charliedoggett.net
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| While waiting on a parade to start last year this Atenas father leads several waiting children in a game. As I did my daily walk through town today, not seeing a memorable photo op, I thought of this old one. It is so typical of the happiest people on earth right here in the center of Costa Rica! Glad I live here! Atenas, Costa Rica |
See also my photo gallery PEOPLE & FIESTAS.
VISTAS, BEACHES, SUNRISES, SUNSETS
From my Roca Verde Terrace
From the Hill Above my House
From Hacienda La Jacaranda Apartments
Caribbean Beaches
Pacific Beaches
Miscellaneous Costa Rica Vistas
Neighboring Country: Nicaragua Vistas
Neighboring Country: Guatemala Vistas
Neighboring Country: Panama Vistas
Neighboring Country: Mexico Vistas
WATERFALLS
Campesinos Waterfall, Quepos
Cloudbridge Reserve Waterfalls (2)
Corcovado National Park (3)
Hanging Bridges Waterfall
La Paz Waterfalls (5)
Manantial de Agua Viva Waterfall, Carara
San Gerardo de Dota Waterfalls (2)
San Luis Waterfall, Monteverde
PLACES AND THINGS
Costa Rica Lodges & Hotels (33)
Nicaragua Lodges & Hotels (5)
Panama Lodges & Hotels (4)
My Rent House in Roca Verde
Hacienda La Jacaranda Apartments
Atenas General Shots
Atenas Public Art & Grafitti RAN OUT OF TIME LINKING TITLES!
Atenas Home Business Signs Sorry!
Churches Costa Rica
Churches Nicaragua
Alajuela, Costa Rica
San Jose, Costa Rica
Small Towns Costa Rica
PEOPLE & FIESTAS
Tamale Making Class
Independence Day Parade 2017
Independence Day Parade 2016
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| One view of Hogar de Vida campus, Atenas, Costa Rica |
I was recently contacted by a fellow senior adult in the church I attended in Nashville, First Baptist Church, Nashville, TN USA. They were interested in doing a mission trip to Costa Rica and so I contacted the director of the Hogar De Vida children’s home here in Atenas and in short the group from Nashville will be coming in April 2018 for a week of assorted service activities at the children’s home. If you are in First Baptist Nashville and are interested, talk to anyone on the SAALT Council or to the project coordinator Fred Linkenhoker.
If you would like to know more about the non-denominational private Christian children’s home, Hogar de Vida:
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| I almost never go out without a cap. Here’s my collection! |
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| Similarly I never go out without sunglasses. And my collection of those, |
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| Cap & Sunglasses I wear every day when I walk to town. Here on a table in Soda while I drink coffee. Atenas, Costa Rica |
And you might be interested that I have caps and sunglasses of many colors to go with my many colors of T-shirts! 🙂 I’m a fashionista gringo! ¡Soy un gringo consciente de la moda!
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| A view of Roca Verde just before I begin the descent down a hill to our main entrance. Above is some of my neighbors in Atenas, Costa Rica |
(Sort of like Ernest Hemingway would describe it)
I leave the modern Banco Nacional (the only place I visit with air conditioning), crossing the street between two red taxis as they wait out front for customers, one of two red taxi stands in central Atenas. The other colors of taxis are not legally registered with the government and don’t have taxi stands, you just have to call them. As I step into the shade of mango trees in Central Park, I’m careful not to step on a rotting mango on the sidewalk and try to avoid staring at the teenage couple kissing on a park bench. The next park bench has a couple with small child and though less romantic, seem happy and peaceful in their little rural piece of tranquility. The second sidewalk to the right is where the old men sit and talk all morning and parrots gather in the treetops chattering away, while straight ahead the diagonal sidewalk takes me to the opposite corner of the park from the bank where a little corner “cafeteria,” or “sidewalk cafe” (for westerners), sits on the only corner not occupied by the stately courthouse, the imposing Catholic Church or the park. A great spot to be!
And if you are wondering about this descriptive writing I am attempting, it is motivated by one of the books I am currently reading, the first novel written by Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises. I will never be able to write descriptions of my surroundings like Hemingway, but it was fun to try. 🙂 I will probably stick to mostly photo captions in the future on this blog, but I am enjoying reading Hemingway again and will probably read some more of him in between my Agatha Christie mysteries and an occasional serious book and my effort to go back to reading more classics. Books give you a lot more choices than TV or movies! And more quality!
Nearly three years ago I started this blog to publicly discuss and seek guidance in what I then called my “Costa Rica Decision Process.” I just went back and read one of those early posts that really sums up my 16 reasons for leaving the U.S. and choosing Costa Rica for retirement written on June 28, 2014:
Click the above title and read the reasons I listed three years ago and you have my answer for today! Oh sure, I could add some things I’ve learned since that make it even better and some things that are more negative than in that list, but overall it sums up pretty well why I came and why I stay. And the list is totally mine, not from some website on retiring in Costa Rica. And yes, I’m really glad I did it! No regrets and I expect to stay here the rest of my life.
A few readers of this blog have written with specific questions and contact me when they come here to check it out. I am happy to help! Nothing in it for me. I’m retired and not selling services. 🙂
Now, I have wondered at what point we get too many Americans, Canadians and Europeans here!? There are a few “Ugly Americans” (Remember the 1960’s book?) already here and they are the ones constantly complaining about something that is not right here in their eyes. When an earlier neighbor was complaining about the relaxed atmosphere and infrastructure and said, “You know how these people are!” I thought to myself, “You need to go back to the states.” In three months he did. This culture and atmosphere is not for everyone! So check it out thoroughly for a good while before you decide to move here! But be sure that many of us love it here!
And for more reasons, just go back and read all the entries in this blog or see my Costa Rica Photo Gallery that I call: Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA and you will visually see why I love it here!
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| About noon I take boat from here to “wet landing” (barefoot through surf) in the little village of Drake Bay. Then a taxi with a Canadian family who were in another hotel, going to the Drake Bay Airport (photos below). Then less than an hour flight to San Jose Airport in Alajuela and my personal taxi prescheduled to take me home where I ordered pizza delivered, started laundry and a few other chores before collapsing! |
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| Drake Bay Airport Terminal, Ticket Office & Gift Shop Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| Bording Gate, complete with attendant & fire extinguisher! Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| Drake Bay Airport Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| The Thrill of the Cockpit Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| Goodbye Drake Bay, a bay off the Pacific Ocean at Corcovado Park Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
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| Crossing the Mountains to San Jose in 45 minutes! (All day on bus) Talamanca Mountains, Costa Rica |
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| Main Terminal, San Jose Airport – But Sansa has its own little terminal. Alajuela, Costa Rica |
My TRIPS Photo Gallery on this Drake Bay Trip
TWO WEB ARTICLES ABOUT MY PHOTOGRAPHY HOBBY & LATEST BOOK:
