Costa Rica

“‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

-J.R.R Tolkien

Red-eyed Tree frog shot on my cell phone at Danta Corcovado Lodge at Los Patos Entrance to Corcovado National Park.

That’s Costa Rica to me and it is my home now! More exciting than Middle Earth!  And the header photo above is of the shoreline of Golfito Bay near the little town of Golfito off the bigger Gulf of Dulce across from Osa Peninsula. 

This whole website is about Costa Rica and me, but below is a different menu to help you focus on Costa Rica from perhaps a different perspective and be aware that most of my articles are as blog posts, so you might have to use the BLOG SEARCH BOX to find specific things you are looking for or if you just want photos, try the General Photo Gallery or specifically for travel go to my Costa Rica TRIPS Gallery with a sub-gallery for each trip I’ve made in Costa Rica.

COSTA RICA Menu

  • My Advice to Those Considering a Move Here
  • Map of my First Five Years of Travel Here (sorry, just haven’t kept it up to date)
  • Ranking Birding Lodges (2020) by number of birds photographed and a newer 2021 Ranking of Birding Lodges by number of birds I photographed at each.
  • Visiting San Jose – my response to an email
  • Stories and Articles on my BLOG or click “Blog” on the Site Menu above – within “Blog” is a SEARCH box to help you find what you’re looking for or separately by date or by category – It is most of my writing now! And searching my Blog posts is the best place for information about moving here, living here, residency requirements, etc. Though I strongly suggest joining ARCR, the Association of Residents of Costa Rica.
  • 2014 “Live in Costa Rica” Tour (New Page Coming!) or see just the Photo Gallery.
  • 2010 Christmas Caravan Tour of Costa Rica (New Page Coming!) Just Photo Gallery.
  • 2009 Birding Tour of Costa Rica (New Page Coming!) Or just the Photo Gallery.
  • PHOTOS of Costa Rica or click “Gallery” on the Site Menu above (also a SEARCH box there). I finally started moving my “pre-Costa Rica” photos to have all together in one big gallery, but it is still mostly Costa Rica!
    • Costa Rica TRIPS is a sub gallery and since this is a TRAVEL page I’m adding this link here!  🙂 All my trips made in Costa Rica! And if you like to get around the country in small planes check out the Domestic Terminal at SJO Airport (my photos) & my Airplane Shots (my photos) since a 2009 first trip here with nearly a third of my trips now using planes on my favorite airline Sansa  (their site).
  • Photo BOOKS about Costa Rica or click “Bookstore” on the Site Menu above for free electronic previews. Most books are about a trip to a specific place in Costa Rica. And you can see all of the physical books in the
  • I tried keeping a page of hotel/lodge reviews but too hard to keep up to date plus they often change +/-, so learn about from my trip galleries and my TripAdvisor reviews which also become dated.
  • El Camino de Costa Rica Hiking Guide available on Amazon.com, Kindle or paperback! And to learn more about it, check out the trail website: El Camino de Costa Rica Coast to Coast. And search my blog posts “El Camino” for more information.
  • Atenas – the little coffee-farming town in Central Valley where I live my tranquil life between trips. I enjoy telling people about it!   🙂
  • Birding Costa Rica – My experience here started with my first trip to Costa Rica in 2009 through today when I go somewhere for birds every couple of months.
  • Costa Rica National Parks – List of the parks with links to trips I have made in many of them.
  • The Indigenous People of Costa Rica with links to my related photos & posts.

¡Pura Vida!

Keel-billed Toucan on my Terrace in Atenas, Costa Rica at breakfast one day

“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”

-Ernest Hemingway

Must See Video on Costa Rica