Category: Atenas

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Seeing Costa Rica from Atenas

If you are going to stay in Atenas awhile or live here and want to see the sights of Costa Rica from this central location, I personally recommend Walter’s Day Tours and hope you will give him a consideration if living or visiting here. And if you want to stay several nights in a particular location, he can get you there and back again and you avoid the scary option of driving in Costa Rica!  🙂  He is not the cheapest transportation, but you really don’t want that! He is the best! And he is even a licensed pilot if you want to fly somewhere, though local commercial flights are good here. Click his name above for his website and contact him if interested. And pardon a little advertising for a friend.

Shot of his brochure.

For more info go to:
Walter’s Tours Website

And Coming in 2020: Discovery Costa Rica,  a billion dollar “discovery park” that a chain of international parks is bringing to the Guanecaste or northwest area of Costa Rica near the airport town of Liberia. Their last one just opened in China. I am not excited, since it sounds like a big amusement park trying to take advantage of the nature and adventure of Costa Rica. What next? A Disneyland Costa Rica? This kind of commercialization is what I don’t like about some of Guanecaste I’ve seen, like Tamarindo and unfortuately it is also taking over the wonderful national park Manuel Antonio on the central Pacific, like Gatlinburg and Cherokee ruined the Great Smoky Mountains Park in the states. Oh well . . . progress! It was bound to happen! And I should reserve my judgement, they might really make it ecological, though I doubt it.  🙂

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My House Location

My House Location  (Red arrow)
The big orange roof above & to left is my landlord from Montreal.
Little orange to right & down is Anthony of Indiana. Big gray house is Richard from England.
Towards mountains is downtown Atenas, white church steeple seen, top center-right.
I walk this whole valley almost daily, one great advantage of not owning a car!
Life in a rural small town. Pura vida!

Note that it is the end of dry season which is therefore the wildfire season, But we are starting to get some rain. Had a shower early this evening. Happy days are here again! (Rainy Season! May-Nov.)
Note to my relatives in Warren, Arkansas (Where I was born): Atenas is the same size town as Warren with about the same population (6,000 +/-), farming community, county seat, 4 supermarkets, 2 or 3 hardware stores, and only small shops for other needs with a 45 minute drive to Alajuela or hour drive to San Jose for big shopping and hospitals. Small towns are a lot alike around the world! Though we have a different kind of immigrants here than does Warren. Never thought I would be an immigrant in a small farm town! Life is full of surprises! And I did not consciously have this in mine when I chose Atenas. 
Check out the “official” video on Atenas, just 2 1/2 min.
See my photo gallery of Public Art & Graffiti in Atenas

Or the general gallery on Atenas,     or    Walking in Atenas (flowers/trees),

Or the People & Fiestas of Atenas
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Atenas Easter Processional

The Altar Boys & Girls Lead from the Church
Atenas, Costa Rica

The Band is already in the street. They join parade behind Jesus statue.
Atenas, Costa Rica

Men in Biblical Costumes
Atenas, Costa Rica

Atenas, Costa Rica

Atenas, Costa Rica

Real flower petals prepare the way.
Atenas, Costa Rica

New Priest flanked by Little Angels
Atenas, Costa Rica

The Risen Christ  
Atenas, Costa Rica

Atenas, Costa Rica

Atenas, Costa Rica

Atenas, Costa Rica

Some of the congregation join in the procession
that circles Central Atenas, about 8 blocks back to church
Atenas, Costa Rica

Photo Gallery of these same above photos, Easter Processional 2017 

This year it was held at end of the 4:00 PM Mass, meaning around 5:30 as it is starting to get dark and threatened rain this time. The last time I watched it was two years ago after the 9 AM Mass. And last year I was in Nicaragua and observed two Easter Week processionals that were really different. Here are links to those posts:

Easter Week 2016 in Nicaragua: First Night (1 photo) and Second Night (1 photo)

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Bird Sculpture Engulfed in Garden

My Garden Sculpture Bird
is engulfed in my growing garden, even in the dry season. This is as intended,
a changing garden, my little jungle growing around the bird.
Sculpture by Anthony Joseph Jeroski.

See more photos of My Garden in my bigger Flora & Forest Gallery

¡Pura Vida!
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Tope Tonight

Washing a Horse in the street . . .
That, cowboy hats and boots, means it is “Tope Time!”
A tope is a horse parade & this year at night, 1st in 3 years!

It is suppose to be about horses, but is mostly about partying & beer!
Lots of beer!

The last time Atenas had a night Tope was three years ago (before I came) and the story is they trashed downtown Atenas so much they had to take a 3-year break. The later it gets the drunker people get I’ve been told and it is not pretty. 

I had an early dinner downtown with Anthony and got just these two “pre-Tope” shots before we walked back home. I am not participating in the Tope tonight. I went to the afternoon Tope in Mercedes two years ago and it was pretty bad in the daylight! So I chose not to participate tonight. But I am hearing the music, noise, band, and an announcer from my house. I may sleep with ear plugs tonight. 
And an announcement about Anthony, my artist friend who lives next door: He is moving back to the states the end of May. He cannot get the art supplies and support he needs here and is missing some of the opportunities he will have living in Chicago. He is retired from a corporate job, but does not want to retire from being a professional artist which he can simply do better in the states! (And he never learned to speak Spanish!) Living in Costa Rica is not for everyone! Pura vida!
And on top of that I just learned today that my landlord has put his house or compound up for sale of which my house is a part. I have to wait and see who buys it to know what happens to me. Possibly nothing will change. Or the new owner could want my house as a guest house or “Mother-in-law Apartment.”  Either way, life goes on.  🙂  And maybe some new adventures.  🙂  ¡Tenga Paz!

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of “Retired in Costa Rica.” Every day an adventure!

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Holy Week is Approaching in Atenas

Statue of Mary
On private property on the edge of Atenas, Costa Rica
I’m still trying to learn something about it, the artist, etc.
Purple is Displayed
In front of Catholic Church here
and in front of many homes in town.

See my Atenas Photo Galleries: 
Walking Through Atenas (flowers & trees)
Or see Atenas, the official video