Category: Atenas

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Conversational English Club

This is 12 of the 19 in the Conversational English Club meeting after school Mondays.
Optional, not required for very busy teens involved in sports, arts, etc. that sometimes conflict.
They are such a delightful group of kids, so friendly, kind, and respectful. Grades 8-11.
In January they will go as exchange students to a school in a Virginia suburb of D.C.
They are much like teenagers everywhere and yet different in a positive & cultural way.
I have come to love everyone of them!
Colegio Liceo de Atenas
Atenas, Costa Rica

See the school’s Cool YOUTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74S9aFTNN_Q

The school’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/liceodeatenas/about/   where you need to drill down to posts, photos, or videos to learn more about the school. This school is one more reason Atenas is a very special place to me! 
And oh yes, the one’s without uniform shirts changed as soon as school was out!  🙂  One reason for backpacks and lockers! And FYI, I’m the happy old man in the center of the back row.   🙂  ~Photo by George Holmes, my neighbor and helper in the club, made on my cellphone. Gracias Jorge!
Do you think they will go to Virginia speaking with a southern accent because of me?   🙂

-o-
NOTE: For those who read this and knew my artist neighbor Anthony Jeroski, who moved back to the states June 1. I just got word that he died July 16. No explanations. He made my garden art bird sculpture that I like so much. RIP Anthony.

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Central Park, the Center of Atenas

Everyone hangs out at Central Park some of the time!
 Like these 3 men and boy who just road to town, stopping for 3 bottles of beer & a mug of root beer.
Central Park, Atenas, Costa Rica

They chose the one bar at the park instead of POPS Ice Cream Shop. It’s the cowboy way!   🙂
 Bar Punga – In Spanish “punga” means “very familiar, nicking, thieving, or pickpocket”
 Central Park, Atenas, Costa Rica

It’s an island of green in the center of town with trees, flowers, benches, playground, fiestas, celebrations, & people!
Central Park, Atenas, Costa Rica

The playground is always busy!
Central Park, Atenas, Costa Rica

A water fountain for a drink or spigot to fill your water bottle as this lady is doing.
 Central Park, Atenas, Costa Rica

The center circle radiates 8 sidewalks to all sides of the park.
All are lined with park benches full of gossip, romancing, reading…
and one leads directly to front door of the main Catholic Church.
Central Park, Atenas, Costa Rica

And this one leads directly to my bank!  🙂
 I try to walk through the park every day on my walks.
It is a simple blessing that I thank God for!
Central Park, Atenas, Costa Rica

Directly across from the full square block park you will find in addition to the above bar and ice cream shop, the courthouse, the municipal office building, one of our banks, several restaurants or places to get something to eat and drink, several clothing stores, one discount grocery store, an office building, a pharmacy, photography shop, bedding shop, the church, and I’m sure I left out at least one something!   🙂

And the interesting thing is that every Costa Rican town of any size has a Central Park in front of their central catholic church. The only layout difference I’ve seen so far is at Playa Coco (Coconut Beach) where their Central Park is the long boardwalk along their beach with the church facing it instead of a square block.

Multiple sub-galleries of photos are about Atenas in Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA gallery.

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The Streets of Atenas

Shots on streets in Central Atenas that I walk nearly every day. And you will probably think our little town looks boring. Well I like it! Tranquil is my word! 🙂

Residential Street near one of the schools.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

Central Market on left and a row of all kinds of shops on right.
 My office supply shop is there + where I sometimes get coffee & pastry.
 The red & black “CasaBlanca” & green building “Monge” = furniture stores.
The red cars are taxis at this main taxi stand.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

Same street block as above photo but from other direction.
 Those steps on right lead up to Central Market & the Bus Station.
You can barely see the row of red taxis on the left in front of shops.
  Atenas, Costa Rica 

My favorite hardware store on right & bus station on left,
  except San Jose & Alajuela buses leave from building beyond hardware store. At blue bus!
  Atenas, Costa Rica 

Monge furniture on left, other shops then big yellow bldg. is “El Rayo,” our dollar store, cheap Chinese stuff!
 Then on beyond is my Columbiano barber shop and favorite pizza place, La Finca.
 If you keep going straight past the little evangelical church you will come to the apartments,
 Hacienda La Jacaranda that I lived in for the first four months. It’s still for sale!  🙂
  Atenas, Costa Rica 

From the intersection of those above streets looking toward main church at palms
with the Central Park across the street or on the left.
  Atenas, Costa Rica 

And standing in front of the church looking the other direction, east
The “Tribunal” or Court House on left and several businesses on the right
including La Caretta, one of my restaurants, and the little corner Cafeteria for coffee/pastry
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

A funeral leaving the big catholic church, walking to cemetery 5 blocks away.
 That corner round building, “Gollo” is another furniture store.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

“Motos” or ever present motorcycles waiting on funeral. Most are driven by young men.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

The front of the funeral procession.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

City Hall on right & Central Park on left.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

Banco Nacional (my bank) on left (blue & white) and Central Park on right.
 The red taxis are at one taxi stand. The other taxi stand is across from central market.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

The same above street looking away from park and bank.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

Last street before highway. ICE (electric company on left) and my favorite restaurant
Donde Bocha is on the right behind that truck with covered patio.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

One of about 3 bars in center of town with many more out of town, some combo-restaurants, sports bars
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

Ruta 3 or Highway 3 running through town. My supermarket, La Coope
is on left down near the white truck and our only traffic light in town.  🙂
  Atenas, Costa Rica 

On the street in front of my computer shop, Unitech, and looking across a vacant lot
are the roofs of stores and the steeple of central church at center of town.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 
 Well, that was sorta like a virtual drive through Atenas, focusing on the streets. Maybe sometime later I will show what I consider the major businesses, though that could be a lot. We’ll see. 
PHOTO GALLERIES RELATED TO ATENAS: 

Walking in Atenas  (mostly flowers & trees)
Vistas  (1st 3 sub galleries are of Atenas)
Atenas, Costa Rica (General, of buildings & people)
Charlie Doggett
Living the Pura Vida!
In a small coffee farming town in
the Central Valley
Atenas, Costa Rica
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“Dia de las Culturas,” or “Day of the Cultures.”

Like in States and other places, “Columbus Day” 
has changed to “Day of Cultures” in Costa Rica.
The old guy’s band plays first, while . . .
Day of Cultures, Atenas, Costa Rica

. . . the young guy’s band waits off stage.
Sax, trumpet, trombone & drums compared to accordion, guitar, marimba.
 Day of Cultures, Atenas, Costa Rica

Lots of kiddie rides for every fiesta
Day of Cultures, Atenas, Costa Rica

And always a merry-go-round!Day of Cultures, Atenas, Costa Rica


And for no explanation I failed to photograph any of the many junk food booths and cheap Chinese plastic toys booths. Any holiday is an excuse for a carnival here! And like in the states, Ticos have learned to move many holidays to Mondays for long weekends! This holiday used to always be on October 12 but was on Monday the 16th this year. Schools, government offices, and some banks were closed, but not all businesses. There is no reason to celebrate Columbus here, even if he did name the country and our currency is named after him. Colon is Spanish for Columbus! Did you know that? 

Interesting thing is that while I was downtown I saw no activities related to culture as I have seen in past celebrations, like dancing, art, history, etc.  Hmmm.  These photos in a gallery.

When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before the white man came, an Indian said simply, “Ours.” 

~Vine Deloria, Jr.

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Flower on Today’s Walk

Unknown Flower seen on Today’s Walk Downtown
Atenas, Costa Rica

WORLD CUP

Hope everyone is keeping up with Futbol and noticed that Costa Rica is going to the World Cup in Russia and the U.S. is not! (On that chart only the top 4 teams go.) For Central and North America Costa Rica ranks second only to Mexico. Of course a little country is not expected to go real high in the finals with bigger, richer teams like Brazil, England, Spain, France, etc. But what an honor for Costa Rica! I wear my red, white & blue Costa Rica Futbol shirt with pride on game days!

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Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Waiting for his turn at the feeder in my garden
 on a cloudy, rainy day in
 Atenas, Costa Rica 
A family of these Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds have taken over my two feeders, meaning I watch them literally every morning at breakfast, nice, but . . .  also meaning I do not see other varieties of hummingbirds like I used to. I do still get a wide variety of other kinds of birds in the trees.

See my Costa Rica Birds photo gallery.


Sports News:  

  1. Costa Rica qualified for the International Futbol Event in Russia by tying Honduras last night. 
  2. Costa Rica will have 522 persons running in the Chicago Marathon, 3rd largest group from Latin America after Mexico & Brazil and more than some European countries! 
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Rose-throated Becard

Rose-throated Becard female
In my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

Rose-throated Becard female
In my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

This is my first sighting of this particular bird, a breakfast treat off my terrace. Not super photos because of shooting between leaves, but fun! And I thank Yeral Jiménez Porras for identifying it by the technical name of Hembra de Pachyramphus aglaiae. “Hembra” is Spanish for “female” in the birding world. The common Spanish name is: El anambé degollado  He identified it for me in just minutes after I posted these photos on the CR Facebook group Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica.

See all my Costa Rica Birds photo gallery.

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“I want to touch snow!”

In our conversational English club at the high school yesterday I continued to work on getting them to talk – in English that is! Like most teens, they chatter a lot to each other, but in Spanish! One way is to ask a question and go around the room with their individual answers, in English of course! So . . .

One question yesterday was “What do you want to do in the USA when you get there?” One boy answered: 

“I want to touch snow.”

Remember, these kids have lived their entire lives in a tropical country that does not have snow. They have never seen nor felt it! They will have a good chance to in January in Virginia.  🙂 Another boy, almost copying him, said “I want to do a snowman.” That gave us an opportunity to talk about “do, make or build” as verbs and how used in the states. This is challenging! But fun!  🙂  And I hope a little bit of help to them! They will get more out of their student exchange trip if they can speak some in English.
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Home Business: Corner Grocery

A “Junkier” Corner Grocery (Pulperia)
 than the El Pinguino I showed earlier
Atenas, Costa Rica

Though that is a home to left, I believe the owners live
 behind and to right of store, behind the tree.
Atenas, Costa Rica

Though I occasionally visit or use some of the home businesses, this one has never appealed to me. It just looks too dirty to sell food, though they are sometimes busy! I keep wanting to take them a few gallons of paint to freshen up the place! But continue to just ignore it as I walk by nearly every day.  

Link to my photo gallery of Home Business Signs