Category: Places

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Plain Longtail Buttefly

The Plain Longtail Butterfly or Urbanus simplicius proves that all butterflies are not colorful. In fact, I had one of the many different longtails in my bathroom one night and thought at first that it was a bat! Yes, he is fury!  But you have to admit that he is very interesting and beautiful in his own simple way, photographed here in my garden. I have a photo of a White-striped Longtail in my butterfly gallery and there are other varieties.

See also my Photo Gallery Butterflies and Moths with more than 80 species photographed here in Costa Rica.

I also have a little 7X7 inch photo book titled My First 50 Butterflies in Costa Rica.  You can preview all pages electronically for free at this link. Best viewed full screen for bigger photos.

¡Pura Vida!

Report on My Surgery Last Night

My right arm is still numb, so limited left-hand typing. Hospital and docs/staff were super! I see doc tomorrow and schedule physical therapy. No problems, still numb. No pain.

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Giant White Butterfly

This name or label is the closest match found in online searches with the scientific name of  Ganyra josephina, found from South Texas all the way through Central America to northern South America. It is similar to the Felder’s White found in the book A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America with scientific name Ganyra phaloe (which name I almost gave it). Another web page had a similar butterfly labeled Godart’s White, almost identical to Felder’s, both having a little brown edge around the upper wings which mine does not have. Mine more closely matches the “Giant White” photos and descriptions online but is not in Swift’s book.

Butterflies are so difficult to identify, especially in Costa Rica where we seem to have millions of different ones! This was photographed in my garden in Atenas, Costa Rica.

See also my Photo Gallery Butterflies and Moths with more than 70 species photographed here in Costa Rica.

I also have a little 7X7 inch photo book titled My First 50 Butterflies in Costa Rica.  You can preview all pages electronically for free at this link. Best viewed full screen for bigger photos.

¡Pura Vida!

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Surgery Scheduled for Monday Evening

Monday 30 July. Yep! That does seem different, evening instead of morning, but that is the way it is (and maybe when an operating room was available at the small private hospital). And the doctor said the sooner we do it, the less damage will be done to the tendon and the sooner I will be without pain. And instead of using the main Hospital Metropolitano in downtown San Jose we are going to one of their 4 suburban campuses, the only one with an operating room. It is in the Lindora barrio of Santa Ana which is on “my side” (west) of San Jose just off our “freeway,” Ruta 27, and about 30 minutes closer than the downtown hospital campus, especially during rush hour, thus easier and quicker for both me and my driver whom I’ve already scheduled.

I am to be there at 5PM, with the surgery scheduled for 7PM to 8PM with one hour in the Recovery Room and return home soon after 9PM. That should be a good way to get sleepy for bedtime!  Ja, ja, ja, (español for ha, ha, ha)   🙂 though the anesthesia is only local.

He says my activities can be normal in a week to 10 days though I will have 5 weeks of physical therapy (2X a week), the hardest part one U.S. friend said. But I did cancel or postpone my August trip to Sarapiqui, which I now have rescheduled for next May. Before then I will be a new man who will try harder to not fall off the bed or on the rough sidewalks of Alajuela! It’s just that time of life!   🙂   No cane yet and hopefully not soon! But maybe needed someday?

“Getting old is not for sissies.”     ~Bette Davis

¡Pura Vida!

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One Horse Town?

Another Atenas Horse Experience

Stopping for a beer.

The other afternoon I was eating a pizza and salad at Napo’s Pizzeria when I looked out the window and this guy stopped his horse at the little pulperia (corner grocery) nextdoor for a beer, while staying on his horse. And today a local FB Group “Atenas Info” had someone to post 3 pages from an old history book describing downtown Atenas full of horses, wagons and beer drinkers. Culture dies slowly!  🙂

History never really says goodbye. History says, ‘See you later.’             ~Eduardo Galeano

 

EARLIER POSTS WITH HORSES IN ATENAS:

¡Pura Vida!

Rainstorm Roof Damage

You might also be interested in seeing this few seconds local video during a recent rain storm in Atenas. That roof flying off is from the bus station where I catch my buses to both Alajuela and San Jose. I wondered yesterday why roofers were there with a new tin roof – now I know!

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Surprising Vista at Xandari

By using my new 600mm telephoto lens instead of my usual Samsung Phone Camera for a vista from the hilltop resort Xandari, I zoomed in on the Alajuela Cathedral with Central Park to the right and the bigger surprise, at top edge of photo is an American Airlines plane landing or taking off at the San Jose International Airport in Alajuela! Luck of the timing on the plane and sorry that the blog template crops off part of the plane, not so in my original photo (see in gallery).

Below is another shot in same direction from the same restaurant with my phone camera to help you see how much I was able to zoom in and crop a little!  🙂  The cathedral is on the left side of the city that you see between the restaurant and the mountains. My last day at Xandari, Wednesday, Walter picked me up and we got my internet order package 5 blocks east of the Cathedral, ate lunch 2 blocks north of the Cathedral, then drove 24 km (15 miles) west to Atenas where I live. My small world!   🙂

Looking south over Alajuela, Costa Rica (& San Jose Airport) from Xandari Resort. I stood in this same spot for the Cathedral-Airplane photo, just zooming in!

 

¡Pura Vida!

See my Trip Photo Gallery:  2018 Xandari Resort

Xandari costa rica   (their website)

Retired in Costa Rica
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Xandari Gallery is Ready!

There are so many good photos of flowers, architecture, the farm, public art and one very surprising vista! (I may share here tomorrow.) And I decided not to fill another week’s worth of blog posts with them. So I encourage you to check out the 2018 Xandari Resort Photo Gallery. This was one of my most photogenic places to visit yet!

I just love every little corner of Costa Rica!

 ¡Pura Vida!

Xandari costa rica   (their website)

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Trails & Sidewalks at Xandari

If you count the unofficial paths and trails there are possibly 5 miles of walking/hiking ways within the Xandari property. And I think I have walked over every portion except a little section that dead ends along the river. Around the villas and through the gardens is paved while through the farm and to the waterfalls is dirt paths, sometimes muddy this time of year! I came back to my room with muddy shoes every day! Just a sampling of trails and I did not include some grass-covered paths. Trails are a great way to immerse yourself in nature!

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¡Pura Vida!

See my Trip Photo Gallery:  2018 Xandari Resort

Xandari costa rica   (their website)

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Butterflies and Other Bugs – Xandari

Xandari is like any place in Costa Rica, there are lots of bugs, but I don’t think as many here as some deeper forests I’ve been in. And this is butterfly season! Here’s a little slide show of 6 butterflies and 2 other insects photographed at Xandari Nature Resort. Enjoy!

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¡Pura Vida!

See my Trip Photo Gallery:  2018 Xandari Resort

Xandari costa rica   (their website)