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I Drove Over the “Mountain of Death” to a Retreat Lodge

Cerro de la Muerte in Spanish or “Mountain of Death” in English is what they have called one of the mountains I drove over today since pioneer days when so many people lost their lives walking over the mountain. The steep climbs and hairpin curves reminded me of childhood driving trips through the Ozarks of north Arkansas or later trips on the back roads of Colorado. And I never found a good place to stop and make a photo! Just glad when I made it to Rio Chirripo Retreat Lodge! It is a scary drive with idiots passing on curves, etc. But I’m here, safe and sound!  🙂

A warm fire in the lodge on a cool, rainy night.

My room balcony overlooks the mountain cloud forest.

I walked down to Rio Chirripo in the rain for a quick photo.

Just a few of the flowers outside my room.

Tomorrow morning I have a birding guide picking me up at 6:30 for a hike in a nearby forest. Hoping for a Collared Trogon and a Black Guan among others!


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Trip to the Mountains Tomorrow

My shot from the top of one of the mountains in Talamanca range in 2014.

My general plan was to get settled in a home, explore locally,  then travel, maybe as much as a week or weekend ever month to continue my exploration of this amazing Costa Rica. I’m now into the travel stage beyond some short trips earlier. Joining the Birding Club of Costa Rica came with a built-in trip every month, though eventually I will skip some of those and do my own thing. But for this month and next I’m doing the birding club trips and adding my own exploring days while in that part of the country.

Today (Tuesday) I take bus to Alajuela, pick up some mail, go to airport and get a rental car. Tomorrow after Spanish Class, I drive south 2-3 hours into the Talamanca Mountains where I have been two other times (09 & 14) but love it enough to go again with the club. I’m going early to explore a different part of the mountains, Mount Chirripo, the tallest mountain in Costa Rica. I’m not climbing it! But staying at a yoga retreat center lodge near the base, next to a national forest and the national park, Rio Chirripo Retreat. On Thursday I have scheduled a birding guide to take me out for some good photos of birds other than quetzals. Then Friday I move to Miriam’s Quetzals to join the club for more birds including the Resplendent Quetzal. There I’ll share a little cabin with some other guys there without spouses. Birding is all we do for two days. So get ready for some more bird photos!  🙂 And oh yes, it gets cold up there! I’m taking 2 weights of jackets plus long pants!

And if you don’t remember what a Resplendent Quetzal looks like, here’s my earlier shots of some.

-o-

Just in: Guava Leaves are Good for You! As much as the powerhouse Costa Rica fruit Guava. My favorite is Guava Marmalade, but good in fruit punch or just a guava fresca or guava ice cream! But I still prefer guanabana as first choice to drink! My cancer prevention fruit!  🙂

A good article:  7 Things to Consider Before Retiring Abroad   And it is not just about Costa Rica. For what it is worth, I seriously considered Panama as my second choice and the cost of living is lower there than in Costa Rica but more nature here won out for me. Wherever you consider moving, check out these 7 things as a minimum and then visit the country multiple times and study it before moving there. Then you almost always want to rent at first to make sure the area or neighborhood is where you want to settle before you buy. It is easier to buy than sell! Me? I will only rent. Freedom! (And lack of money!) You too can have a stress-free life in paradise without American politics, crimes and wars!  Pura Vida!

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15th of September Post 5: FACES

Teen in one of the school bands

Okay. I’ll stop after this, though there are a lot more photos from the parade that I like. 🙂

I could have made this Faces post all children, but since I used some faces of them in Post 1 (children), and a cool youth face in Post 2 (bands), and another youth face in Post 3 (flags); this is mixed, even with adults.

I’ll go back to bugs and bird tomorrow, but Wednesday I head out for 4 nights in the Talamanca Mountains, so more new stuff then! Maybe a better photo of a Resplendent Quetzal! Then the following week to the Nicaragua border on Visa Run again. And the week after that to the Caribbean again. Never a dull moment! 🙂

And don’t you like the looks of the Atenas Ticos?

Do you not want me to make this photo?


“The face is a picture of the mind with the eyes as its interpreter.” 
― Marcus Tullius Cicero
Pura Vida!
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15th of September Post 4: CULTURAL COLOR

The local agricultural technical school (largest in Central America) had my fave!
This is the traditional dress from post colonial days with men’s in next photo.
Students of Agriculture come here from all over the Americas, including U.S.
I can see some of the school farms used for SFS, Sustainable Field Service
We help improve agriculture all over the Americas!
Beautifully painted oxcarts are a long time tradition here. Two in the parade.

Riding barefoot is a doubtful tradition, though
maybe early youth did so.

Día de la Mascarada or “Traditional Costa Rican Masquerade” (31 October) originated as an adaption of Spanish Carnival. The local band, una cimarróna, strikes up a beat for the masked characters to dance or walk in a parade or fiesta. The next 5 photos are of the masked characters in this particular parade by a school or organization I did not catch the name of: 



A Fire Truck, Bombero, always leads off in every parade, this time
followed by a group of “Future Firemen of Costa Rica”
 or some similar name in Spanish.

Not sure how 3 younger teens got to skate in the parade,
trying to show off, but none of them exceptionally good!
I guess they see this as future or current culture!?

COSTA RICA EXTRA TIDBIT:

Surfer at Manuel Antonio Beach

And will the World Surfing Games (link to article in English) be held in Costa Rica in 2016? Only if someone comes up with $1 Million Dollars in next two weeks (see article) and it is doubtful the CR government will spend that much. But, after all guys, Costa Rica came away from this year’s contest with the most gold medals! (link to 2015 tournament page)

It is like the national sport for those who live on the Pacific coast and Jaco is considered one of the best surfing beaches in the world. Not my passion, but very interesting! Here’s a surfer shot I made at Manuel Antonio Beach last year in mild waves.

Pura Vida!   And tomorrow, my last installment of Fotographias de 15 de septiembre desfile: CARAS (FACES) – maybe the best parade post!  🙂

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15th of September Post 3: FLAGS!

Colegio Liceo had the largest group of marching flags led by a Drum Majorette.

When they stopped they had a very intricate presentation of weaving the lines
in and out of each other to create a sea of red, white and blue – Colegio Liceo.

As usual I watched the parade from Gelly’s across from Parque Central.
Here Colegio Liceo is starting their presentation seen in second photo. 
Escuela Central Elementary School did great for younger kids!
And they had the coolest caps! Boys and girls marched in separate lines.
That’s elementary school for you!   🙂
Colegio San Rafael  was led by a drum major.

Though not as large as Liceo, San Rafael had impressive group & show!

Patriotism and color on 15 de septiembre is just as big as US 4th of July!
Just no mucho fireworks in Atenas. Another shot of Colegio San Rafael.
(There’s a big fireworks show in San Jose. But I like my little farm town!)
Unlabeled School (or I missed the sign) leave our area by the church.

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15th of September Post 2: BANDS!

Though the volume made you think there were more, there were only 4 full-size bands in the parade and they were mostly drums, since there are few teachers or classes for other instruments. They were scattered throughout the parade with several small ensembles in-between, like 3 to 8 persons with multiple instruments.  There were more flag bearers than band members. Bands are bandas in Spanish.

Banda Escuela de Musica is a community band for all ages (child-adult) that meets, learns and practices after school.
It includes my Spanish teacher, his son and son’s nanny, and another friend. I help raise money for their Panama trip.
Notice, like others, they are now all drums except for 2 saxophones and 3 xylophones called marimbas here.

I like their spiffy uniform shirts
which they are wanting to replace with “real” uniforms sometime.
It is a community activity requiring donated money not easily obtained.

It is an after-school, community music school that teaches how to read music,
how to play other instruments when they can be obtained, and the band will
add more instruments over time as they can. It could become big in Atenas. 

Banda de Colegio San Rafael is a suburban high school smaller than Liceo
but sharper looking uniforms. All drums because of lack of music teachers.

Ticos teens like to dress sharp and appreciate cool hats!

Banda de Colegio Liceo is the largest from the largest school with golf shirts
as uniforms and again mostly drums because of few music teachers. 
All drummers are cool and since nearly all of the band are drummers . . .
Boy! My band director would never have allowed sunglasses!  🙂
So maybe this is why Ticos are the happiest people on earth!?
They are followed by and overshadowed by the largest troop of flag bearers in the parade, also a part of Colegio Liceo.
More flag photos tomorrow! 

By now you may have learned that high schools are called “Colegio” in Spanish in Costa Rica. If not, that is your new Spanish word for today!   🙂

Unknown school with 8 boys on drums – what I was calling an “ensemble.”

Escuela Central Elementary School
As with the others, mostly drums with a few marimbas (xylophones);
smaller and less organized than high school bands.

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15th of September Post 1: CHILDREN!

I’m still sorting the 600+ photos from a wonderful nearly 3-hour parade for Independence Day here with lots of bands and flags and children. Tonight I share just a few of my children shots, some in the parade and many watching it. This satisfies what I wanted to photograph in last night’s lantern parade and did not accomplish. Children are so photogenic!

Watching the parade with me at Gelly’s

Representing one of the schools in the parade

Nicole, 6 or 7, is already a drummer in a band!
Son of my Spanish teacher, in band I raised $ for.

Some of the dancers weren’t so good, but
this group was great, with traditional dancing!

I watched this boy sneak under the railing to sit on curb for closer view!
The red, white & blue traditional dress is most
typical for Independence Day and I’ll show
adults wearing them another day.

And this is the typical traditional dress for boys and men.
I wore a hat like this but no bandanna, just a red, white & blue shirt!
Another traditional dress for 15th of September!
All of these are made by parents or a seamstress,
you cannot buy them in stores.

And finally, a father-son bonding moment on the parade route.
This may be my favorite photo from the parade.

I have lots of photos of a lot of bands and really a lot of flags I’ll share a few of, plus some adult costumes and some “different” things in the parade in future posts.

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Lanterns Parade – desfile de linternas

The night before the Independence Day Celebration the children march in a parade with decorated lanterns that have now become elaborate works of art in some cases. With hovering Moms, it was a confusing mess and then the parade didn’t march down the street where I was waiting, but the other side of the park. So I grabbed a few shots as they dispersed and one on my way to town. Hope I do better tomorrow for the big parade with bands and flags!

As I walked to town I passed this family of 3 kids with their lanterns.
The kids all met at Escuela Central to start the parade, so I went to Central Park.

Many of the girls had “doll lanterns” (light inside) in traditional dress.
The boys had old fashion lanterns or oxcart lanterns mostly.

Several just waited for the parade
holding their lanterns. 
Some were held high and others in their hands.
And some of the kids wore traditional clothing
making it colorful, though a confusing crowd of people
mostly parents hovering around their kids.

And no one ever seems to know the parade route in advance so you can get a good place to see. There were a hundred or more of us on the west side of the park waiting and they marched only on the east and north side! Grrrr!

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Angel Tree Project

Trees in two places to get sponsors.

I volunteered through Su Espacio and met today with some of the other committee members to discuss the approach this year and how we will secure sponsors of 300 very poor children (no parent working full time). We also need to pay for food and entertainment at the party in December when they receive their gifts. I suggested that in addition to angels which is the child a person buys a gift or gifts for, we sell “party angels” to pay for the party. Susan (also from Su Espacio) suggested we make those stars. So now people can take an angel from the tree and get gifts or pay cash for a star to pay for the party. My first contribution to this project.  🙂

Of course Susan and I are in charge of the stars and tomorrow we go to Escazu to see if anyone has silver and gold poster board from which we will cut the stars. Silver for 5,000 colones ($10) and gold for 10,000 colones ($20). David and Corinna at Su Espacio are interviewing the parents to see if their children really qualify for the free Christmas gifts and will host the party. We will all help cut out the angels and write names and Christmas wishes on them. Susan and I want to recruit children to color the angels. We will have a big tree at Su Espacio and a smaller one at Kay’s Gringo Postres where we met today and where we should sign up a lot of gringos. Plus we are promoting it at Kay’s Gringo Halloween Costume Party with a raffle to earn some of the party money.

I’ve become David’s flier maker, so expect I will be doing that again pretty soon about the Angel Tree. And some of you thought all I did was sleep late and sit on the terrace photographing birds!

On Aprendo Espanol en Atenas I tell about Spanish learning for free at Duoling.com