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As of today ICE (electric company) broke past record of number of days without using any fossil fuels to produce electricity country-wide. Most comes from hydro-electric, then wind, thermal, and solar in that order. We also broke a record on how much wind energy produced so far this year. Read the above linked article in the English online newspaper.
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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. 🙂
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| Two Gray-headed Chachalacas in the Guarumo Tree at my Terrace My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica Note that the orange blooming tree is more than 100 yards away on a hill. |
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| Closer view of one Gray-headed Chachalaca My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| The lady I use as my seamstress got a new sign this week. The old one I posted in June is shown below. Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Somehow this old sign seemed to have more “character,” whatever that means! |
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| Can you see it? In the fork of the guarumo tree on the distant hill. Red-orange. It is a spot of color I see every time I walk out on my terrace and it brings a smile. It is an African Tulip Tree I’m glad a neighbor planted! Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| It is a tree like this one by our front gate in Roca Verde, African Tulip Tree, native of Africa and brought here as an ornamental tree for yards that adds new color to the many natural colors here. Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| And a little closer. |
See my photo gallery: Flora & Forest
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| Front Entrance to Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Tile Paintings of Farm Life on outside walls Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| A tile painting depicting farm life on outside walls Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Don Quixote Tiles Next Door Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Private House Next Door to Hotel Don Carlos San Jose, Costa Rica |
Or my San Jose Gallery with photos from several trips to the capital.
And a separate gallery for Costa Rica Churches, most in San Jose
AND A FUN EXTRA:
10 Great Reasons for Living Abroad an article on internations.org
LO SIENTO
I did not intend to post 3 articles on one day! But here they are and now I’m finished with all my posts on two trips, Villa Blanca and San Jose. Back to the boring daily stuff! 🙂
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| Statue honoring women who fought in Battle of Rivas, Nicaragua which kept American William Walker from making us a slave state. National Park Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Tour guide Michael Miller explaining the statue. National Park Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| National Park Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| National Park Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Great-tailed Grackle male National Park Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Zoom on statue on a cloudy day. National Park Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
Or my San Jose Gallery with photos from several trips to the capital.
And a separate gallery for Costa Rica Churches, most in San Jose
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| Anne Frank Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
And if you think it is unusual to find a statue of Anne Frank in Costa Rica next to a Catholic Cathedral, in another park of downtown, maybe 8-10 blocks away, in front of a Catholic Church and near the entrance to Chinatown, is a life-size statue of John Lennon sitting on a park bench beside whom you can sit and have your photo made. 🙂
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| Historic Building Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| “The Yellow House” A government building where foreign representatives are met. President Obama met with CR president here. Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| The Mexican Embassy (through a moving bus window) So much more inviting than the razor-wired concrete bunker for USA. Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| A bunch of old expats listening to a San Jose Guide. Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Our Tour Bus for the Day Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| Graffiti Wall like many Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| The old historic building our guide lived in Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica |
Or my San Jose Gallery with photos from several trips to the capital.
And a separate gallery for Costa Rica Churches, most in San Jose
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| Mariana Chapel Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort & Nature Reserve San Ramon, Costa Rica |
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| Chapel Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort & Nature Reserve San Ramon, Costa Rica |
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| Chapel Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort & Nature Reserve San Ramon, Costa Rica |
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| Chapel Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort & Nature Reserve San Ramon, Costa Rica |
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| Chapel Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort & Nature Reserve San Ramon, Costa Rica |
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| Flowers in front of Chapel Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort & Nature Reserve San Ramon, Costa Rica |
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| Oxcart in front of Chapel Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort & Nature Reserve San Ramon, Costa Rica |
Villa Blanca’s Mariana Wedding Chapel was the 50th anniversary-wedding gift from former President Rodrigo Carazo Odio to First Lady Estrella Carazo Zeledon. Its unique hand painted ceramic ceiling depicts the history of the Virgin Mary when first introduced into Latin America by Christian missionaries. It is located on a grassy knoll overlooking the farm village and hacienda of Villa Blanca. The Chapel’s backdrop is the 840 Ha (2000 acre) Los Angeles Cloud Forest, with over 300 listed bird species included within a variety of flora and fauna in this protected habitat and serene mountain setting. The chapel, a replica of a 17th century chapel in Rome, features a high beam ceiling composed of 840 individual ceramic plates, all of them hand drawn and painted with high temperature enamel paints. Each side of the ceiling has 15 panels of 28 plates divided in two vertical rows of 14 plates. Each one of the columns formed by the 14 plates conveys a theme allusive to a Latin-American virgin and her country of origin.
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| My favorite art work there is this statue of the Pope’s visit to San Jose in 1983 by a Costa Rican sculpture. |
Or my San Jose Gallery with photos from several trips to the capital.
And a separate gallery for Costa Rica Churches, most in San Jose