It is fun to just sit on my balcony, watch the town below me, the sky, the birds and listen to the howler monkeys who are hollering as I type. Click to hear them yourself: Mantled Howler Monkey  Oh, go ahead! Click it and listen for 20 seconds! I hear every morning & evening.


Male Howler Monkey
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica
My photo made by me here at the apartments in a tree along the river

And by the way, it is pretty easy to rest this week as most every business has closed already or will after today for Holy Week. No Spanish Class either! Semana Santa.



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Atenas Coffee Farm Tour

Gabriel (our Juan Valdez) teaches us about the natural way to grow coffee at
El Toledo Coffee Farm, Atenas, Costa Rica
Beans go through roasting machine to become
either light, medium, or dark roasted.
We tasted each and chose our favorite before knowing which roast.
The coffee farm pet Olive-throated Parakeets got my attention of course!
Then a traditional Tico Lunch of beans, rice, veggies, salad, plantains, fish
In Sarchi, Kevin got a taste of the rainforest after photographing
some of the colorful oxcarts made here along with furniture, etc.
A typical Costa Rican Oxcart made in Sarchi
Sarchi Church
Tico family in front of Grecia Church
Made of metal in Belgium in 1800’s
and reassembled in Grecia!

We got a little further away from Atenas today and will go even further tomorrow as we head for Poas Volcano and La Paz Waterfalls.

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A Day in Atenas Costa Rica

Waking up to Yellow Bells blooming out my bedroom window
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica
Yes, I really could see this while lying in my bed this morning!
Same tree where I made some of those earlier bird photos.

Kevin and I eat breakfast on top of a mountain and photograph the vista at
La Casita del Cafe, Atenas, Costa Rica
Pacific Ocean is on the far horizon
Monumento del Boyero – National Monument to Oxcart Drivers
Atenas, Costa Rica
(Yeah, it was cloudy, but not a drop of rain yet!)
“Adios Snowbirds” dinner party before Canadians and Europeans return north
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica 

Tomorrow we tour of Atenas’ El Toledo Coffee Farm and eat lunch in a family farm home there.

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Kevin and Motmot Arrive in Atenas!

Kevin Hunter arrived today for his visit and brought good luck to my birding at the apartments. We went down to the river to see waterfall and howler monkeys and found a Blue-crowned Motmot, my first at the apartments! Thanks Kevin!

Blue-crowned Motmot
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

Blue-crowned Motmot
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

Kevin works on an email under the watchful eye of
My Apartment Nude

Kevin had a safe and uneventful trip to Costa Rica with his flight arriving 30 minutes early, but I checked online and knew and was there early to welcome him. We had a Tico lunch at La Carreta, walked around the central park and beautiful catholic church and he went with me for some business at ICE concerning my cell phone. Then to the apartments, settling in, going down to river to see the Mantled Howler Monkeys and the Blue-crowned Motmot. Then back up the hill to watch two Social Flycatchers chase a cat away from the tree they nest in. Then I served a tropical fruit plate for a lighter dinner with Robbie’s oatmeal cookies and some banana bread I got from an Atenas bakery. Then we both hit the computers.

The Social Flycatcher that chased the house cat in our front yard
Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica

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“Funeral Train”

Funeral Train in downtown Atenas seen from Central Park

I walked downtown for a light lunch around 1:00 and saw that a funeral was in process, leaving the Atenas Catholic Church facing the central park. Street width for a block+ was shoulder to shoulder people walking behind the flower-covered hearse. A big funeral this time!

The whole traditional process can be read about at Death in Costa Rica or a quick summary by me: Someone dies and within an hour or so every family member and friends knows at warp speed. The body is dressed and prepared for burial while another family member arranges the funeral mass for that day or the next morning if death is late in day. There is no embalming (available but very expensive). There may be a brief wake or visitation before the mass. After the mass is when the above “Funeral Train” begins as a hearse, covered in flowers, slowly drives to the cemetery with everyone following on foot, family members first. There is sometimes some low moaning or crying as they slowly walk to the cemetery.

This is the second funeral train I have come upon. I also posted a photo of the first which was much smaller and in a residential neighborhood.

And in spite of an occasional funeral, Costa Rica is still the Number 1 Happiest Country in the world. I just found another website listing of the happy that put us at #1:
http://www.earthporm.com/top-10-happiest-countries-world/?ts_pid=2
Thanks to Natalie for this one!

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Lent Purple

Atenas Catholic Church

Purple-draped crosses also
appear in front of many homes
in Atenas.

February 18 to April 2 is the Season of Lent this year and the color purple proclaims it in many places in Atenas, but none like the Catholic Church which also flies purple flags around the compound wall. The color of reconciliation is a fitting reminder of the mission of Christ we will celebrate on Easter Sunday, April 5.