Category: Culture

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Thank You for 2023!

I am immensely grateful for each and every one of you who read my blog regularly, occasionally or just look at the photos! My site host reports more that 2,000+ “hits” online at my website/blog every month! 🙂 And that doesn’t count many of the 500+ subscribers who only look at the email version nor most of the 650 Facebook Friends who look at the one feature photo without clicking the the link to the post! 

I also appreciate the hundreds of comments left on the posts monthly and many “contacts” or messages through my contact page or by email. Just yesterday I responded to a man in England with questions about photographing wildlife at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge and a friend in the States commented with a meaningful Bible verse about my post yesterday on hugging the 800 year old tree. Nature is fun! :-) And you who read or just look at the pictures are the ones who make it fun for me! :-) THANKS! Keep reading or looking at the pix! And click the gallery links for more pix!

As usual, I’m ending the year with 12 photos from this year, equaling one per month but not literally from each month, since some months have weaker or fewer photos. Nor are these necessarily my top 12 favorite photos from this year, but are representative 2023 photos from “Retired in Costa Rica” this year, with birds and butterflies obviously being two favorite subjects again! :-) One shot here for the email version and eleven more online with a quick click below of “Read More”!

Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Maquenque Eco Lodge, Boca Tapada, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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“Hug a Tree!”

After the jeep ride up the mountain (yesterday’s post) going past the mirador (Spanish for a vista overlook platform), we stopped at the trailhead for multiple trails. Me and the 3-generation Tico family chose the shorter trail through the forest down to the Savegre Mirador. Just one experience here, so be sure to see the others in the Hiking the Pioneers Trail Photo GALLERY.

An 800 Year Old Tree says “Hug Me!”
A Mother & Child Hug the 800 year old Tree.

And for more pix on the trails at Savegre, click the linked blog post below titled “Trails and Trees” where Marino Chacón (a different son of the founder than this year) took me on a longer trails hike for the early morning bird hike back in January 2021, just the 2 of us.

¡Pura Vida!

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Beginning My Christmas Retreat

As always, my faithful driver, Walter, got me through all the Christmas traffic going around San Jose and up to my mountain hideaway in Hotel Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota. This time his wife Gabby and their year old daughter got to ride with us through the traffic of one wreck, lots of Christmas shoppers and half of Costa Rica beginning their summer vacation this weekend! I treated them to a late lunch at Savegre and the waiter made this photo. And believe it or not a Resplendent Quetzal visited us in a tree by our outside dining area. And my camera was not with me! 🙁

Walter Ramirez Family with me at Savegre.

Mountain flowers are different from those in the lowlands, so one of my first shots was of flowers and there will be many more! :-)

Mountain Flowers, Hotel Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota.

¡Pura Vida!

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No Laptop No Blog Post

My laptop computer just went into the local repair shop and it takes 24 hours to get the needed part from San José, meaning it will barely be ready before I leave Friday morning for my Christmas trip to San Gerardo de Dota, thus no posts until Friday niģht from the mountains. This is the only post I will type on this tiny phone screen! I hate it! :-) And I can only figure out how to include a photo already used – sorry!

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Christmas Parade Atenas 2023

See all the good photos in the GALLERY: 2023 Christmas Parade Atenas. And to introduce the gallery, here’s 5 shots from the 4 sub-galleries . . .

Saint Nicholas mingles with the audience from sub-gallery “audience shots”  https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/PEOPLE/2023-Christmas-Parade-Atenas/Parade-Audience-Shots/
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Today is “Underdog Day!”

Underdog Day (December 15): If you watched this past year’s World Cup, you know the power of an underdog story. Unknowns Morocco and Croatia gained millions of fans as they upset top-ranked soccer teams. But underdogs are everywhere. The shy classmate running for student government. The teammate who is usually on the bench. Cheer for them today. Your support may be what helps them achieve their goals. And feel better about themselves.  I know. As one of the shy, unknown kids in my 1958 H.S. graduating class of a thousand other kids, I received a citizenship award that the local newspaper called “The Typical Jane and Joe Award,” with a photo of me and an equally shy and unknown girl. It made us both feel better about ourselves!   🙂  Try to make someone you know feel better about themselves today!

“Underdog” receives Citizenship Award” in 1958.

¡Pura Vida!

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My Table & Pix at Art Fair

This was where I spent most of last weekend at my table in the pre-Christmas art fair called Just In Time or JIT. I sold more than a lot of the others but not near enough to make it worth the work, time and expense. This will be my last time for this show and I’m out of the Galería January 14, meaning that after that if you want any of my pix for wall art, in books, on merchandise, etc., you will have to go through my website and order online. I’m no longer selling stuff in person! :-)

Interesting side note: In one of the photos below you will see the word “Pizza” on the next building. It was not open last weekend but will be sometime this week and it will be the very first American chain fast food in Atenas: Papa John’s Pizza! :-) It will be interesting to see if they make it with locally owned pizza places literally all over town! Plus other themed restaurants here also serve pizza, so I question the business decision, but pizza is very popular here (especially with the young) and they may have the marketing skills, the money (and lower prices) to put all the locals out of business like Walmart does when they move into other communities. Fortunately Walmart is not in Atenas as such, though they are the owners of two local supermarkets, Maxi-Pali and the smaller Pali Supermercado which do have lower prices and Walmart-brand stuff, but neither the quality overall nor service of the local cooperative supermercado that I prefer. I try to avoid such American places and don’t plan to eat pizza at Papa John’s! :-) As a smaller town we have been fortunate to avoid the invasion of American fast-food joints that are all over San Jose and Alajuela. Here’s 4 photos of my stuff at the weekend art fair . . .

My Table at the top of stairs going up to most of shops, including Galería Artenas.
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Art Fair Starts Today!

If you live in or near Atenas, I hope to see you this weekend at the “Just in Time for the Holidays” Art Fair at Calle 2 Plaza and Gallería Artenas.

Get the one of a kind gifts for everyone on your holiday list, or for yourself at the third annual Just in Time for the Holidays Art and Artisanal feria.  Over 20 local artists will be featured this year, including many of the past year’s favorites.  The art fair will be held December 8th, 9th, and 10th at Calle 2 Plaza, located next to Linea Vital in Central Atenas.  As in past years 10% of all sales will be donated to Rescate Animales Atenas, the Atenas Red Cross, Animales Atenas and the Atenas food bank.   Hours are:  Friday 3pm-7pm, Saturday 10 am -7pm and Sunday 10 am -2 pm. This feria is sponsored by Galeria Artenas. 

NOTE: This may be my last time to offer my “Nature As Art” in this show (still debating on my future in it) but I am definitely leaving the Gallería Artenas January 14, so now is the time to get my artwork in person in two places at once! My greeting cards and accent pillows will be only in the Gallería Artenas while everything else will be just outside on the beautiful new Calle 2 Plaza at my Art Fair table! This year I’m featuring a new Calendar 2024 of beautiful Costa Rica Butterflies! Plus a few new “Feliz Navidad” nature Christmas Cards! Come check it out!

In the future my photo art will continue to be available online through multiple sources by way of my website/blog! On my website/blog menu just click Gallery or Bookstore or CafePress for Wall Art & Books to Coffee Mugs & Accent Pillows! And my Nature As Art will continue to be available on the internet! Hey! I’m retired, 83 years old, and keep trying to make myself slow down! But I will never stop photographing nature! 🙂 And I’ll continue posting the photos on my blog! Sign up for that if not already subscribing. 🙂

The registered name & logo.

¡Pura Vida!