Category: Culture

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Arenal Park is #6 in the World!

You’ve heard me brag about the forests of Arenal Volcano National Park several times and now it is not just me! 🙂 TripAdvisor just released their list of the “Top 10 National Parks in the World” (Tico Times article) with Costa Rica’s Arenal Park #6 on the list, right there with Maisa Mara of Kenya and the Grand Canyon of the United States as most popular by their volunteer reviewers. And I’m glad I’ve been able to see all three of those! 🙂 And especially to explore the forests that surround this beautiful volcano . . .

The best way to see the Arenal Volcano National Park is in the only lodge that’s inside the park, Arenal Observatory Lodge, which you may remember is where I was Christmas Week and it just so happens, because of pandemic airline changes, I’m going again this year in May! Yay! And to see why I like it so much, see my photo galleries from three past trips there:

But Tonight I Return to El Silencio

This short 4-night trip starting today is because the owner of El Silencio Lodge & Reserve liked my photo book about his hotel so much he gave me two nights gratis. And of course for me two nights is not enough anywhere, so I’m adding 2 more! 🙂 Makes it half price! 🙂 And I’m using my gift now! 🙂

There are two more waterfalls outside the lodge property I want to photograph and as always more birds! Hoping for more lifers. I got 4 lifers when there last September! And I get excited with just one! So it is obviously a good place for birding! Meaning that the rest of this week and probably longer will be more photos from El Silencio! 🙂 I’m so fortunate!

¡Pura Vida!

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The Beginning of Life 2 Outside

This fabulous documentary movie from Brazil present hundreds of ways to deal with the “Nature Deficit Syndrome” of modern children, particularly city kids around the world. Available on Netflix and other streaming services for free with English Subtitles though the audio is a mix of Portuguese, Spanish and English. Beautifully filmed and Life-changing for the whole world! It shows how NATURE is what the world needs now! 🙂 I RECOMMEND!

Nature is a tool to get children to experience not just the wider world, but themselves.

-Stephen Moss

¡Pura Vida!

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Almost Harmattan in Costa Rica

A Dakar, Senegal Mosque Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean — Photographed while in The Gambia & Senegal, 1999-2002.

A few readers know or remember that I once live in The Gambia, West Africa for three years with many experiences recorded on this same website found by following my AFRICA Travel Page links or going directly to pages for The Gambia and Senegal. I made both of the above photos in Dakar, Senegal.

I got one of my first shocks the first month there when I told the guards that it looked like a rain storm was coming from the north, even though it was “The Dry Season.” They laughed at me and explained that the first month of dry season was called Harmattan and was when the sand and dust from the Sahara Desert blew south and west and that we would soon be covered in dust and sand, thus close your windows. I closed them and it did not help much with everything in the little apartment covered in dust or sand. Incidentally, some years that same Harmattan blows part of the Sahara Desert all the way across the Atlantic to Costa Rica. Really! 🙂

In Costa Rica it is not called “Harmattan,” but we have a similar experience any time from late December to mid-March when the wind blows almost constantly and everything is dusty. It is not as heavy as West Africa, but it is for a longer period of time with just dust, not desert sand (usually)! It is worse if one of the volcanoes is erupting and we get the gray to black volcano soot like I’ve had a few times from Volcán Turrialba. 🙂

Thus when another WordPress Blogger posted this Poem by Danusha Lameris, I saved it to share right now during our “mini-harmattan” or windy weather or dusty season, none of which are titles Costa Rica brags about for our “Dry Season” (most popular tourist time). And incidentally, this years winds seem to be stronger and at night much cooler than the previous 6 Dry Seasons for me here. Now North Americans wouldn’t consider the low 60’s Fahrenheit cold, but that’s a “two-blanket night” here! 🙂

Continue reading “Almost Harmattan in Costa Rica”
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Costa Rica Returns to In-person School

Today, February 8, 2021, is the first time students will be in the physical school buildings in almost a year, having closed last March because of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Primary School – Los Angeles

Some schools will offer the option of a “hybrid plan” mixing in-person with online school, fewer days in-person. And the many students who have no internet access for online school will be prioritized for in-person classes and parents who are not comfortable with in-person school for their kids can continue online schooling.

Those in the physical school buildings must wear masks and desks will be 1.8 meters apart, with hand-washing and other precautions in place. Read more details in the English-language Tico Times article. Or readers here in Costa Rica can get questions answered on the Spanish language Education Ministry’s Coronavirus Website.

High School – Colegio Liceo

All photos are my older file photos from earlier years. The feature photo as header of page is of Escuela Central, the largest and main primary school, K-6. The kids in costumes are at Los Angeles Primary School and the teens at bottom are at Colegio Liceo, the university-prep public high school.

This past school year will have a major impact on several generations of students around the world with so many poorer students unable to participate in online education. Much work and prayer needs to go into helping these students around the world to “catch up” or fit in with the more affluent. And Costa Rica will do it well, always being a leader in education.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”

– Nelson Mandela

¡Pura Vida!

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My Team Wins! Yay Alajuela!

You North Americans think you are crazy about American Football, you should see some of the Ticos get excited about their REAL FUTBOL (soccer) team. Liga Deportiva Alajuelense survived a late scare to beat Saprissa, 3-2, and win the 2021 CONCACAF League. This is like the “Super Bowl” of Costa Rica!

Atenas only has high school football but we are in Alajuela Province, thus that is “our” team! No. I have not suddenly become a football fan! I wasn’t in the states and not here, BUT I am a fan of my local people and many of them, especially young men, are big fans. And this was so important because we (underdogs) beat the “big” team from San Jose! 🙂 They are arrogant, big city bosses who needed to lose a game! And they lost more than one! 🙂 And to show my support I chose my Banco Nacional credit card colors in the colors of Liga, our team!

Read about it in Tico Times. In English!

¡Pura vida!

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Loving All Trees!

Tree in parking lot of Super La Coope, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.

Yes! I even love this tree in my supermarket parking lot which adds beauty and oxygen to my simple life here in Atenas! 🙂

“Trees exhale for us so that we can inhale them to stay alive. Can we ever forget that? Let us love trees with every breath we take until we perish.”

― Munia Khan

OneTreePlanted.org

¡Pura Vida!

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A Reward for Sharing

One of my new favorite lodges in Costa Rica is El Silencio Lodge at Bajos del Toro in my own province of Alajuela, north of San Ramon in the cloud forest mountains where there are many waterfalls. I was there last September and as I frequently do, I made a little 7X7 inch photo book about my experiences there, sending them a copy plus one each of my general birds and butterflies books for their other guests to enjoy. When the owner came down from San Jose and saw the books he was so impressed that he told the staff to offer me two free nights in this luxury lodge.

Well, of course I accepted the offer and will add-on two more nights at my cost for a great 5-day visit the middle of February! 🙂 If you want to see a free electronic preview of the book online, click the title here: El Silencio, Touching Souls, inspired by a quote from Mother Teresa:

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.

~Mother Teresa

¡Pura Vida!

Or you may like visiting my “Trip Gallery” on 2020 September El Silencio Lodge.

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Tree by the Pasture

Yeah! I know, it seems that I like every tree! And maybe I do, but this one by the cow pasture in front of my house is special I think because of its shape. Though that one little tree to its left sort of takes away from the shape 🙂 it’s still a neat tree!

The Featured Photo above is the broad look from the cow pasture with that tiny sliver of roof on the far left edge of photo being my house on the hill. The tree is the one in center of above photo to the left of the 3 big houses. And below is a closer view.

Big Green Tree by the Pasture.

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”

― Kahlil Gebran

¡Pura Vida!

My TREES GALLERY has all kinds! 🙂

FOUR MORE RECENT ACCOLADES FOR COSTA RICA

Described in the Live in Costa Rica Blog or here’s my quick summary:

  1. The #1 best country to retire in according to International Living Magazine (Again!)
  2. The #1 best country to visit or vacation in according to National Geographic for 2021.
  3. The highest inoculation rate against Covid -19 virus in Latin America with goal of every adult in the country!
  4. “Rumor” is that Costa Rica may host the 2022 Miss Universe Contest. A new convention center in San Jose makes things like this more likely, though final decision not made yet.

FOR ME? It is the Best Place to Experience NATURE!

🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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The Hotel

Hotel Savegre is a much different hotel than I remember it from my 2009 visit when it was a long row of rooms like an old-fashion motel stuck in the forest with a separate building for the office and restaurant. Then there were gardens in front with lots of hummingbird feeders and a few little trails into the forest. Today, no feeders! Just natural flowers and other plants to attract the birds.

Restaurant on the left and lobby-office on the right.

Today it is a new, modern, 4-star hotel that I still think should be called a “mountain lodge,” but that was not the vision of these first pioneers in this little mountain resort community. And one of their adult sons was my birding guide this time! It is the largest Hotel-Spa-Nature Reserve in San Gerardo de Dota and is a big attraction to both tourists and Ticos from the cities wanting to get away. In fact, the weekend part of my time there on this trip was totally booked, every room! And I estimate at least 80% local Costa Ricans, called Ticos here.

Below is a gallery of what shots I got of the hotel. The rooms are now in groups of 2 to 4 around gardens with at least one garden table and chairs for each 2 or 4 rooms. It is rustic-modern, very comfortable, with a heater in every room, that is needed, especially at night! And Wifi in each room that was not working in my room, so I just used the public areas for Wifi. And a modern fireplace in every section of the restaurant which I guess burns something like butane? The food is as good as I’ve had anywhere, not exactly “gourmet” which would sound pretentious (not them), but is just high-quality food, very well-prepared with a large assortment of choices.

Here’s a few of my photos of the facilities you can CLICK to enlarge somewhat or for the full-sized images go to my The Hotel Gallery in the bigger Trip Gallery which is now completed:

Hotel Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota

  • Entrance Sign for Hotel
  • Entrance Sign for Restaurant & Bar
  • Entrance at Bridge over River
  • Trails Map Sign
  • My Room
  • Walking to My Room
  • Front Desk & Lobby
  • Lobby & Restaurant Entrance
  • Garden Table & Chairs
  • One of the Gardens
  • Another Garden
  • Modern “Fireplace” in Restaurant
  • Outside Restaurant Left, Lobby Right
Hotel Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica

Hotel Savegre Website

And My “Trip Gallery” — 2021 January – San Gerardo de Dota

¡Pura Vida!

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Great Backyard Bird Count in February

Join thousands of others around the world on February 12-15, 2021, on any one of those days, and count how many birds you see in your backyard to help science with another statistic! 🙂 Read about it on the Great Backyard Bird Count Website and/or get motivated with their short little video below:

I’ve been watching, counting and photographing birds my whole adult life. See my BIRDS Gallery for some of the photos of more than 500 species from 10 different countries with the most in Costa Rica of course! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!