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Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Atenas, Costa Rica   (Cool hair-do, huh?)

Yellow-bellied Elaenia,  Atenas, Costa Rica
Both shots from my breakfast table on the balcony

For the birders seeing this, I studied dozens of photos of both the Yellow-bellied Elaenia and the Dusky-capped Flycatcher before I determined this identification. I’m satisfied but never positive about my identification of birds, especially these grayish tan ones! The breast is much more yellow than these two photos show, which is a factor. He would not face me!

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“American Experience” in the Malls

Cell Phone Snap, Food Court, Multiplaza Mall, Escazu, Costa Rica

I’ve been here almost 6 months and haven’t been in a Mall until yesterday and again today. I did not shop in malls in the states, so why here? They are too expensive in the states, but you should see the prices here! Out of sight! But the rich (both Tico and Expat) who want the “American Experience,” love these malls, mostly near San Jose. The above Multiplaza Mall is in Escazu, a wealthy suburb of San Jose where our American Ambassador’s home is located. Yesterday I checked out International Mall in Alajuela near the airport. It is older and smaller, but only until November when the new one being built next door will be larger than Escazu’s Multiplaza AND claims it will be the largest mall in Central America with 300+ stores! 

Since I am not buying the $100 Levis or the $44 Columbia brand cap I liked, why did I go? Partly out of curiosity and partly to check out the multi-screen theaters in both malls, so Anthony and I can go see Jurassic Park next Tuesday. We want a 3-D with English sound track and Spanish subtitles. Their phones are recordings in Spanish. Scratch that! The websites are almost as difficult to follow. So I go talk to live people! Alajuela had only Spanish soundtracks during the day with their only English one at 9 PM – not for us old men! The Escazu theater staff told me today that the 1:25 afternoon 3-D show is in English with Spanish subtitles – just right for us. (Maybe a little help on learning Spanish through subtitles!) And we get a bonus! It is in a “DBOX” theater, meaning the seats will move, shake, vibrate or whatever with the movie, like Disney World! You will get a report Tuesday night. And the price of a ticket is about $8, meaning movies aren’t as overpriced as clothing, etc. 
So, you see, we don’t do without all the modern science things here! Plus I now have a new baby lizard in my living room and he mostly stays on the wall near the ceiling above the outside windows, waiting for insects! Wonder if they live in the Mall?
A Baby Lizard on wall by crown molding in my living room.
Sorry about bad photo, but I wouldn’t turn light on because it would scare him off.
In fact I tried getting closer and he scurried off! Costa Rica Insect Control!  🙂
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Costa Rica Bumble Bee

Bumble Bee, Atenas, Costa Rica
Found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere but do occur in South America
Technically, I’m still in the Northern Hemisphere at Latitude 9.98 in Atenas  🙂
We are less than 10 degrees above the equator.

Bumble Bee going for the deep nectar! Atenas, Costa Rica

Bumble Bee approaching another flower in my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

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Fork-tailed Emerald Hummingbird

Wow! It is very difficult to get good photos of fast-moving birds! I have no special equipment, just hand-held SLR with 300 mm lens. These have been cropped to about 1/4 the original size to see bird or zoom in on it more. A closer zoom is grainy.

Fork-tailed Emerald Hummingbird in my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

Fork-tailed Emerald Hummingbird
Atenas, Costa Rica


Fork-tailed Emerald Hummingbird, Atenas, Costa Rica

Note that I see hummingbirds every day in my garden but the moment I walk out the door they usually fly away. I don’t need feeders. They love the flowers! But they don’t stay still for photos!

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Green Orchid Bee

Green Orchid Bee, Atenas, Costa Rica, by Charlie Doggett
Another “fruit” of my garden!

Green Orchid Bee, Atenas, Costa Rica, by Charlie Doggett
Note: This bee lives only in tropical Central and South America

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This is the way. Walk in it.

LifeWay VBS 2015 Theme Journey Off the Map, and yep! Parts of Costa Rica look like this!
Remember, Jurassic Park was here! Some thought of Costa Rica with Avatar, but there are no blue people here! 🙂

I just read about the jungle theme “Journey Off the Map” and focus verse of Vacation Bible School at my church back in Nashville. I love it! It is where I have been and where I am now both physically and spiritually:

Isaiah 30:21, “And whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: ‘This is the way. Walk in it.'” 

I taught in Vacation Bible School this time last year at First Baptist Nashville and learned then this would be the theme and verse. I liked it. Soon afterwards I wrote a poem based partly on this Bible verse:  “Metaphors of Modification” which was one of the early posts on this blog. I’ll let you click the link to read it if you wish. It was back when I was still dreaming, before even the relocation tour.

I have felt at peace ever since about my “Costa Rica Decision Process,” the first title of this blog, and at peace about the final decision I made in September, and all that has happened since then.“This is the way. Walk in it.” (And I understand that the spiritual meaning of this is not specifically about my move. I hope to write more about the verse later, because in some ways it is another “life verse” for me.) I will miss teaching in VBS this year and especially the theme. If you are one of the good guys who helps in VBS, think of me down here in Costa Rica!  🙂

ADDENDUM: WORSHIP WITH FIRST BAPTIST NASHVILLE ONLINE TODAY

When I was in the apartments the first four months, I was walking to the nearby little non-denominational evangelical church most Sundays and the two times I tried the “streaming worship service” from First Baptist Nashville, my connection was not good enough to get more than little hiccups of video. With my new and better internet connection in this house I discovered today that it works very well here! I’m thankful for many reasons! The local worship in Spanish is not always working for me and Pastor Frank started a new sermon series on “Mile Markers of Life” today. I’m looking forward to his messages and thank Bill Latham for sharing them on Facebook.

But the biggest surprise today was that the flower arrangement in the Nashville church looks like it could have come right out of my Costa Rica garden, with Heliconia and Red Ginger dominating the arrangement! Both are blooming in my garden every day! Maybe they chose it for the exotic VBS theme! VBS starts there tomorrow. Here’s the two dominate flowers in their arrangement:

Heliconia in my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica
Red Ginger in my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

Both of the above two flowers in my garden were a part of the flower arrangement at First Baptist Nashville today as I saw them on the computer screen in a streaming of their worship service.

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Metalmark Butterfly

One of the many Metalmark Butterflies, I’m pretty sure. No positive ID.
Atenas, Costa Rica, by Charlie Doggett
Metalmark Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica, by Charlie Doggett

My private gardener team came and did some good work yesterday. I’ve retained them for once or twice a month maintenance of garden and trees. (The ones who installed my garden.) The property gardener does a lot but works for about five or so properties doing mainly the big maintenance, weed-eating, etc. Most people here get a maid, I get a gardener!  🙂   Maybe a maid later. Still emptying boxes now.

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Sorry! Human error! But have you sent me mail?

Part of “Pura Vida” is not getting bent out of shape when things go slowly or go wrong. That is part of the warm climate attitude or lifestyle and if you can’t adopt it, go with the flow, and live with something going wrong, you will never be happy here. That is probably one of the biggest reasons some Americans don’t make it here or they are not happy here.

SO, HAVE YOU SENT ME MAIL?
If you have in the last four months to my Costa Rica PO Box, it was not delivered. Read on to see what happened to your letter.

DISCULPE – SORRY!
In late February I announced I had my own PO Box and you no longer needed to send mail by way of the apartments PO Box (where I received several Christmas Cards and letters just fine). You may remember that I was proud of my own address, bragged on how much easier it was to get that than open a bank account, and even posted a copy of a business card with the new address and my phone number. Yet I never received any mail in it. But I didn’t really expect it to be used except for local and Costa Rica business.

When my health insurance policy was completed the first of April I was expecting hard copies of the policy and an insurance card for my wallet. I never got it. Around the same time a friend in the states sent me an important letter that I never received. That is when I told everyone to use my Miami PO Box address for mail from states. Well the friend had the letter returned two month later as “not deliverable” or something like that in Spanish. They emailed me a photocopy of the returned letter and today I took it to the Atenas Post Office.

The older man who had set up my box was not there (learned later he was fired). The first person, a younger man, had trouble understanding and seemed to be looking for the letter somewhere. Then he called the woman over (exactly what I needed to solve my problem – really!). She managed my poor Spanish better AND when she understood what had happened, she had the insight to go to my box 441 and look at it (from the inside). I heard the rip of tape peeling off. She came back and said “Discuple” (Sorry!). Then someone else translated her explanation: The guy rented me a box with someone else’s name still on it and did not put my name on it like he was supposed to. So the mail-sorter would not put mail for me in such a box! The guy who sold me the box evidently made other errors because he no longer works there! And now that I am adopting the Costa Rica ways, I took three months to figure it out! And I will not worry about it. But if you sent me anything important, let me know! 🙂

I just called my Pricose INS Insurance agent about my medical insurance policy and wallet card. They will re-mail it all today! (Yep! Their mail bounced too!) See! Everything worked out! The world didn’t end! Life goes on! Pura Vida!

And though it can take up to a month from the states, my local mail address will work now (they say!).

Sr. Charlie Doggett
Apdo. 441-4013
Alajuela, Atenas, Atenas
20501 COSTA RICA

And yeah! It is not written like you do it in the states! That second line is my Province (state) first, then the Canton (county), and then Pueblo (town). Last line is the zip code BEFORE the country name. But honestly, the Miami address is still more efficient and usually here in 5 business days.

Charlie Doggett
PO Box 025-331
SJO 170066
Miami, FL 33102-5331

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Wanna see my baby pictures?

Baby Howler Monkey & Mom at Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica.
Photo by Charlie
“Come on Mom! Let’s go!” White-faced Capuchin Monkey
Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica – Photo by Charlie
And another White-faced Capuchin Monkey Baby on Mom’s back.
Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica – Photo by Charlie
Yep! It’s a baby! Green Parrot Snake
Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica – Photo by Charlie
And – incredibly- with my cell phone through the guide’s spotting scope.
Baby (youngster with Mom just below him on tree stump) Stripped Iguana
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica – Photo by Charlie

Now look at these professional photographer’s shots of “Costa Rica’s Most Adorable Baby Animals.”

Look at little kids and wild animals, these are two groups of things that whenever I’m with them forces me to be in the moment.
–Dominic Monaghan

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Mowing the Grass in Hilly Atenas

Javier mowing the hill behind my house. All mowing is done by weed-eaters.
Only in Central Atenas are there flat lots where a regular lawnmower might work.

I close the doors to avoid flying debris. I am feeling a little better, so virus med & diet is working.