Here is a slide show of 15 birds I photographed here. You can also see my Xandari Birds Gallery in the Xandari Trip Gallery I am now building separately online.
¡Pura Vida!
Birds at Xandari
Waterfalls and Challenging the Ethnocentric Mind
Xandari is different and that challenges me to be different. One example is that more than in most places I am speaking Spanish with all the staff and they love it! They help me when I don’t know a word and they encourage me! When I walk into the dining room now they all come up and speak to me in español. I smile and we chat. It is a great feeling!
As the linked video below suggests, change is not easy. Change can be overwhelming like these 5 waterfalls here at Xandari. But wow! It’s wonderful as the college student show in the video. Thanks to Retire for Less in Costa Rica for sharing this video first!
¡Pura Vida!
See my Trip Photo Gallery: 2018 Xandari Resort
Xandari costa rica (their website)
Xandari Room – Art Gallery in Nature
My room at Xandari Resort Costa Rica is like an art gallery sitting in a garden or surrounded by nature. Here’ two slideshows to explain; first is views of each part of my room or rooms – more like an efficiency apartment. Second is a slide of each piece of art placed somewhere in my room or rooms, including three outdoors.
The original owners or developers of Xandari were an architect and his artist wife. They included an art studio here where students came and created the art that is all over the property including each villa or room. Later I will show some of the art that is outside in the gardens around the buildings. It is one of the most unique places I have ever been and a lot of birds too! 🙂
VIEWS OF MY ROOM
PIECES OF ART IN MY ROOM
To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.
~Henry David Thoreau
-o-
¡Pura Vida!
See my Trip Photo Gallery: 2018 Xandari Resort
Xandari costa rica (their website)
Xandari – Room View
This is the view from my room after checking in around noon on a cool and rainy day. I have photos of the room I planned to share but too tired with 5.5 miles walking today. More tomorrow in a beautiful place connected to nature.
¡Pura Vida!
See my Trip Photo Gallery: 2018 Xandari Resort
Xandari costa rica (their website)
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Almost all of Costa Rica’s Energy has come from Renewable Sources for 4 Years Now Interesting article in the online English-language Tico Times – Little Costa Rica is setting the standard for all you big countries! 🙂
Enroute to Paradise
Today (Tuesday) I used my local preferred driver (Walter) to take me to Hampton Inn Airport San Jose/Alajuela where I sleep tonight (free HH room) for a very early pickup tomorrow (Wednesday) by Caribe Shuttle, my favorite tour company on the Caribbean side, headquartered in my favorite Caribe hotel, Banana Azul.
I’m using them because the only airline flying to Bocas del Toro (Nature Air) went bankrupt after their serious crash in December (and they still haven’t refunded me for my planned airline ticket!) But this will be a different kind of adventure and we stop for lunch at Banana Azul enroute to Tranquilo Bay! I may be traveling with surfers or businessmen, you never know on this daily shuttle bus run. Tomorrow night I will have dinner overlooking the ocean and archipelago of islands in the Western Caribbean Sea and birding the next morning!
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| Tranquilo private beach, dock, boats, kayaks, snorkeling and of course lots of birds on our island and others! Bocas del Toro, Panama |
Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama
See my “Trip Gallery”:
2018 Tranquilo Bay, Bocas del Toro, Panama
Cloudy Without Rain
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| Cloudy Without Rain Currently in Atenas, Costa Rica – Well, by 3:30 rain was here! 🙂 As seen from my terrace. |
THIS WEEK’S TRIP
Estoy muy ocupada ahora. “I am very busy right now” getting ready for the longest trip yet since moving to Costa Rica, nine days with travel! And as usual when busy, I forgot something important: to pay my CAJA (CR Medicare) by the deadline Friday and will pay Monday and find out if there is a penalty for being late. It and my rent are the only two regular payment I have been unable to secure “auto-debit” for. After class Monday morning I will spend time in the bank (longer lines on Monday) paying that bill and securing U.S Dollars which is what they want at the border and pretty much everywhere in Panama, as their default currency.
I’ve made two bus trips to Alajuela for internet order pickups for the trip. I got a second camera body so I will not have to remove one from the 600mm lens which I will use most, but sometimes will need one of my 3 other lenses. And I finally replaced my camera backpack which was stolen in Puntarenas a couple of years ago. And still dealing with computer people on the change of my website to WordPress and basically starting all over rebuilding the site. After the trip I will try to move my blog from Blogger to WordPress as part of my website, but the Panama trip photos will be shared on Blogger.
Tuesday afternoon I go to a free night (Hilton Honors points) at the Hampton Inn Airport, since the Caribe Fun tour bus will pick me up at 5 am at any San Jose hotel the next morning. Then all day Wednesday by bus to Bocas del Toro, Panama with a lunch stop at one of my favorite hotels, Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. I get there late afternoon with only the border crossing uncertain about time. The last leg of trip is by boat to an island for my ecolodge, Tranquilo Bay. 7 nights there and then all day the following Wednesday to return home by way of the airport, though not all night on return. It will be a new kind of adventure both on the water and on the van.
¡Pura Vida!
Hogar de Vida 23rd Birthday Today
And I can’t show children’s faces online which is the most beautiful part, but here’s the event!
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| We sang happy birthday to Hogar – in Spanish of course! |
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| New shirts for special occasions! |
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| The back of the shirts. The toddlers had orange shirts with animals on them, but no good photo without faces. |
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| I think I’m safe on the faces here! |
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| Helen arranged everything AND served the cake! |
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| This is a very special place and I am now on the board of directors thought they call it something else. And will be volunteering on the grounds occasionally when not traveling! 🙂 |
It is very easy to make a donation to Hogar de Vida home for abused and neglected children, simply go to this website and make either a one-time donation or schedule a monthly gift:
And you can select the Costa Rica or the Guatemala home as you prefer.
¡Pura Vida!
Banded Peacock Butterfly
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| Banded Peacock Butterfly My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Banded Peacock Butterfly My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Polydamas Swallowtail
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| Polydamas Swallowtail My Home Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Polydamas Swallowtail My Home Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
¡Pura Vida!
West Indian Buckeye
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| West Indian Buckeye Butterfly My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
I am glad that we are getting a lot more butterflies now! I had forgotten that it was mainly in June & July that the butterflies were numerous. I have a bad photo of one of these West Indian Buckeys, but this is my first good photo that shows the beauty of its coloration and design.
PREPARING NEW WEBSITE/BLOG AT WORDPRESS
I will be working on my new website at charliedoggett.net for a long time it seems, though my phone appointment with a specialist Tuesday may move me forward a little quicker. That may be when I move this blogger.com blog into WordPress. We will see. I have started a practice blog in WordPress, but it will not be the main one until they are merged there. The merging is suppose to include moving my subscriptions, but I never totally trust computers or programmers, so be prepared to sign up again if necessary!
Then I will consider moving my photo gallery into the same website so everything is together. ¡Poco a poco! Little by little!
¡Pura Vida!