I embrace emerging experience. I participate in discovery. I am a butterfly. I am not a butterfly collector. I want the experience of the butterfly.
~ William Stafford
See my Butterfly & Moth Gallery
¡Pura Vida!
Garden Butterflies
How Costa Rica Retirement Helps Me Avoid Alzheimer’s. . .
This morning’s Washington Post has this very revealing article: Ditch the GPS. It’s ruining your brain.
I have always been a map person and my first two years here I rented cars for most of my trips, but found that my old habit of using maps did not work well here because the actual highways, roads, streets and houses/businesses are mostly not numbered or labeled, therefore not relatable to a paper map. Thus I always got a rent car with a GPS included that works great here and many locals prefer the free WAZE on their cell phone. But it removes your brain from the challenge of getting somewhere as the article above suggests.
Now that I walk everywhere in town, I use my brain instead of GPS to get around using landmarks like a true local. (Yeah, with cell phones you can walk with GPS too! I don’t!), Here are some typical Atenas directions using landmarks:
- MY HOUSE: Take the street that dead ends into La Coope Gasolinera south until it ends at Avenida 8 (locals still call it Calle Boqueron), then left about 300 meters to the Roca Verde main gate on the right. Inside the gate go straight about 150 meters to the 3rd gate on the left, 105 Roca Verde (which is labeled).
- SPANISH LESSONS ATENAS: From Central Park Atenas take the street behind the main church west about 250 meters or 150 meters beyond Pali Supermercado to a house on the left before the Lions Club and Police Station, in front of Veterinario Occidental. There is a “Spanish Lessons” sign on the gate.
- OR MY LOCAL LAWYER: 100 meters south and 75 meters east of Justice Court. (Most know the courthouse, but I can add that it is at corner of Central Park near church.)
And of course all of these directions exercise my brain even more when I try to give them in Spanish! 🙂 Yep, I’m very slow at learning Spanish but learning another language is another good deterrent to Alzheimer’s! And as a walker in town it is amazing how many cars stop and ask me directions to something, usually in español. Mental exercise! 🙂
Another simple health advantage to retiring in Costa Rica! 🙂
-o-
“Remember what Bilbo used to say: It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
– JRR Tolkien
Electric Cars in Costa Rica?
Those considering retirement here who are also ecology-conscious will be interested to know that Electric Cars are in Costa Rica and available for those who can afford the sometimes higher cost (though one Chinese Electric Car sells for just $15,000!). For details on prices and availability see this Live in Costa Rica Blog article: EXPAT RETIREES AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
AND THESE RECENT TICO TIMES ARTICLES ON ELECTRIC CARS IN COSTA RICA:
April 4, 2019: Costa Rica announces charging grid for electric vehicles 34 charging stations to start off with in a tiny country is not bad! More are being added!
Dec. 29, 2018: Clean energy leader Costa Rica turns attention to electric cars
¡Pura Vida!
Living with Bugs!
For anyone considering retirement or otherwise living in Costa Rica, be forewarned that you must learn to live with the 300,000+ species of insects here on this land bridge between North and South America (with insects from both continents!). The featured image at top is of two “Jewel Bugs” or “Metallic Shield Bugs” I photographed in Corcovado National Park. Below photo I made this morning of a “Leafcutter Ant” on my terrace carrying a flower petal (bougainvillea) instead of a piece of leaf, which is common.
Many of the insects that pester me seem to come in waves; like just before rainy season the little long-winged fliers that dropped or left their long beige wings all over my bathroom, or the first two weeks of rain was the invasion of houseflies (which Deep Woods OFF doesn’t seem to affect!), and right now there are hundreds of tiny little black & green beetles on the walls, around the lights and all over me! I even got one going down my ear the other night – ugh! They don’t bite, but a bother! Too small to photograph.
My biggest deterrent to the many kinds of bugs are the Geckos that live in literally every room of my house and I think eat most types of insects. From my first day here I have tried to photograph the larger insects (some are just too tiny) and you can see my collection in the gallery named INSECTS CR under OTHER WILDLIFE in the main gallery. There are more than 100 species of insects in my gallery and especially interesting or unusual are those in the sub-gallery Other Insects, like the above Jewel Bugs, many of which I have not been able to identify. And all of which serve a purpose in the cycles of life. Of course the most popular sub-gallery is Butterfly & Moth (81+ Species).
A Break From Blogging
For regular readers, I assume you have noticed several days without a post. Sometimes I just doesn’t feel like writing and/or in this case got focused on my old photos again as I am slowly adding them to my galleries, particularly the Pre-Costa Rica TRAVEL galleries. It is a slow and labor-intensive process that eventually I will complete. I uploaded all of my international trips first and now working on USA trips from the most recent going back. Then comes the most, Tennessee travels. And most of these are after my retirement began at the end of 2002. I have been blessed to have seen so much of the world and get to know so many cool people!
![20190604_111253[1]-A-WEB](https://www.charliedoggett.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/20190604_1112531-A-WEB-290x300.jpg)
Sunday afternoon I was a part of the Board of Directors meeting for the local children’s home, Hogar de Vida. The rest of the board seemed surprised and appreciative that I am the first person to include the children’s home in my will. But I am not a very good board member because I am not fluent in Spanish, in which all business is carried on! 🙂
Living Slow
Otherwise I am “Living Slow” as my sloth T-shirt says!
A fast approach tends to be a superficial one, but when you slow down you begin to engage more deeply with whatever it is you’re doing. You’re also forced to confront what’s happening inside you – which is one of the reasons why I think we find it so hard to slow down. Speed becomes a form of denial. It’s a way of running away from those more deeper, tangled problems. Instead of focusing on questions like who am I, and what is my role here, it all becomes a superficial to-do list.
— Carl Honoré
How to start a slow living lifestyle.
¡Pura Vida!
“3 Little Things”
Yesterday morning as I started to walk to town it was raining, thus I took a taxi. So I had to walk back from town since that is my only exercise here! With only a tiny sprinkle occasionally, I enjoyed these wet “3 little things” along the way and here are my shots of one day’s “eye candy” in little Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
Clouds & Rain
May is the beginning of “Rainy Season” in the Central Valley of Costa Rica including Atenas and this year there has been more rain and clouds than I remember having my previous four Mays and most agree, while the real “oldtimers” say this is just the old normal for the first month of rainy season. So . . . whatever! Things are fresh and green all over Costa Rica right now and it is my favorite time of year and though locals call it “Winter,” most also prefer this time of year too. And less gringos too! 🙂 Just a shower every afternoon and some early mornings or at night which I like for sleeping! 🙂
The top photo is a panorama of 4 shots with my 600mm telephoto lens and below is the less-focused snap of Atenas Central on my cell phone, both from my terrace at breakfast this morning.
AccuWeather Forecast for Atenas – centigrade temps of course! 🙂
Weather Channel 10-day Forecast for Atenas – both fairly accurate
The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
¡Pura Vida!
Living Among Trees
My January week at Maquenque Lodge was special in many way, especially because I lived in a treehouse for a week – well I recently realized that I almost live in a treehouse in Atenas, on the side of a hill with trees and treetops surrounding me! It is beautiful with their myriad of birds singing, movement by the breezes, and my “galleries” for photographing birds! They are the most valuable thing about my little rental cottage:
For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.
~Martin Luther
From My Kitchen & Living Room:
Entering My Favorite Room, the Terrace:
And 2 “Gallery Trees” for Photographing Birds
¡Pura Vida!
Crimson-fronted Parakeets
My breakfast treat on my terrace this morning was this pair of Crimson-fronted Parakeets passing through on their way up the hill – most usually fly over rather than stop. They first started pecking into the trunk of my big palm but the Clay-colored Thrushes with a nest in that tree chased them away to my neighbor’s big palm where I made these photos. Here’s just 5 of many shots made:
Crimson-fronted Parakeets
I still get more excited by the more colorful birds like these.
“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.”
~Wassily Kandinsky
You might also enjoy the other birds in my BIRDS Photo Gallery
¡Pura vida!
Sundown
Sundown is a nice, quiet time at my house in Atenas, Costa Rica. Winding down for a good night’s sleep and a great tomorrow!
To watch a sunset is to connect with the Divine.
Gina De Gorna
¡Pura Vida!
Central Park Bandshell Update
It continues to slowly progress even if not fast enough for impatient Americans! 🙂 The center circle (reddish steel) will be the actual stage and the big black circle is the covered part including audience covered seating. They have stopped work again this week so the city can have its annual Climate Fair and Oxcart Parade. They are using all of the space including a temporary round stage in the center. I’m not feeling great this week and opted to miss the festivities, so I will have no photos of the temporary use. Here’s also a photo of the safety signs for the workers on the site. Interesting. 🙂
I had a “bad cold” or actually allergies due to the wind still blowing dust. Got that licked with some good medicine and good advice (close windows when wind blows) from my doctor’s young intern whom I really liked. Then I got up the wrong way from sitting and “popped” my lower back and now dealing with lower back pain. Saw my physical therapist who recommends stretching exercises of course! 🙂 So I kind of dropped the blog for a week or so with lower energy than usual. Next trip is 2 weeks away. Resting now! 🙂
I’m also working on my “Pre-Costa Rica Travel” photo galleries and just completed the gallery for my 2012 Tour of the Grand Canyon and Nearby Canyons. A good photo trip!
¡Pura Vida!
Sunset
“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they’re absolutely free. Don’t miss so many of them.”
― Jo Walton
I haven’t been sharing as many of my terrace sunsets lately, which of course are different every night. The featured one above is from over my roof, which I often like better than from terrace below. Both last night. And I imagine that many of you saw the same beautiful sunset in your own world! 🙂 A beauty we all can behold!
And see my photo gallery titled Vistas, Beaches, Sunrises & Sunsets for more beautiful sunsets than these!
COSTA RICA NEWS:
SOCCER: 2019 Gold Cup field finalized; Costa Rica will host two matches
-o-
On the Ecology Front:
And while Soccer is on your mind, did you know that
The planet loses 40 soccer fields worth of forests every minute (Read it!)
Rich industrialists are literally destroying the world while we ignore climate change and the destruction of trees, our source of oxygen, wildlife and beauty. And did you read that a Deadly frog fungus has wiped out 90 species and threatens hundreds more. How much time do you think we have left before the human species is wiped out?
¡Pura Vida!