Category: Costa Rica

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New Graffiti on Skateboard Ramp

In the city recreation park in front of Central School Elementary is all kinds of recreation from soccer to volleyball that I’ve shown before. Well, the skateboard ramp just got a fresh coat of paint in the form of some new graffiti or public art that should please the skateboarders! Tuanis! Mae!  (Cool! Dude!)

Shot with my cell phone and cropped a little in the computer. I shared some graffiti a year ago that was not as interesting and the more distant shot of skateboard ramp is particularly less vivid! Most of the other graffiti shot last year is about the same with 2 or 3 small new additions on walls. 
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The Lehning’s Passed Through Today

Tim & Joan Lehning and all three kids passed through the San Jose International Airport today where I welcomed them and immediately said goodbye as they got on van transportation to the Pacific Coast beach town of Tamarindo where they will participate in a surfing school for the next four days. They return Tuesday afternoon for two nights in my tranquil little farming town of Atenas before returning to Nashville. They came here from Peru where they hiked up Machu Pichu as the first part of their Latin America trip. They’ve seen coffee farms before, about our only tourist attraction here, so I will just walk them through our little small town life and feed them well! And show off my little rent house and garden and visit! They are staying at Eden Atenas Tuesday & Wednesday nights.

More on Wednesday about their visit in Atenas.

And more things are happening on my CAJA application than I can explain now, but bureaucracy is hard at work in this government health insurance thing but my attorney is back in the middle of it. And I really need it! The Rx cream for my finger to help skin grow (Sufrexal) cost me about $48! 

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Why Atenas?

WHY ATENAS?
by Tina Newton
This blog post by a friend of mine (Tina Newton) is one of the best summaries of why so many of us choose to live in Atenas. Yes, she’s a realtor and thus some ulterior motives, but I think it is a heartfelt statement and certainly reflects the way I feel about Atenas. And I’ve not been able to put my feelings about this little town into words as well as Tina just did! (And her better photo of the church than I’ve made yet.) So I thank her and share it here with anyone interested.  FYI !
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New Photo Gallery Under Construction

For many reasons I decided to move all my Costa Rica photos into a new photo gallery outside my old PBase gallery which for now I will keep for “history” or pre-Costa Rica photos as is. After checking out several possibilities, I chose SmugMug.com as the host and I am working on a new gallery there that will be formatted more like a website I am calling:

Screen Print of Home Page  –  GO THERE NOW!

Please be patient. It is a long way from finished since I have to upload and label each individual photo one at a time. But I think you will like it when finished! You can simply BROWSE as on any website, but also with a powerful search engine you can SEARCH for and bring up all photos for say one place name or one bird, etc. In the case of birds, they are listed alphabetically by the English name, but with SEARCH you can get a lot of other combinations.

The GALLERIES of photos are organized first in FOLDERS by subject or theme such as “Birds” or “Vistas.”  In each gallery you can click the button SLIDESHOW for the best full screen viewing of those photos. Or PASS YOUR CURSOR OVER PHOTO FOR TITLE & LOCATION. Then at the bottom of each photo and top of each gallery is a button labeled BUY that takes you to a multitude of sizes and mediums to order a copy of the photo, from a regular 4×6 print or large wall hanger to a greeting card. Fun!
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Changing the subject:

Interesting Article: Expats Moving to Costa Rica Discover Healthier Lifestyles!

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Non-Bird Wildlife at Carara

White-faced Capuchin Monkey – Just hanging around!  Pura Vida!
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Agouti
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Variegated Squirrel
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Northern Ghost Bat
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Some Kind of Fungus!
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Unless I do a post on plants, that is all from the Campesinos/Carara trip. But every trip seems to have about a week’s worth of posts! Always a lot to share! I love it here!

UPDATE ON RESIDENCY RED TAPE
As the attorney told me, I went to the local Atenas Social Security office to be “inscribed.” I took Jason (one of my language helpers) with me as an interpreter and he was absolutely needed! In short, the first desk sent us to another desk which was the appointments desk. Of course we needed to make an appointment (but you do it only in person-not by phone!). I am on standby for July 8 with a firm appointment on July 15.

I have a two-page form in Spanish to be filled out in Spanish. David is going to make it a class project next week in Spanish Class!  🙂  There are a bunch of other things I need to bring like proof of at least $1,000 income, the resolution I got, an electric bill, and a copy of my housing rental agreement. I can hire ” a professional” to help me walk through this, but it is more fun to work with friends and get closer to local Ticos! (And cheaper!) Ten to one odds that there will be some document not exactly right for the July appointment and I will have to go back again, but that is part of the adventure of government bureaucracies!

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Birds at Cerro Lodge

Cinnamon Hummingbird
Cerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Costa Rica

Turquoise-browed Motmot
Cerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Costa Rica
My first to see in Costa Rica, though I saw many in Nicaragua.

White-tipped Dove
Cerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Costa Rica
I almost called them Inca for the scaling, but white tips on tails ID them.

Warbler of Some Kind   (I’m pretty sure but hard to ID)
Cerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Costa Rica

Hoffman’s Woodpecker
Cerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Costa Rica

Blue-gray Tanager
Cerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Costa Rica

Boat-billed Flycatcher
Cerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Costa Rica
Several flycatchers look similar, but the bill and red cap ID this one.

Melodious BlackbirdCerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Costa Rica
Very similar to Bronze Cowbird which has red eyes an this one doesn’t.
Only the Melodious Blackbird has everything black, eyes, bill, feet.
Cerro Lodge Entrance
Cerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Costa Rica

Last time I stayed down here it was at Villa Lapas which further off the highway,
closer to Tarcoles, & deeper in the forest, but services and facilities are similar.
This one is actually in the middle of an upscale housing development but with
plenty of land for privacy and lots of birds. The gate is like what the neighbors
have to enter their mansions. Good friendly service, views, birds and food.

I’m saving the birds photographed at Carara National Park for tomorrow since I got a lot at the lodge and the park was my last stop before going home. Some nice birds at the park this time! Better than my last trip there.

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Last Bird Photo Today – A First-Timer for Me!

Orange-collared Manakin
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

I spent Sunday afternoon and night at Cerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Costa Rica and because there was not a group boat ride available to bird on the river, I birded around my cabin and down the road yesterday. This morning I again birded around the lodge property with several birds then had an appointment with a birding guide named Antonio who was good and help me get lots of bird photos in my two hours there. Because this is a “first-time” bird for me, it is sort of my favorite, but I haven’t had time to go through the others yet and still haven’t posted the photos from Campesinos, so busy the rest of this week with this and lots of other projects. Stay tuned!  🙂

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Birding around Waterfalls and Beautiful Views

Waterfall & Swinging Bridge behind my cabin at
Campesinos Lodge on Pacific Coast near Quepos.
Yep! I walked over and back twice, a long bridge!
Several young men were repelling down the waterfall. Not me! I do birds!
I was at Campesinos with the birding club, now adding my solo adventure.
Halfway home I stopped for a personal night near Carara National Park,
staying at Cerro Lodge overlooking a Pacific Coast bay above.
Tomorrow morning I do 2 hours of birding in Carara before going home.
This afternoon I am enjoying a rest and birding the grounds of this lodge.

In the next couple of days I will post bird photos made in both places. This Cerro Lodge has pretty good internet connection while Campesinos had none nor cell phone service! Even with a connection there is seldom time to make these posts while on a trip. I may rest from travel a bit though it may not be for very long!  🙂  I love doing this!

And just as I sign off a flock of Scarlet Macaws is flying overhead.  🙂

Pura Vida!