Because the photo gallery linked above will go away when I die, I have donated my bird, butterfly and many other nature photos to the following three sources where they can be seen now and for posterity as well as contributing to the science of each species as all three are major sources of nature research for many research organizations and universities around the world, including their professors and students:
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” ~Proverbs 13:12
Cortez Amarillo Trees blooming, Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails, Arenal Volcano National Park, Alajuela, Costa Rica
My blog/website administrative page has a bucket for “Drafts” and occasionally I put something in there that I think I might work into a blog post later (like yesterday’s). Back in 2022 I placed the above quote from Proverbs that I picked from one of my Daily Bible Readings to comment on later and here I am, about 3 years later, commenting on it (with photos!). 🙂
It doesn’t seem as crowded in these photos as it felt in person walking on the beach and the bulk of people were in the shade of the beachside forest trees that I did not photograph, feeling like I would be invading their privacy. Nor did I try to photograph the monkeys that usually hang out in those trees because of all the people and I’m guessing that is also where most of them went to the bathroom with no public baños or porta-potties. The week before Christmas through New Years Day are the busiest days on all of Costa Rica beaches and in public parks, etc. since more Ticos are on vacation those two weeks than any other one time.
Thanks to “GoodReads” for this neat photo of the books I completed this year that does not include the ones I started and did not finish, like Belovedby Toni Morrison that someone in a newspaper article said was his favorite book ever, so I tried it and was bored after reading 20%, even though it was a 1987 Pulitzer Prize winner and NY Times bestseller! 🙂 Having been a part of two dysfunctional families myself, I don’t enjoy reading about others! 🙂 But who know, I may finish it this year – we’ll see. 🙂
Charlie Doggett’s 2025 books completed. Image by GoodReads.
For the last few years, my favorite mystery/adventure book authors have obviously been Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, especially their Agent Prendergast FBI mystery series of which I’ve read all (better than Sherlock Holmes series of which I’ve read all or even Agatha Christie’s two series) and I pre-ordered the prequel book coming out in 2026. 🙂 One of those books was made into a successful movie as was one of Preston’s solo books.
I got started first with a Douglas Preston book, Lost City of the Monkey God, during my first year or two in Costa Rica when I Googled “Central America adventure books.” It was the best of that search and based on a true story of an archaeological discovery in nearby Honduras which I re-read this year. Preston is also an archeologist and so some of the “Indiana Jones” adventure style comes through in several of his books! 🙂
I also try to read one of the “Classics” every year and though “Beloved” didn’t work out for me, I did read all of Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper and it was sort of fun, though the old English language seemed strange and though not the same kind of adventures as Preston & Child, I enjoyed the book and look forward to another classic this year as I read through the 50 Masterpieces you have to read before you die. 🙂
I got to where I did not like TV and haven’t had a TV subscription for most of my time in Costa Rica. My dinner habit is to read 2 or 3 chapters out of whatever my current book is. Right now I’m reading a Lincoln Child book, Deep Storm, a science fiction mystery/adventure on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. I’m at 40% at this writing. Kindle keeps one posted on how far through a book you are. 🙂 It will appear on my 2026 books report and with this I’m starting a new series, The Jeremy Logan Series Book 1, which I think will be science adventures or science fiction and so far I’m inclined to continue the series. 🙂
Put simply, for me, Preston & Child are both just great story tellers who hold my attention and interest through almost every word. I read them because I enjoy them. Better entertainment than TV! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Last Night’s Visit with Steve & Sherrell Hewko & Children.
During my 3 years as a missionary in The Gambia West Africa, a group of Campus Crusade Student Missionaries came for about 2 years of that time and we became friends and cohorts with multiple joint projects, especially remembered was a retreat I coordinated for them at Sindola Lodge.
Stephen Hewko was one of the students and the group leader of those students that included Sherrell, his now wife. That was 23 years ago! He brought his family of Sherrell and 3 teen children to Costa Rica on vacation last week and today they fly back to Toronto, Canada. I visited with them at their pre-flight hotel last night, or mostly with Steve as Mom and the kids were in and out of the pool, our poolside table and their hotel room. Last night’s photo of Steve is below beside a photo copy from my scrapbook of him in The Gambia back in 2002! Today he is Director of the Canadian Institute for Empirical Church Research at Wycliffe University in Toronto after doing several years of mission work back in The Gambia.
Steve Hewko in the Gambia, 2002.Steve Hewko in Costa Rica, 2025.
Every once in a while, a nice little surprise drops in on me. 🙂
I’m on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica today and this photo was made on the opposite side of the country on the Caribbean Sea Coast in 2021 at sunrise. This greeting card photo was one of several I created that year and did not use, but I like it and decided to share today. Tonight maybe I will share a sunset photo IF the weather cooperates! 🙂 HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS DAY!
Sunrise on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast in 2021.
¡Feliz Navidad! or Merry Christmas!
A potted Poinsettia has kept my terrace in the Christmas Spirit this December! 🙂
A regular in my garden, though not recently, and easy to confuse with Esmeralda Skipper, is the Long-tailed Skipper, Urbanus proteus (my gallery link). It is found all over the southeastern U.S., the Caribbean Islands and Central America.
Long-tailed Skipper, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
And oh yeah, this is the first butterfly I have seen on the Desert Rose flower in the 7 or 8 years I’ve had it. But you can see that he is not eating nectar, just resting. The flower is just too deep for most butterflies and hummingbirds. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Extra Costa Rica News Article:
World’s 2nd Worst Traffic Congestion!
“Costa Rica now ranks second in the world for worst traffic congestion, according to new 2025 Numbeo data, with commute times and CO2-heavy gridlock far above the global average. The report underscores how daily jams are hitting quality of life and the environment, especially in the Central Valley.” Tico Times Article.
Tico Times photo
It is mainly inside and around the capital city of San Jose where I have to go with a driver for most of my medical specialist appointments. Realtors in Atenas will tell you that we are only 45 minutes to an hour from San Jose – well . . . maybe at 2 am! 🙂
It is not unusual for my trips to Hospitals Mexico or Blanca Cervantes to take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on time of day, accidents, or highway construction. It is frustrating that there are not enough lanes on the major highways AND that (like in the U.S.) most cars have only one person in them! Many, if not most, tourists want rental cars for the independence and freedom to go where you wish whenever. But many become very frustrated trying to drive here, especially in and around San Jose traffic, while in rural areas it is the pot-holed narrow roads and one lane bridges (or river fording) that make for an adventure. 🙂 I recommend tourists to stay in one place when here for less than two weeks and use lodge or van services to get to and from the airport. Though there is a sense of adventure when driving in Costa Rica! 🙂
And oh yeah! Who are we second to? Nigeria! And having traveled all over Africa, I would put the whole continent as worse than Costa Rica, but this ranking was based on some kind of research. And perceived paradises do have their drawbacks! 🙂 I handle if my not owning a car and using taxis, public buses, and my professional tour driver to get me wherever I need to be. (And now go to San Jose only for doctors!) 🙂
Hoping you will have a happy December as I expect mine to be. I will be slowing down with only 3 doctor appointments! 🙂 My health is doing well with mostly the wonderful public health system here in Costa Rica, an ultra sound scan every 6 months showing me cancer free, a monthly nurse visit to my house, checking on me and data on my CPAP machine, and just a month ago I got new hearing aids compliments of the Cost Rica Social Security! Life is good in Costa Rica! 🙂
