Category: Costa Rica

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Sitting on Rocks? Park Remodel Update…

The other day I showed that they were now building the concrete seating in a circle around the “Kiosk” or Band Shell. Well today as I walked by before my haircut I noticed something interesting. Instead of using re-barb inside the huge concrete two-level seating they are using locally harvested rocks – yep – big rocks around which they hand-pour concrete from buckets. Hmmm. Well, it does help fill in the space with something more than just concrete! And I’m not an engineer, so maybe it is as good as re-barb though I have my doubts, especially since we regularly have earthquake tremors around here. Oh well, not my problem!   🙂   Pura vida!

Step 1: Fill each level of form with rocks.

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Step 2: Hand pour concrete around rocks.

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Step 3: Finish with smooth concrete.

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Step 4: Finished product looks great!

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“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”      ~George S. Patton

¡Pura Vida!

 

My growing gallery of progress on the Atenas Central Park Remodeling.

The city has  a Facebook Page presenting the remodeling with architect drawings of how they expect it to look.

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Potluck Supper Last Night

You guys considering a move to Costa Rica might be interested to know that it is common for neighborhoods to get together for potluck dinners occasionally. We did when in the apartments and we have in Roca Verde as last night. I’m on the RV Social Committee and we are now planning on 3 or 4 potluck suppers a year to get to know your neighbors better. And another fun part is how international it is in most neighborhoods with Costa Ricans, Europeans from multiple countries, and of course persons from the U.S. and Canada. Great food too!   🙂   Plus I got an invite for an American Thanksgiving Day Feast at one of the homes!   🙂

¡Pura Vida!

Sorry I did not get any photos last night but I have other social and fiesta photos in my photo gallery!    🙂

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Of the Marvelous – Trip Book

Sorry there were two posts yesterday, the old man gets flustered on the computer sometimes and makes mistakes! I intended for one of those today and this one for tomorrow, but here it is anyway! 🙂

I think this is one of my best books yet on travels around Costa Rica, this one about my week in Uvita on the southern Pacific Coast, whale-watching, many birds and other wildlife, sunsets, a river trip and visiting one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve seen yet in Costa Rica, Nauyaca Waterfall, my 27th waterfall to photograph here!

You may see or “Review” every page of the book electronically for free without having to order. Enjoy another one of my tropical adventures in Costa Rica!     ~Charlie

The book:     https://www.blurb.com/b/9678019-of-the-marvelous

Or click the book cover image:

Click to PREVIEW this book online for free

“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”
~Aristotle

And for even more photos see my “Trip Gallery” 2019 Cristal Ballena, Uvita

¡Pura Vida!

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Progress?

Architects have forever been changing the look of our world, all around the world, including in this little coffee farming town of Atenas, Costa Rica. The other day I snapped this photo as just one example of many modern buildings coming up in Atenas. Some, like this one will, soon sit adjacent a “historic” or “antique” building providing the continued contrast of old and new across Atenas and around the world. My response is to just “go with the flow” and find beauty and joy in everything! ¡Pura Vida!

“You can’t stop the future
You can’t rewind the past
The only way to learn the secret
…is to press play.”
― Jay Asher

For more images of Atenas, see my gallery  Atenas.  Check out other galleries to see how I have adapted to “change” – old age, retirement, loss of family and work and encroachment of the future by embracing nature in this beautiful country dominated by nature.   ¡Pura Vida!  Retired in Costa Rica!

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Life Essentials

I encourage you to watch this brief 1 minute video ad that will be appearing in larger city TV markets in the U.S. and Canada this year. Then plan your trip to Costa Rica for the “Essentials of Life!” in Costa Rica!    –    🙂    –    ¡Pura Vida!

And/or be inspired by my photos in Charlie’s COSTA RICA! photo gallery!

 

And for the bird-lovers & nature-lovers up north, are you aware of the tragedy of our lifetime? Nearly 3 Billion Birds Gone from U.S. & Canada – staggering! Link is to article from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We are destroying the earth little by little. I’m thankful to live in a small haven of nature, Costa Rica!

Retired in Costa Rica

www.charliedoggett.net

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Central Park Update – SEATING

They continue to work very slow (muy despacio) but have started the concrete seats that will circle the round stage or theater in the round. As some say here “It will be nice if they ever finish it!   🙂

The city has  a Facebook Page presenting the remodeling with architect drawings of how they expect it to look. Nice! The vision of an architect! AND BEST VIEWED AS A MANUAL SLIDESHOW! Click on a picture, then the right or left arrows.

“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”    – Margaret J. Wheatley

And these photos are being added to the others in my photo gallery called:   Remodeling Central Park Atenas  for a pictorial history of the park remodel.

¡Pura Vida!

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New Butterflies

Two butterflies scurrying around my garden the other day captured my attention much because of how fast they traveled and thus difficult to photograph. The one with red & pink is a Transandean Cattleheart (Parides iphidamas), while the one with turquoise is a Short-tailed Flasher (Astraptes brevicauda). These are both identifications using A Swift Guide to Butterflies of Mexico and Central America, Second Edition. On the Cattleheart especially, I trust the book more than the internet where the many different types of Cattleheart butterflies do not have their photos as finely separated as in the book.

The unknown yellow butterfly was on the parking lot by gym at Colegio Liceo (college-prep high school) – must have been pretty when alive but can’t find him in the book. CLICK images to see larger.

Transandean Cattleheart

 

Short-Tailed Flasher

 

Unidentified Butterfly

 

So we’ll live, And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh at gilded butterflies.     ~William Shakespeare

🙂

¡Pura Vida!

 

And check out my Butterflies & Moths of Costa Rica photo gallery! I have not found another online Costa Rica Butterfly gallery yet with as many labeled butterfly photos, more than 80 with names!

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In the Costa Rica News

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Alajuela City Workers Strike

You do not see strikes often here outside the capital city of San Jose (where they shut down the already horrible traffic), but the other day when in Alajuela a small group of city workers (police, fire, others) were striking across the street from City Hall which had police barricades to keep them off city property (sorry I didn’t photo that!). The homemade signs or posters taped to the railing of a closed business were complaining about waste of money by city and low salaries for employees – plus they were blowing horns and beating drums to attract attention and possibly annoy city offices across the street. Common low pay complaint around the world I guess.

Public employees picketing for better wages, Alajuela.

Though life is much better here than in the states for the poor, greed still causes the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. Life is not always fair.

Safe working conditions, fair wages, protection from forced labor, and freedom from harassment and discrimination – these must become standard global operating conditions.    ~Paul Polman

¡Pura Vida!

 

I have an Alajuela photo gallery if interested in more from our provincial capital and home of the San Jose Airport.

Bonus for CR Travelers

One of the CR Travel Agencies I use is Costa Rica Expeditions and they just sent out this message with 5 Secrets of Visiting Costa Rica in October.  Helpful information for traveling here near the end of our “Green Season.” (Rainy Season) Anytime is a good time to visit Costa Rica!

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Pruned My Yellow Bells Again

To maintain a vista from my terrace I have to top or prune off the top of both my Yellow Bells Tree and my Nance Tree about once a year.

I asked the gardener to write down the official name in Spanish which is “Arbole de vainillo” (Costa Rica only name – click for español description and other Spanish names by country). I just discovered that the Latin name Tecoma stans  (click for English description) also has multiple English names listed in this order on Wikipedia: Yellow Trumpetbush, Yellow Bells (which I have been calling it because of the yellow bell-shaped flowers), Yellow Elder, and Ginger-Thomas. It is the official flower of the United States Virgin Islands and the floral emblem of The Bahamas, both using different names!

Topped the Yellow Bell & Nance Trees to preserve my vista.   🙂

And is very popular all over Costa Rica as a garden tree bringing 2-4 months of yellow flowers every year. You can see more photos of my trees blooming in my photo gallery named:  My Home Gardens.

 

“In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends.”
~Okakura Kakuzo
¡Pura Vida!
See my photo galleries  Flora & Forest  and  Vistas for more of life here!

Trip Gallery

And the trip gallery is finished for my week-ago trip at:

October & November Adventures

Coming in October: A visit to Rincón de la Vieja National Park & Hacienda Guachipelin, a volcano park lodge, this one in the north of Guanacaste, above Liberia (a new area for me)  and another hotel that promises a great birding experience. I continue to try new places while occasionally repeating favorites like a redo of Arenal Observatory (another volcano birding lodge) coming in November. In Costa Rica – the adventures never end!
¡Pura Vida!