Category: Places

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First Full Day at Hogar

Sorry, but we are not allowed to show children’s faces on the internet! My best photos!
Sign at Entrance Gate
Hogar de Vida, Atenas, Costa Rica

Matt gives team tour of campus (3 team members not in photo)
Hogar de Vida, Atenas, Costa Rica

8:30 AM Devotional for those not in school
Hogar de Vida, Atenas, Costa Rica

Rene painting in one of houses

Welcome sign for team at San Jose Airport  for Thursday.
Hogar de Vida, Atenas, Costa Rica
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New Bromeliads + A Favorite Road

Bromeliad Pink in a Shady Area of My Garden
 I think it will do very well here & I have 6 of them!
 Atenas, Costa Rica
Bromeliad Red which I really liked, but as you see it gets some sunlight
 thus I hope it makes it. I got only 1 of these.  Bromeliads prefer shade.
Atenas, Costa Rica 

Road behind Banana Azul Hotel in the Caribbean of Costa Rica
The photo & quote that I shared with the mission team today + a Scripture verse with their’s.
Photo made in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica 
¡Pura Vida!
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CR’s Trump-like Candidate Soundly Defeated

In the Costa Rica Presidential Election yesterday the candidate most like Donald Trump, whose only platform was to stop gay marriage at any cost, was defeated 60% to 40% of the votes. Earlier polling showed it to be a closer race than that. Again Costa Rica is proving to be smarter than the U..S.
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Good Friday Silence

As I walked to town, the streets were empty!
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

Even around Central Park
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

Every store is closed except Supermarkets & the Gasolinera that will close early.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

Many homes had added new, bigger decorations.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

Even the Catholic Church added a similar new decoration.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

And people will be coming and going from the catholic church all day (all week!). The only activity.
 Atenas, Costa Rica 

And you might ask, “What about the non-religious?” Well, they are the ones filling the public beaches this week and fishing on the lakes and other “vacation” activities. One family I know is spending the whole week at the nearest beach. Semana Santa or “Holy Week” or “Easter Week” is not the best beach time for tourists, though most locals try to use different beaches and try to avoid tourists, but not totally possible, especially at Jaco, the closest big beach town to San Jose.

The smaller number of evangelicals and protestants in Costa Rica have a less dramatic emphasis on Easter and some expats, like the “new community” here at Iglesia Biblical have special activities they did back home. Ours did a Maundy Thursday Lord’s Supper or Communion Service Thursday night and some will meet at a member’s house at Sunrise Easter Morning for a Sunrise Service – which will be a good excuse for not attending the Spanish Language Easter Service at the church later. 
Hotel restaurants have to be open on Easter, but not many others will and even the supermarkets will have very limited hours on Easter. But this year will not have the usual Easter pageantry in the streets by law, since the first Sunday of April is Election Day and no public activities are allowed to compete with voting (only worship inside a church building). Meaning that many people will leave their church of whatever variety and go straight to the voting places where the unqualified, anti-Gay presidential candidate (an evangelical gospel singer) is expected to narrowly win the election in this conservative Catholic country.

Read the article  Holy Week the Costa Rican way

Felices Pascuas

Poner toda la carne en el asador.

¡Pura Vida!

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Pre-Easter Yellow

And for one week only – this particular tree.
Seen from my terrace as is the photo below.
Atenas, Costa Rica

 

Behind my “Cow Pasture Neighbors” Houses
Atenas, Costa Rica

 

Even the silhouetted Chachalaca seems to be admiring the yellow flowers.
In my Guarumo/Cecropia Tree
Atenas, Costa Rica
¡Pura Vida!
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Danta Corcovado Book is Ready!

Click image or this caption for a 
FREE ONLINE REVIEW OF THE BOOK & ALL PHOTOS!
I probably say this about all of my trips here, but this was one of the best and some very good photos like this cover photo of the Red-eyed Tree Frog made with my cell phone! When you click and get to bookstore, just click the cover image to start free preview of all pages and click each page to go to next page in this amazing digital world!
Happy Easter Week!
¡Feliz Semana Santa!

Read what one gringo says about this holiday week here. 
It is SPRING BREAK in big way with schools out and many off from work. 
Beaches are very busy this week. 
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Atenas Homes Prepare for Easter During Lent

Just three examples of the many homes celebrating Lent in Atenas. 
These I walk by almost every day – reminders of the atonement.

From the internet at: 
“In the Catholic and Episcopal churches, purple is the symbol of royalty,” said the Rev. Garry White, pastor of Orangeburg Lutheran Church. “It’s also a symbol of bruising and suffering. That is the color that is used during the season of Lent. In the week immediately prior to Easter on Good Friday, a lot of churches will take the purple cloth down and put up a black cloth as a more stark reminder of Jesus’ death.”
The placement of a white cloth on the cross on Easter Sunday represents the purity and wholeness demonstrated through Christ’s resurrection, White said.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live

John 11:25
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Four Links to help you Explore Costa Rica

Los Patos Waterfall, Corcovado National Park

First, as shared on Facebook, here is the link to my most recent TRIP Gallery

2018 March – Danta Corcovado
It was one of my best trips yet and I do recommend the lodge.

NOTE: This gallery is in the TRIPS folder of galleries where you can check out every trip I have ever made in Costa Rica with photos of the lodges, birds and other sights in each place (56). Trips are listed chronologically with most recent at the top. OR for a focus on just the lodges or hotels, I have an evaluation/review of every one I have visited here at:   Costa Rica Lodges & Hotels (35) listed alphabetically by name.

Tico Times Suggests
 Explore the best of Costa Rica with this two-week itinerary

Arenal Volcano

It might not be exactly how I would plan a two-week tour of Costa Rica, but it is a very good plan and includes a variety of sights and locations. And it includes both Tortuguero and Drake Bay, two of my very favorite places in Costa Rica! It would be a good choice, so consider it! 
AND SHORTER OPTIONS
If you only have 9 days to tour Costa Rica, I recommend Caravan.com tour of Costa Rica. It has some of the same places as 14-day tour without Tortuguero or Drake Bay, so of course the two week tour is better!  🙂  But Caravan gives you more for your money than any tour company here, period! The all-inclusive price is a real bargain!

And if you are considering moving here or retiring here like me, I consider it essential to take Christopher Howard’s Live in Costa Rica Tour.   It is one week (8-10 days) with a 3-day tour of the Pacific Coast, a 2-day ARCR Seminar in San Jose to answer every possible question, and then a 3 day tour of the Central Valley (where I live). And he had an optional tack-on tour of Guanacaste when I took it. Check his schedules on his website, there seem to be different lengths of tours.

And however you see Costa Rica, I hope you find our
¡Pura Vida!

Charlie Doggett, Retired in Costa Rica!