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| View Out My Kitchen Window Today It changes daily and above this is landlord’s fence covered in morning glories. |
See my photo gallery Flora & Forests
New Looks in Garden
My photo gallery Flora & Forests or directly to the sub-gallery My Home Gardens
Note that in these and all of my photo galleries at Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA I have added the new gallery header that is available at Smugmug which features one of the photos in that gallery. An improvement by Smugmug I think.
Politics
Yesterday I told you that there were versions of the Women’s March on Washington in more than one town in Costa Rica. Well, today I learned that some of my rich Republican friends in Atenas had an Inauguration Celebration Party at one of their large houses on Friday night. Unfortunately it is not just poor Democrats migrating to Costa Rica. But I think I can safely say that most Costa Ricans are horrified at the prospects of the Trump presidency.
Banded Skipper
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| Banded Skipper My Home Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica The gardener found it and came got me for the photo. I have other shots of one inside my house. |
Women’s March in Washington is also happening in Costa Rica Saturday in multiple locations. Respect for women is very important here and the new U.S. President’s attitude toward women is shocking to Costa Ricans! People still ask me “How can your country elect a man like that as president?” I have no good answer beyond my embarrassment and to say that I did not vote for him, nor did the majority of the voting citizens. But I’m glad I live in Costa Rica now! With a Republican congress and president the states will soon be in multiple wars and huge debt. I have a different idea of greatness.
See also my photo gallery for Butterflies & Moths
Chachalacas at My Breakfast Table
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| Immature Gray-headed Chachalaca Flying out of a Yellow-bell Tree in my gardens, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Two Immature Gray-headed Chachalacas Sitting in a Yellow-bell Tree in my gardens, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Identification Explanations for the Birders Who Read This
When I first saw them I thought “Black Guan” which can be in this part of the country, but on closer examination, they do not have the red eyes and legs that all black guans have, nor the blue facial skin. I knew we had Chachalacas in Roca Verde, so I resigned myself to darker than usual Chachalacas and thought maybe Plain rather than Gray-headed, BUT, the book says Plain don’t live in this part of the country, only in Guanacaste. And my earlier photo of one in my garden (note how much lighter) fit the Gray-headed description and they live in the Central Valley. Plus some online investigation shows some juvenile Gray-headed Chachalacas to be very dark or black. Also the white tips on the tail feathers are only seen in the Gray-headed Chachalaca. Here’s another one at Rancho Naturalista which is darker but not black.
Whew! Identification can be a challenge sometimes and every species seem to have some exceptions!
See my photo gallery of BIRDS
Read about Gray-headed Chachalacas on NeotropicalBirds by Cornell University
Or a different kind of article on Wikipedia
A Visitor to My Terrace
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| Spiny-tailed Iguana On My Terrace, Roca Verde Home, Atenas Costa Rica |
This variety seems to be less common than the Green Iguana in most of Costa Rica, but I have seen this guy or his family members around the house, in neighbor’s tree, and going to and from the stream on the other side of our cow pasture. He was first heading in my backdoor, but turned and ran to the terrace when he saw me. They are basically harmless and never hurt people. Our little miniature dinosaurs! See also my photo gallery with this and other Reptiles.
And for travelers here the next 2 months:
Bridge between Airport & San Jose Closed 6 Weeks for repairs and Widening says this article in Tico Times. That means if you fly here it will take you longer to get into San Jose during February+ but should not affect coming west toward Atenas very much beyond the usual airport traffic congestion. The closure begins 21 January.
And FYI:
Costa Rica Ranks 4th in English Proficiency in Latin America says article in the Costa Rica Star.
That is convenient for lazy Americans who are mono-lingual, but note that it would not hold true in little farm towns like Atenas or other non-tourist, non-city locations. So my advice to those considering retiring or living here is to learn Spanish! After all, don’t you expect immigrants to the U.S. to learn English? 🙂 Que necesitas para aprender español.
Summer Flowers
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| My Breakfast View this Morning It is summer here, school is out for summer break & more flowers are blooming. Jan-Feb are also the windy months, but at least the volcano has slowed issuing ash. |
-o-
What Our Costa Rica President Says about Immigration, an article in Tico Times today.
You guys in the U.S. feel free to share this article with your new president-elect. The quick summary is “If you want to get through a border, you’ll be able to sooner or later.” 🙂 And read about how CR deals with the flow of Cubans en-route to the U.S. through Costa Rica and the Nicaraguans and Colombians who come here to stay. Personal Disclosure: My maid is a Nica and my haircuts are at a Colombino peluquería and nobody seems to have a problem with that here. Everyone is welcome in Costa Rica, even arrogant Americans. Though there’s already enough in Atenas, so I’m not issuing an invitation! 🙂
New Luxury Health Retreat in Atenas!
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| Yoga, Massages, Therapy and Detox are available in addition to pools, hiking, birds, views, etc. |
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| Expect to eat healthy and enjoy spectacular vistas. |
It is known as a Yoga Retreat, maybe the best in Costa Rica, but available as hotel, other retreats, or just to relax if you are willing to pay $221+ per night for luxury rooms in the mountains above Atenas with gardens, walking trails, a natural stream with waterfalls, and many optional activities, some at extra cost. Breakfast is included with all room prices. I just became aware of this and sorry I did not know of it for earlier visitors, though it is fairly new, this year I think.
They are offering us residents a Christmas Dinner with wine and entertainment for just $61 which I might do if I weren’t already scheduled for my jungle adventure at Selva Verde Lodge on the Sarapiqui River! They are likewise offering us a New Years Eve Celebration for $75 including fireworks! Yeah, just about anything you guys in the states have, we can find here, for a price! 🙂
And it is also now another option you have to my free couch-bed or the several Mom & Pop B&Bs or simple hotels in Atenas. Note: We are NOT a tourist town! But a coffee farming town. Yet being in the center of Costa Rica makes it a great place to headquarter or travel out from or just start and stop your visit to Costa Rica here, 45 minutes from the airport or an hour from San Jose.
CHECK OUT THE NEW PLACE!
Or just look at their site’s photo gallery!
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| The Retreat at Atenas |
Merry Christmas!
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| Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Follow this blog for photos of my 23-27 Dec. trip to Selva Verde on Rio Sarapiqui. The above photo is from my neighborhood overlooking Atenas Central where we have year-around flowers! |
My Costa Rica Photo Gallery: Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA
A Birds and the Bees Problem
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| A swarm of bees building a nest on neighbor’s carport ceiling. Don’t know the name. |
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| Cropped in closer on hundreds of bees and corner of hive. |
These bees have taken over Anthony’s hummingbird feeders and he is looking for a solution to that problem. Let me know if you have one. Knocking down this nest did not do it.
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| His bees stay on his hummingbird feeders, thus no birds now! |
I have no such problem since my hummingbirds eat from my flowers and there are enough flowers for both the birds and the bees! 🙂 My favorite bee in my garden is the Green Orchid Bee I think I may have shown on the blog before.
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| Green Orchid Bee My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica The hummingbirds and bees don’t seem to fight over the flowers. |
More Birds on My Tree & Little Theater Experience
See also my other posts of tree birds: Animales Fantasticos, Arbolitos de Pajaros and still one more coming!
LITTLE THEATER EXPERIENCE
For you guys back in the states who think I just live with the birds and have no social outlets, you couldn’t be more wrong! Sometimes I have too much going on to live the slow, simple life I’m here for. One group I belong to is expats that take charter bus trips to San Jose for cultural activities plus some local recreational activities. Last week we went to the San Jose Little Theatre Group for a very interesting little play titled The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. It was about a teen boy with Asperger’s syndrome that was a little emotional to me since that was one of Juli’s problems. But I enjoyed it and our group of 40 filled the theater which we had to ourselves. It was a late afternoon private performance and then we went to an Argentina Steak House for a very good dinner before returning to Atenas. Thanks to Tony Phillips who puts these trips together!
