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| Sunset Over the Pacific From our little 12 passenger Sansa airplane on the hour-late flight back to San Jose. Along the West Coast of Costa Rica ¡Pura Vida! |
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| Overlooking my house on a cloudy sunset around 5:15. “And all is well on the western front!” 🙂 Yep, the sun shines from between 5 & 5:30 AM to the same in PM Every day, year around – 12 hours of dark & 12 hours of light! Nice! That’s because we are close to the equator. Same sunrise/sunset daily. |
And to my fellow Americans, forgive me for saying I was ashamed last night. The election did not go the way I thought was best, but God just may have something much better in store for us! So today I posted on Facebook the following quote and Scripture verse that better reflects my faith:
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| “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.” Psalm 41:1 |
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| Tamarindo Beach was my least favorite, yet it had the most people and was the biggest and busiest beach town with most housing, shops, restaurants. There were a lot of surfers here who I guess go out beyond those rocks or at a different spot. This is where we saw possible rent houses, but the last I heard from John, he is probably not going to buy one. |
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| Playa Hermosa or “Beautiful Beach” The one in Guanacaste – there are 3 or 4 in Costa Rica with this name! I think it is prettier than the bigger one in Flamingo, just not as long. |
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| Coco Beach (As sun is setting) North of Flamingo and Hermosa with brown sand but more recreational. It is the “Central Park” of the local community with big Catholic Church across from it and the big soccer field. There is a long boardwalk (sidewalk) along the whole beach with children’s playgrounds, skateboard ramp, volleyball, basketball, and many restaurants and bars right on the beach, plus statues, showers, water fountains, flower gardens, etc. The best beach for local people and children! |
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| Coco Beach Restaurant/Bar We sat in this restaurant for a drink and watched Tico families walk by with little children on tricycles or running and playing beyond those flowers. Further down teens were skateboarding or playing volley ball and a few were on the beach. Sorry I didn’t make more photos! A people place! Then back to Flamingo Beach . . . |
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| Another Flamingo Beach Sunset We went back to our favorite restaurant for dinner, Coco Loco & sunset! |
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| Flamingo Beach Sunset Changes Color! Watching the sun set while eating a great seafood meal is the perfect way to end another day of adventure in Costa Rica! And I found another A+ restaurant! I would even consider living on the beach just for these scenes if it were not SO VERY HOT, VERY HUMID, VERY EXPENSIVE! So I am sticking with my mountain sunsets, perfect weather, and lower costs. 🙂 |
I am thankful that John invited me to go with him to the beaches and the jungle boat ride! I got to see a whole new part of Costa Rica this week and it is as cool as all the other parts I’ve seen. Plus seeing several condos and how people live there compared to Atenas was fun and educational. Of course my favorite part was the boat trip on Rio Tempisque in Palo Verde Park! My next trip is the end of September to Manzanilla on the southern Caribbean coast where I will stay in a luxury safari tent hotel on the beach adjacent to a wildlife reserve. Hoping for more new birds and experiences. I got two new birds photographed this trip! (Crested Caracara & Crane Hawk) Now here’s one last photo from this trip, shot through the glaring windshield on our way to Palo Verde:
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| A Tamandua Anteater ran across this road as did an Agouti, but sorry, no photos! 🙂 |
For more beaches and other scenery, see my VISTAS Photo Gallery.
Or go directly to my total Costa Rica Photo Gallery called Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA
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| We finally find the good beach in Flamingo Beach! It is public, 4 times this long, and with very few people! And no hotels along here! 🙂 |
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| The occasional person even has the choice of a tree for shade, but alas, most are sun worshipers! |
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| And tonight at the end of this same beach we watch the Sunset! While eating our best meal yet at Coco Loco Seafood Restaurant on the beach in Flamingo Beach. |
And our midday and early afternoon was spent exploring Tamarindo Beach and being taken around by a Realtor to see several possible rental condos for John to consider purchasing. We ended up not looking in Flamingo Beach this time because of the lesser demand and higher prices. He is waiting on some promised data before making a decision. But soon you may be able to rent a vacation condo within walking distance of the beach and lots of restaurants in Tamarindo.
Tomorrow we go to Palo Verde National Park looking for birds! My day! 🙂
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| Sunset from my Terrace. Yes, similar to an earlier post, but newer and the one I have ordered a 48X12 canvas print of. It will likely hang in my office/guest room. I’m running out of space to hang photos. 🙂 |
Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery.
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| Tonight’s Sunset from the driveway above my roof looking west. Different from my balcony views looking north. |
Five months! They have flown by and I’m still on vacation! Soon I will start traveling more and seeing new places, though I will always love where I live and every day is a vacation here!
In the first five months I moved here with 5 suitcases (one was all winter clothes shouldn’t count!), lived 4 months in a really good “starter” apartment with great views, just different than here. I have learned my way around Atenas, where to find things, how to ride taxis and buses. I’ve tried multiple churches and not found my place there yet. I’m in a Spanish class and making progress poco, poco (slowly). Have multiple new friends! I have a quick half day bus trip to Alajuela down pat for picking up my Aerocasillas mail from Miami and shopping at Walmart and Pricesmart (Costco) and sometimes trying a new restaurant. I know how to get to San Jose in an hour by bus, visit Association of Residents of Costa Rica, the U.S. Embassy, a hospital and doctors office for a physical, and to get a rental car at the airport. I’m even comfortable driving here!
My Residency Application is in process with a Cedula by early next year and earlier if I’m lucky. I now have private medical insurance here and just in time to cancel my stateside Medigap Insurance as it doubled in price. I have a bank account and learning to use it and maybe online banking soon! (In Spanish!) I have my SS Check scheduled for deposit here in this account starting in June to more easily pay my rent. Even with lots of extra moving expenses, I’m spending less money than I did living at McKendree Village Retirement Center. I have a good cellphone service and know how to use it and get service and even use it to read books with the Kindle App when away from home. Internet and TV service is better here than the apartments (different company, CABLETICA) and I’ve got auto-debit payment worked out for that. I get Netflix when I want to watch a movie which is seldom. I read more now. I’ve been in a new house for a month now with a beautiful flower garden and extra trees planted.
I’ve been to Nicaragua to renew my visa once and will again in June just so I can drive if needed with my Tennessee license. I will get a Costa Rica driver license when I am an official resident. I’ve visited multiple tourist places in Central Costa Rica and ready to show guests around (thanks to Kevin for helping me learn!). And I’ve started unpacking the boxes I shipped and planning to give away a lot more stuff! Retirement in Costa Rica is good! Pura Vida! And I have fun telling about it in this blog! More than 60 people get it by email and another 50+ are reading it online daily, so there must still be some interest in retiring in Costa Rica. Thanks to the encouragement so many friends have given me to keep writing this. So I will. But will keep trying to not be so long-winded! 🙂
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| Male Cinnamon Hummingbird on a Plumbago plant Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Yellow & Black Swallowtail Butterfly on a Plumbago plant. Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Crescent Butterfly or maybe a Peck’s Skipper on Tutti Frutti Lantana Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Peck’s Skipper on Tutti Frutti Lantana Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Mustard White on Tutti Frutti Lantana Atenas, Costa Rica |
I’ve seen two other hummingbirds in the garden but without a camera. Also some other butterflies.
Today my boxes were delivered – mostly scrapbooks and artwork that I shipped from states before leaving in December. More about that tomorrow! And here is tonight’s sunset:
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| A different view tonight! I walked up driveway and shot over my roof looking west instead of usual north. Also it is a 5-shot panorama. |
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| My favorite room in the house is actually outside, my balcony, deck, patio. This tile floor is throughout the house and outside walkways around three sides. Nice! Plus the wooden ceiling is throughout the house. |
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| 105 Calle Roca Verde, one of the few houses in Atenas with a house number! I’m the house on right behind trees, Don & Linda to left with carport and our landlord lives on top of the hill behind us. I guard the gate, ha, ha! There is also a gate to get inside the development with a real guard 24/7. |
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| View of my house from street. The three little decorative palms in front were added today to replace the three that died from lack of water in dry season. I plan to make watering plants a major dry season activity! You can barely see the Red Palm planted at end of balcony & a tall, skinny Guarumo Tree in front of balcony. |
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| You have already seen my new entry garden, but we planted ground cover today that should spread fast. |
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| Three Fishtail Palms and a Banana Plant (on right) were planted today as a screen in front of my bedroom window (right) and guest room (left) for privacy on this street side. They will fill in and spread in a month or two. And maybe I’ll be eating the bananas by Christmas! 🙂 |
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| The driveway and entry side. The entry hall is to left by garden, but I mainly use the balcony at right as my main entrance. This may be the least interesting side of house, but my new entry garden is going to change that! Pot plants on this wall would block the tile walkway, except maybe at that corner on patio. I’m making it my home and so for love it inside and out! It is just right for me. |
Tomorrow I’ll show you around inside the house as it is now decorated. My art may arrive this week, but I will probably add only a few pieces around a well decorated house! Buenas Noches!
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| Tonight’s sunset colored the clouds in the north. Beautiful! Each evening a new surprise! How did I ever live without a balcony? This is my cathedral! |
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| A few lingering flowers still on one of the four Yellow Bells trees in my yard. |
In this quintessential Tico town, everyone is friendly and strangers greet you on the sidewalk if you are a walker like me and I always want to greet them. One of the interesting things I learned early on here is that younger people like to shorten phrases as they talk fast and a lot.
The common greetings are of course:
Buenos Dias – up until noon
Buenas Tardes – afternoon until dark
Buenas Noches – after dark
But now the most common greeting is just “Buenos” and some make the afternoon and evening distinction by saying “Buenas” (the feminine adjective for the feminine words tarde & noche, “a” instead of “o”.) But of course most older people still use the full phrases above, though not all.
Always trying to act younger, I’m now in the habit of saying “Buenos” to most people I meet. Of course if I know them or come into a class or other specific relationship with someone, it is then all the “How are you?” greetings and small talk for a bit. Almost as much as West Africa, though not quite.
Buenas noches from Pura Vida Atenas, Costa Rica! -Charlie
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| Sunset Over Atenas from my balcony |
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| The sun sets behind trees and power lines but still colorful and varied! |
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| Seen from end of balcony and all three windows on the west side. |
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| Looking northwest toward downtown Atenas |
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| And back to the west with trees included in this image |