Category: Costa Rica

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Enroute to Paradise

Today (Tuesday) I used my local preferred driver (Walter) to take me to Hampton Inn Airport San Jose/Alajuela where I sleep tonight (free HH room) for a very early pickup tomorrow (Wednesday) by Caribe Shuttle, my favorite tour company on the Caribbean side, headquartered in my favorite Caribe hotel, Banana Azul.

I’m using them because the only airline flying to Bocas del Toro (Nature Air) went bankrupt after their serious crash in December (and they still haven’t refunded me for my planned airline ticket!) But this will be a different kind of adventure and we stop for lunch at Banana Azul enroute to Tranquilo Bay! I may be traveling with surfers or businessmen, you never know on this daily shuttle bus run. Tomorrow night I will have dinner overlooking the ocean and archipelago of islands in the Western Caribbean Sea and birding the next morning!

Tranquilo private beach, dock, boats, kayaks, snorkeling
and of course lots of birds on our island and others!
Bocas del Toro, Panama
Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama
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Cloudy Without Rain

Cloudy Without Rain Currently in Atenas, Costa Rica  – Well, by 3:30 rain was here!  🙂
As seen from my terrace. 

THIS WEEK’S TRIP
Estoy muy ocupada ahora. “I am very busy right now” getting ready for the longest trip yet since moving to Costa Rica, nine days with travel! And as usual when busy, I forgot something important: to pay my CAJA (CR Medicare) by the deadline Friday and will pay Monday and find out if there is a penalty for being late. It and my rent are the only two regular payment I have been unable to secure “auto-debit” for. After class Monday morning I will spend time in the bank (longer lines on Monday) paying that bill and securing U.S Dollars which is what they want at the border and pretty much everywhere in Panama, as their default currency.

I’ve made two bus trips to Alajuela for internet order pickups for the trip. I got a second camera body so I will not have to remove one from the 600mm lens which I will use most, but sometimes will need one of my 3 other lenses. And I finally replaced my camera backpack which was stolen in Puntarenas a couple of years ago. And still dealing with computer people on the change of my website to WordPress and basically starting all over rebuilding the site. After the trip I will try to move my blog from Blogger to WordPress as part of my website, but the Panama trip photos will be shared on Blogger. 
Tuesday afternoon I go to a free night (Hilton Honors points) at the Hampton Inn Airport, since the Caribe Fun tour bus will pick me up at 5 am at any San Jose hotel the next morning. Then all day Wednesday by bus to Bocas del Toro, Panama with a lunch stop at one of my favorite hotels, Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. I get there late afternoon with only the border crossing uncertain about time. The last leg of trip is by boat to an island for my ecolodge, Tranquilo Bay. 7 nights there and then all day the following Wednesday to return home by way of the airport, though not all night on return. It will be a new kind of adventure both on the water and on the van.

¡Pura Vida!
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Hogar de Vida 23rd Birthday Today

And I can’t show children’s faces online which is the most beautiful part, but here’s the event!

We sang happy birthday to Hogar – in Spanish of course! 

New shirts for special occasions!

The back of the shirts. The toddlers had orange shirts with animals on them, but no good photo without faces. 

I think I’m safe on the faces here! 

Helen arranged everything AND served the cake! 

This is a very special place and I am now on the board of directors thought they call it something else.
And will be volunteering on the grounds occasionally when not traveling!  🙂 

It is very easy to make a donation to Hogar de Vida home for abused and neglected children, simply go to this website and make either a one-time donation or schedule a monthly gift:


And you can select the Costa Rica or the Guatemala home as you prefer. 
¡Pura Vida!
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West Indian Buckeye

West Indian Buckeye Butterfly
My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica
I am glad that we are getting a lot more butterflies now! I had forgotten that it was mainly in June & July that the butterflies were numerous. I have a bad photo of one of these West Indian Buckeys, but this is my first good photo that shows the beauty of its coloration and design.

PREPARING NEW WEBSITE/BLOG AT WORDPRESS

I will be working on my new website at charliedoggett.net for a long time it seems, though my phone appointment with a specialist Tuesday may move me forward a little quicker. That may be when I move this blogger.com blog into WordPress. We will see. I have started a practice blog in WordPress, but it will not be the main one until they are merged there. The merging is suppose to include moving my subscriptions, but I never totally trust computers or programmers, so be prepared to sign up again if necessary!
Then I will consider moving my photo gallery into the same website so everything is together.  ¡Poco a poco! Little by little!
¡Pura Vida!
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Atenas Central Park to be Remodeled

Modern, open, bright, and a better performance venue in the center.
See 16 photos of proposal. 

They do not give a completion date but possibly sometime in 2018. It will be the most modern thing in town. Now if La Coopetransatenas will build a new modern bus station, we will be THE PUEBLO!
¡PURA VIDA!
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Art Deco Department Store in Alajuela

A cloudy morning yesterday, Saturday, in Alajuela Centro – Llobet
A three-story huge department store – the old fashion kind
still meeting competition from the modern new malls!
And competes with Miami’s South Beach for Art Deco Design! 🙂
Alajuela, Costa Rica
And for more of Alajuela, see my Alajuela Photo Gallery

+Photos from all over Costa Rica in my gallery:  Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA



¡Pura vida!
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Watching Rain

I still can’t capture it raining in my camera, even with fast shutter speed, and slow is blurry. Oh well.
Believe me it is raining above and you can tell that the distant mountains are grayed over by rain.
From my deck for a late lunch, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica 

Leaves up close are obviously wet, but you still can’t see the rain falling.
We call the rainy season “Green Season” because everything is greener.
It is my favorite time of the year! And most days it only rains 1 to 3 hours in afternoon or evening.
Atenas, Costa Rica
For photos from all over Costa Rica, see my gallery 
Just don’t expect to see it raining in any of the photos!  🙂




¡Pura Vida!
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Experimenting with New Book Binding

This is a “heavy paper” special binding so all pages “lay flat” with none of a two-page photo lost in the gutter. I am experimenting and will decide if it is worth the much higher cost when I do a book like this with all 2-page spreads or panoramas. You can review every page electronically online in the bookstore by clicking the link or click the cover image above. Best seen “Full Page” as always.
¡Pura Vida!