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| All local students walk to & from school. |
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| Those on farms or out of town walk 3 blocks to a bus. |
Tortuguero Miscellaneous Photos
Okay. I’ll try to make this the last post from Tortuguero, then back to Atenas posts tomorrow! 🙂
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| Bus window view of Chiquita Banana Plantation, Costa Rica |
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| Modern buses like this is how many tourists get around inside Costa Rica. |
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| All the dozen or so lodges have boats making the 1.5 hours trip into park. |
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| Our group on one of the Laguna Lodge boats enroute to lodge. |
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| Robert Umaña, our guide, listening for a bird or other animal. |
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| Robert using sand drawings to tell us about the life cycles of the green sea turtles that lay their eggs on this beach and each baby that makes it goes to ocean and returns years later to lay their own eggs. |
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| One of the many river channels and canals we traveled looking for wildlife. |
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| Another lodge’s guide pointing out a bird, monkey or other animal. |
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| Unidentified butterflies/moths in our Laguna Lodge garden. Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica |
Pura Vida!
This trip significantly improved some of my photo collections in the PBase Galleries:
Later I will be adding a trip gallery in the travel section of my galleries, but not enough time yet!
Finger Prints for Residency
I am one step closer to my residency in Costa Rica. Immigration informed my attorney that it was time to be fingerprinted at the San Jose Police Station. I made no photos, so here is a verbal report of Thursday, 3 December 2015:
4:30 AM – Up for shower, breakfast and walk to the bus station
6:15 AM – Bus to San Jose
7:45 AM – I exit bus at northeast corner of Parque Sabana, 4 blocks from lawyer
Appointment is at 8:30 AM, so second breakfast at Soda Tapia (famous!)
8:30 AM – Meet attorney Jose Pablo Carter at his office 150 meters east of Soda Tapia
9:00 AM – We arrive in his car at Police Station with maybe 15 people ahead of us
We complete paper work and then I do the musical chair thing like at bank
This was just one long row of chairs. As a person is served we all move up
the chair line until I was next to be served. About a 25 minute wait.
Maybe 15 minutes of a guy two-finger typing all my info in a computer
He glues the three photos made back in February to 3 different forms
Then gives me all my paperwork and sends me to the fingerprint girl
I learned later she was new. She did 3 fingers then new form, start over
because she did one of my fingers twice 🙂
Then she gave me two of the photo/thumb print cards to take to my attorney
He gave one back to her and explained to her where it went (Wow!) Learner!
10:30 AM – We drive away from police station and he says no one knows how much longer
I will have to wait, maybe 2 months. But we have made some progress!
10:45 AM – He is taking me to a taxi stand to go to bus station because he has a meeting.
Then he sees a taxi, flags him down and I move to the taxi headed for the
Parada de Autobus de TUASA – there are about a dozen bus stations depending
on where you are going. I go to Coca Cola Station for Atenas bus but I need
to go to Alajuela to pick up a package at Aerocasillas. So I go to the
Parada de TUASA for the next bus to Alajuela. 5 minute wait!
By noon I’m in Alajuela with my package ordered from Amazon of a Hypoallergenic & Bedbug proof mattress cover and pillow covers which I have not found here. Then a quick quesadilla and I have only a 5 minute wait for bus to Atenas (Lucky? God’s will?). Near the bus station in Atenas is my primary hardware store where I find they have only 1 soaker hose left, so I get it and try Coope Hardware and they have none (I need 2). I call a taxi and tell him what I want and he takes me to a third hardware store (ferreteria) and they have one left. Great! I just bought all (both) the soaker hoses available in Atenas! 🙂
I go home and install them in two gardens and water the gardens. My front yard and trees had a sprinkler system installed yesterday by my gardeners at a really good price, about what I paid for the two soaker hoses! Now my yard, trees and gardens are ready for the dry season without me spending two hours every two days holding a hose to them. Bear in mind that it may not rain again here until May!
When finished, it was 5:30 and I suddenly remembered I had a 5:00 Spanish class! Oh well! I am exhausted and will catch up next week. 🙂
Today is Friday and I got more cash for Angel Tree expenses (trying 3 ATMs before one worked!), paid one Angel Tree bill, got groceries, and I’m staying at home the rest of today! Susan picks me up at 6:50 tomorrow morning for Angel Tree party preparation. She and I are in charge of moving 300 wrapped gifts from Su Espacio to the church salon. Other volunteers will help. Then a fast-moving party and I’m on bus back to Alajuela for a rent car. I like to get a car the day before needed to get used to the car and make sure everything works! 🙂 I’m excited about experiencing another new birding place starting Sunday! Rancho Naturalista. My happy feet are busy feet! 🙂 And when the bone spur in my heel hurts, I take an anti-inflammatory Rx the doctor prescribed and do great! The heel cushion in a real shoe helps also! 🙂 Wear my sandals only around the house now.
The Shock of a Robbery
Today I took a last minute trip with the Atenas Community Band (Banda) to Puntarenas, the port city on the Pacific side. They were celebrating a local political hero with a parade that had bands from all over the country. I road with the band on the charter bus (and paid my share of bus cost), then watched them get ready and watched most of the parade with many bands, most made up of almost all drums. I’ve been told that is because most schools can’t afford to hire teachers to teach how to play other instruments, nor afford the instruments. All the drums belong to the schools or community bands, not the kids. Anyway, it was a nice parade even if not as colorful as 15th of September Parade. I made lots of photos that I no longer have.
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| At least Nicole enjoyed his “Churchill,” a slushy with ice cream! Can you imagine that? |
A group of 6 of us went to eat at a beach-side cafe where I absent-mindedly laid my camera bag (backpack) on the concrete floor behind my chair next to the sidewalk. We ate, visited, and had a good time together. As we got up to leave I realized my backpack was gone, easily grabbed by someone walking by. I should know better! As someone suggested, I paid my “Gringo Tax” or more accurately my “Stupid Tax.” I did feel stupid, but also a little empty, violated, hurt, and helpless. We told a foot patrol
policia who just told us we had to go down to headquarters to file a report and the bus was leaving in 15 minutes. Nothing else to do.
With no cameras beyond my cell phone, I cancelled my Monzanillo Bird Watching trip (which I had thought about doing anyway with my busy schedule and expenses) and will use the money saved to help buy a single new camera and a better lens that I have been wanting anyway. But it will cost a whole lot more here, whether purchased locally or on internet with import taxes. Maybe the duty free shop in Nicaragua will have a good deal tomorrow, but I doubt it. And in the mean time I honestly feel sorry for the thief, who must live a hard life. Does he give any thought to the person he robs? He can’t think very well of himself!
Tomorrow early I leave for Nicaragua border to renew my visa. G’night!
He who is a partner with a thief hates his own life . . . Proverbs 29:24
Movie Adventure & Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
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| Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Photographed this little guy before breakfast this morning when I walked out and saw two hummingbirds flying in and out of my garden. I try shooting them in flight but very difficult! And as good fortune continues to smile on me, this Rufous-tailed Hummingbird landed on a flower. I guess they do have to rest occasionally! This is my 5th species of hummers to photograph in my garden, almost as many as the butterflies. I have a total of 13 species photographed in my Costa Rica Hummingbirds Gallery. This milestone was before breakfast and my movie adventure today.
MOVIE ADVENTURE
One of my neighbors, Anthony, is a single artist my age renting a house in the next compound. He and I got a taxi a little before 10 AM to go to the bus station without the sweat of walking there ($1 each). We took the 10:30 freeway bus that makes a stop by the Mall in Escazu ($2 each). We first bought our tickets from the computer kiosk with touch screen that didn’t always work, but finally got it to. Then we ate lunch at the American chain restaurant Chili’s next door to the theater. Same menu as in the states.
We could have seen Jurassic Park for $8 but chose to go all the way with the 1:25 PM 3-D and DBOX, which is a special row of large, wide-aisle seats that moved and vibrated with some scenes in the movie. That was about $14.50 each. DBOX is not worth the extra cost, at least for this movie. Not as effective as the ones in Disney World. The movie is very well done but didn’t make good use of 3-D either, so really the $8 regular movie would have been just as good. And I hope this is the last in the Jurassic series, though they set up something at the end to help continue it. They are covering tired subjects and the story line is weak. But it was a good “first movie in Costa Rica” for me since the fictitious park is supposedly here (though filmed in Hawaii and Louisiana).
I also learned today that there is an IMAX theater in San Jose and this would have been a good movie to see in it, though even more expensive. I will not go to theater movies as much here as I did in Nashville, but good to know how to do it and that the theater is as good or better than any I’ve seen in the states. All seats are nice, large, comfortable, and with drink holders. Good sound, screen, etc.
Uneventful 25-minute taxi ride to “Coca Cola Bus Station” on the other side of San Jose in rush hour traffic for the only place to catch a return bus to Atenas (pricey $10 each!) and then our $2 each bus ride back to Atenas where we walked home before dark. An interesting day! And I meant to photograph the theater but forgot in all the busyness of doing it the first time in mostly Spanish. But movie was in English with Spanish subtitles. Whew! Big Day! We were home around 5:15. Tired.
And if you can’t add it up in your head, that is $15.50 each for all but lunch which was about $7.50 or $22 USD for the whole day. Not bad for being in Costa Rica! And it would have been less than $20 if we had been wise enough to choose the regular movie instead of 3-D DBOX. 🙂
Today’s Alajuela Adventures
I travel by bus to our province’s capital every week or two, mainly for Aerocasillas & Walmart. Here’s today’s story with phone pix:
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| Iglesia Bautista 1946, Alajuela |
I got the 9 AM bus to Alajuela ($1.43) and it got there in 30 minutes, the fastest time yet! Walking from the Alajuela bus terminal to Aerocasillas, as always, I saw for the first time the Baptist Church of Alajuela. I have walked by it before without noticing the small “Iglesia Bautista 1946” sign. It was started when I was just 6 years old! I know it is the date because we don’t use house numbers here! It is behind and overshadowed by the Alajuela Cathedral pictured in my January 15 post.
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| Aerocasillas Alajuela Office |
From the bus station to Aerocasillas (the blue sign on gray building) is an 11 block walk or as they say here, “about 1100 meters” or actually “oncecientos metres.” Today I had one letter, a check from the sale of my dining room table and chairs, finally! So worth the trip! Then this afternoon when I got home I received notice via email that a package will be ready for me to pick up tomorrow. Grrr! Maybe I go tomorrow or maybe next week! ! It is the replacement blades for my electric razor that I couldn’t find here. Oh well! Another adventure!
Then around the corner from Aerocasillas are two of my favorite landmarks and the cab stand:
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| Church of the Agony, Alajuela |
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| La Bohemia Rock Bar across the street from Church of the Agony |
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| Cab Stand at Church of the Agony – $3 to Walmart – All official taxis are red! |
Maybe I’ll show a photo of the Walmart sometime, but it is just a big box! Today I walked across the street from Walmart to a new modern strip center with several nice restaurants. I chose Mexican, Taconteinto. It was very good and very expensive!
Then another cab back to the bus station where I just barely caught it as leaving and packed full. The first time I have had to stand all the way to Atenas, well, nearly all the way. Between La Garita and Atenas our bus broke down and we all had to stand on the side of the road at a partly covered bus stop for 20+ minutes waiting for a replacement bus to pick us up. We were all patient. “These things happen!” People don’t get bent out of shape when things go wrong here. Everyone just visited or used their cell phones. And 20-30 minutes for a replacement bus is actually pretty quick!
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| Waiting for a replacement bus on the western edge of La Garita. |
What’s Different About Costa Rica? And My Buses…
So what is really so different from the U.S. about Costa Rica, note these interesting habits, traditions, & weird facts from an article in The Costa Rica News, one of the online English newspapers here. Just click the link above – It’s worth the time! We are different!
AND ABOUT THE BUSES I RIDE . . .
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| Here I’m waiting in line to board a bus to Atenas from Alajuela. 23 km, 15 miles. Buses go everywhere cheaply, just don’t be in a hurry! This one is $1.43 USD, or 715 Colones, and as a “collectivo” making local stops, takes about 45 minutes. Nice vehicles, made in China, window for air & curtain to shield the sunshine. One trip I had a large package and driver put it under the bus at no extra charge. |
If I go to Alajuela to pick up mail at Aerocasillas or shop at Walmart, that is one day’s activity, usually just one or two things accomplished per day. That trip is usually a half day or more if I eat lunch in Alajuela. San Jose trips can take longer and I have combined the two cities for most of a day. Below is photo of bus schedule in Atenas for Alajuela & San Jose. I have this printed and on my refrigerator to check for when the next bus leaves:
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| Bus Schedule from Atenas to San Jose & Alajuela. First column is Mon-Fri, Second Saturdays & Holidays, Third Sundays Most buses are packed full to standing room only. The most popular way to travel. |
How I Know I’m in Costa Rica
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| Peacock photographed at Rescate Animal Zooave – More about it tomorrow. |
ELEVEN REASONS I KNOW I’M IN COSTA RICA
- The first week I used the washing machine and microwave with my Spanish-English Dictionary in one hand!
- People write emails of concern when I go 4 days without a blog post. (And Thanks!)
- I use Google Translate to write out questions and directions for bus drivers and taxi drivers before I leave for a trip! And still they don’t always understand me!
- Then when I still get lost or have trouble finding my bus stop there is always a friendly Tico to help me out. Like today a worker from Zooave stood out front with me to make sure I got on the right bus back to Atenas – Then when the bus zoomed by without stopping, he called the cab for me since after an hour I was tired of waiting. Still don’t quite have Tico patience yet!
- I’m averaging about 5 miles of walking per day with much of it uphill and feeling great!
- Have I mentioned that everything is in Spanish and I am still in Beginner 1.1 Spanish? Unlike the tourist towns where it pays locals to know English, a farming community has no motivation to learn English. (Can you imagine a farming community in Tennessee learning Spanish because a few migrant workers live there?) So communication is still the biggest challenge!
- I’m eating more fresh fruit and veggies than ever in my life and feeling great!
- I’m in shorts and T-shirt all day every day while sleeping under a comforter with the windows open at night.
- I already have two visits from Nashville scheduled on my calendar and I’ve only been here 4 weeks! And I’m excited about both! Though a little nervous about the first group that includes two Nashville restaurant owners who want me to take them to one of my little farm town restaurants. But . . . I think they’ll like it! 🙂
- The word I hear most often from the maintenance man here is “manana.”
- Today a letter was slipped under my door addressed to “Senor Charles Doggett, Apartado #3.”
I gave up on my Iolo System Mechanic support for my latest malware problem and went online to Geek Squad (since my new computer came from Best Buy with the geek service – I used Live Chat since calling them even with an 800 # is an international call.). They were wonderful! The poor guys spent 3 hours on my computer but everything is back to normal again. Think I wills stay with Geek Squad! And renew after my one year free subscription expires!
I’ll catch you up some more tomorrow and hey! Life is still good!
Bus Riding with Grace and Two Churches Today
All photos are by my Samsung Galaxy 4 Cellphone. Surprisingly good! Click photos to enlarge.
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| Iglesia La Angonia – The Church of Agony in Alajuela |
Today I left the house at 6:15 AM to walk to bus terminal for the 6:55 bus to San Jose, the collectivo or slow route, because the embassy told me I would save taxi money if I got off at Hotel Corobici and road a taxi from there. A lady on the bus told me when we were at the hotel (I didn’t know what I was looking for) and I got a cab for about $3 to the U.S. Embassy after my $1 bus ride to the big city. First bus-riding grace (undeserved or unearned favor).
It went smoothly at the U.S. Embassy and I got my last needed document for the filing a residential application. Took it immediately to my attorney’s office ($2 taxi) where with this last document and nearly $1,500 of my money he will be filing my retiree residential application. He says it can take from 5 months to a year and a half. So I’m finished with it and will let him do his job, however long it takes! No more worries!
Second act of grace on bus riding: I asked the receptionist at the ARCR Office which bus terminal I should get a taxi to if I want a bus to Alajuela (since I had a package to pick up at Aerocasillas), and she said, oh you don’t need a taxi for bus to Alajuela, just go 300 meters to your left (3 blocks) and turn right for another 300 meters to the bus stop. I walked straight there and the Alajuela bus arrives in about 2 minutes!
Third act of grace on my bus riding (with little Spanish skills): I was going to the central bus station in Alajuela and then walk the 10 blocks to Aerocasillas, but as we came into town I saw the church pictured above that I thought was Iglesia La Angonia and asked the lady next to me, she said “Si.” I pulled the buzzer and only walked one block instead of ten to Aerocasillas which is near this church built in 1941. God is good! (Or I’m incredibly lucky!)
Then I walked the 10 blocks to the bus terminal to catch my Atenas bus, but stopped at the Central Plaza and the 1863 Alajuela Cathedral below for photos. Afterwards I ate lunch at McDonald’s across the street. Can’t believe I patronized them, but it was my first hamburger since getting here and it was very good! Home by 1:30 and staying in this afternoon. Pura vida!
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| Alajuela Cathedral, Finished in 1863 |
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| “Central Plaza Alajuela” is what most call it, or officially “Plaza del Benemento General Guardia” The cathedral is in background |
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| Towering Palms & Mango Trees Kind of like our’s in Atenas |
Alajuela is a city (ciudad) of 300,000+ while Atenas is a small rural town (pueblo) of about 8,000. And I’m really glad we don’t have a McDonald’s! Pizza and fried chicken by locals is enough westernization for me! I’m loving small town life! Pura vida!
Two New Birds & Balcony Shots
This afternoon I photographed birds from my front balcony for the first time. Got two repeats, Great Kiskadee and Scarlet Tanager but also two new ones, Blue-gray Tanager (you can see in aviary at Nashville Zoo Unseen New World) and tried again to photograph one of the several flocks of parakeets that fly over very fast every afternoon. Nearly impossible to photograph, but here’s a fuzzy image!
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| Blue-gray Tanager at Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Someday maybe a good photo of these regular flyovers. |
Today I was given an old and worn (like me) leather & wood rocker for my balcony like some of the other residents have. Now I don’t have to take one of my other chairs out for morning coffee and some evening sits. It is on the front balcony which is larger. The back balcony is the second photo and is longer but narrow with bamboo next to it and lots of other trees closer, making it the better bird photo spot. Also have a clothes line there, but usually use the rack on front balcony for the afternoon sun. In Costa Rica an electric clothes dryer is a rarity. We have sunshine every day, even in the rainy season!
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| Rocking Chair for the retired old man! My front balcony. |
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| Back Balcony where most birds are photographed. |
Today after Spanish Class I tried a different super market, Maxi-Pali, which is a longer walk but has some things The Coopeatenas doesn’t and has cheaper prices on a few items. They also stock some Walmart house brand products, so guess who probably owns them? It is kind of like it was in the states, I’ll now probably use both some, but the closest is the easiest, so we will see. Also ate at another new restaurant for me that does not have a web presence and I just wrote the first review on Trip Advisor, so nothing to link to now, but that link is to my list of reviews and Olivera will be up in a day or so. It is Pizza Olivera, on the square or Central Park and they deliver, so I will probably use the delivery when Kevin is here. It was very good pizza I thought. I got a personal size Supreme and a liter tropical juice drink for $5. I will return! Like most restaurants here, the dining area is covered open air with views of whatever, this time Central Park with old men on benches, children running and playing, and a teen rolling slowly by on a skate board. Just an ordinary little farming town with lots of happy people! 🙂 It is still fun to be here and to be walking everywhere!
And oh yes, this morning after class I said “yes” to my first volunteer opportunity. I will be helping at the gringo-sponsored Annual Chili Cookoff and fiesta as a fund-raiser for the local children’s home. Some 3,000 people are expected. Don’t know yet what I will do.
Tomorrow is bus to San Jose and my appointment at the U.S. Embassy – hopefully getting the last document needed for my residential application. Never a dull moment yet! But I’m resting tonight!
Blessings to all who take the time to read all my ramblings! I’ll work on making this shorter! Promise!