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| On a walk over my hill today, not quite to the top, a different view. Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Click image for larger view.
And see my photo gallery of Vistas in Costa Rica & neighboring countries.
¡Pura Vida!
Neighbor’s View of Atenas
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| Atenas as seen from higher up the hill from me in the morning fog. This nice photo was made by Tom & Jessica, here for a couple of months on their trip around the world. See their blog http://www.worldwidewaftage.com/ Like most places you pay more for better view! Of course they zoomed in on the church with camera – they aren’t this close! Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Maybe call my view toward town “more natural” with more trees than even houses & no church. I am barely on the side of a little hill while the other view is from twice as high & zoomed more! Atenas, Costa Rica |
BLOG STATS
I have now written more than 1,000 posts that have received more than 100.000 pageviews online from more than 20 countries. I guess there is a lot of random viewing of blogs by some people. 🙂
Un día tranquilo en el pueblo.
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| Un día tranquilo en el pueblo. — A quiet day in the village. Atenas, Costa Rica as seen from my hilltop walk this morning. |
Several of my Photo Galleries include images of Atenas:
Walking in Atenas (mostly flowers & trees)
Vistas (1st 3 sub galleries are of Atenas)
Atenas, Costa Rica (General, of buildings & people)
Costa Rica Birds & Other Wildlife include many photos made in Atenas!
Now that’s more info than you wanted, but hopefully it shows how complete my total Costa Rica Photo Gallery is as you drill down into different levels of galleries. It is true as named:
And in many ways my main website now as a retiree in Costa Rica. Check it out! It is what I like doing more than anything now, making interesting photos of different aspects of Costa Rica.
Walking the Hills & Valleys of Atenas, Costa Rica
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| Looking down on Central Atenas & the Central Church Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| But just the hills on the backside of my neighborhood are a “Feast for My Eyes!” Early morning fog reminds me of the presence of the Holy Spirit. What a place to walk! Atenas, Costa Rica |
A couple of cellphone shots made this morning on my walk over the hill in Roca Verde. Stay tuned for a change of scenery as I fly to the Caribbean Coast tomorrow morning. ¡Pura Vida!
Rancho Naturalista – The Place
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| One of the friendly staff at Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica |
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| My excellent young Birding Guide, Mercedes! Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica |
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| Main Lodge & Dining Room (office, kitchen, library, etc.) Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica |
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| My Cabin for the Week Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica |
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| Tile steps invite me down from my cabin Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica |
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| Observation Deck above the bird feeders and vistas I had coffee at 5 AM each day here |
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| One of the Vistas Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica |
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| “I never get tired of blue sky.” -Vincent Van Gogh Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica |
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| Early Morning Fog adds Mystery to the Forest! Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica |
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| And Recognition is Good! Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica |
And their website: Rancho Naturalista
“The earth has music for those who listen.”
—George Santayana
Exploring Rental Houses
A new friend who visited Atenas once and is coming back for 3 months to find if this is really where he wants to retire and maybe find a specific place to live long term. He asked me to check out a rent house he found online listed by owner and I made him a temporary Photo Gallery of the House. I just sent him the link and then thought that others might like to see what you could rent in Atenas for less than $600 a month! Just click the gallery link above. It is 3.9 km from the center of town.
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| His possible rental house overlooks a beautiful valley and is surrounded by nature and a mountain resort next door he can use. Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Having butterflies is important to me and there were several right in front of his potential house. Red-Spotted Patch Butterfly Atenas, Costa Rica |
Meadow Haiku
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| Cellphone shot in Roca Verde Neighborhood, Atenas, Costa Rica |
This is the view that a few houses up the hill from me have. It is one of the views I have when I walk the kilometer circle through my neighborhood. Peaceful and rural.
My photo gallery of Vistas
My photo gallery of Haiku
“Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery.“
~John Ruskin
Photos of Hotel Aguia de Osa, Drake Bay
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| My Front Porch Hammock & Bay View Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| My Front Door & Outside Chairs Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| My Room, All those windows have only screens. High ceiling with Fan! Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| One of 3 Flights of Stairs UP to Rooms on Top of Hill Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| One of 3 Flights of Stairs DOWN from Rooms on Top of Hill Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| Exit Sign from Drake Bay Community Trail to Hotel Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| 3 Meals a Day Overlooking the Bay Though some trips included a box lunch on the day trip Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| Gourmet Meals Served Three Times a Day! Plus Happy Hour with Appetizers! Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| Hotel’s Fleet of Boats is Important to Guest Transportation! Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| As Are the Boat Captains! Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| A Familiar Scene Coming and Going from the Hotel Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| And the Hotel Pier is Really the “Front Door” to Hotel You get here by boat or by walking a trail. No road for cars. Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
I loved it here! Being gone the bulk of the daytime on adventures kept me from missing air-conditioning, which in the hot and humid coastal rainforest would have been better for resting inside during the day. But who does that with all the things to do during the day? At night the ceiling fan was more than adequate and I actually turned it off two nights and used the blanket.
The tour possibilities, guides and all other staff were simply great in every way! One family went deep-sea fishing and the kitchen cooked one of their fish for their dinner that night and the rest of us got a little as part of the appetizers! The food was excellent as was the food service. I highly recommend Hotel Aguila de Osa for anyone considering Drake Bay. Of course I have not tried any of the other hotels here to compare. This was not my best birding location, but was very good and a big variety of total animals to see both in and out of the park. I was disappointed I did not see a wild Tapir, though people on other tours did. Wildlife is always unpredictable and sightings cannot be scheduled!
It is not easy to compare this to my visit to the southern end of Corcovado Park at Carate Village and the two inns of Luna Lodge and Lookout Inn. That was on a 2009 Birding Tour from the states and the link is to my old PBase Photo Gallery of the total trip that included San Gerado de Dota in the mountains, so more than Corcovado. It was my first trip to Costa Rica and I fell in love with the country immediately! I may have seen and photographed more birds on that trip, but this was a better and more relaxed trip with more variety. And though Luna Lodge is very nice with gourmet food, Aguila might have even better food and my room was better. But glad I’ve seen both ends of this great rainforest park! Next time I may try one of those lodges on the east side of park.
Though not made yet, I will soon have a “Trip Gallery” on this trip in a new area of my Costa Rica galleries simply called TRIPS. And of course as always I use every trip to increase my collection of bird photos and other categories of photos in my big gallery called Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA. If interested in Costa Rica you might enjoy exploring my galleries.
And this concludes the Blog reports on my recent Corcovado-Drake Bay trip, though more photos may pop up here in the future. A 6-day trip is the longest I have made since my move here and I like longer visits in the same location! A friend has scheduled a week-long trip here soon for birding and will be in a different hotel every night. He may see more birds but will be physically exhausted by the end of the week! I’m too old for that now! 🙂 Pura Vida!
My TRIPS Photo Gallery on this Drake Bay Trip
And my Lodges & Hotels of Costa Rica photo gallery
Costa Rica to soon unveil its first hydrogen-powered bus!
Coffee at the Cathedral
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| When in Alajuela I often start at McDonald’s for the restroom and then coffee and sometimes pancakes, eating upstairs overlooking the Cathedral of Alajuela – all cellphone photos Alajuela, Costa Rica |
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| And Central Park Alajuela Alajuela, Costa Rica |
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| Pigeons & Grackles often join me on the balcony Alajuela, Costa Rica |
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| And as I board my bus back to Atenas A guitar-pickin’ & singing preacher. Alajuela is interesting! |
My Photo Gallery of Alajuela
My House Location
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| My House Location (Red arrow) The big orange roof above & to left is my landlord from Montreal. Little orange to right & down is Anthony of Indiana. Big gray house is Richard from England. Towards mountains is downtown Atenas, white church steeple seen, top center-right. I walk this whole valley almost daily, one great advantage of not owning a car! Life in a rural small town. Pura vida! |
Note that it is the end of dry season which is therefore the wildfire season, But we are starting to get some rain. Had a shower early this evening. Happy days are here again! (Rainy Season! May-Nov.)
Note to my relatives in Warren, Arkansas (Where I was born): Atenas is the same size town as Warren with about the same population (6,000 +/-), farming community, county seat, 4 supermarkets, 2 or 3 hardware stores, and only small shops for other needs with a 45 minute drive to Alajuela or hour drive to San Jose for big shopping and hospitals. Small towns are a lot alike around the world! Though we have a different kind of immigrants here than does Warren. Never thought I would be an immigrant in a small farm town! Life is full of surprises! And I did not consciously have this in mine when I chose Atenas.
See my photo gallery of Public Art & Graffiti in Atenas
Or the general gallery on Atenas, or Walking in Atenas (flowers/trees),
Or the People & Fiestas of Atenas
Or the general gallery on Atenas, or Walking in Atenas (flowers/trees),
Or the People & Fiestas of Atenas