Category: Costa Rica

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Costa Rica’s “Psychotropic” Pop Music

With Salsa music big on Costa Rica’s west coast and Reggae/Calypso popular on the Atlantic/Caribbean coast (for tourists in particular), and a world-class symphony orchestra in San Jose, I haven’t really experienced specific Costa Rican pop music. But one local band, Sonambulo, is trying to help the world experience it with a new album “Psicosonorama.” 
Read the Tico Times story about it or to just see the YouTube music video of one weird single, “La Maraca,” on their “Psychotropic” (Voodoo-like) album that is also being released in the United States. It is the most popular group among youth in Costa Rica, selling out all concerts. Interesting! Though not exactly my taste in music. (My age maybe?)   🙂  I suspect that U.S. youth will like it! 
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A Testimony of Living in Atenas

A Rural Road Near Atenas, Cost Rica (copied)

I’m guessing she is a 30-something girl who wrote this descriptive testimony of living in Atenas where I will live in less than 8 weeks.

Check it out to get a different description than I have shared yet. One of her photos is a road outside of town which I expect to find near my apartment. We’ll see!

This morning’s activity was another “Moving Sale” day in the McKendree Village Treasure Shop. I did fairly well, a little better than last Saturday.

This afternoon I will be doing laundry and culling down my files to what I really need to take with me to Costa Rica. And I saved one of my books from sale or disposal which I thought I might read first, Richard Foster’s Freedom of Simplicity (click for excerpts) then I discovered it is available on my new Kindle Fire which I got to avoid carrying so many heavy books to costa Rica. It was just instantly loaded on my Kindle – how cool this is! I’m going to live in the rainforest while building my new library electronically!   🙂   As usual, I’m as excited as a little kid about all of this!

And as has happened before, my post on His Spirit Blog today relates directly to this, the removal of stress by depending on God and simplifying my life as getting rid of all this stuff is doing already!

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The Move is Moving Along Faster!

It is like so much is happening every day that I have not been able to keep up with posting. I have buyers for my car (Dec. 19 release so money in bank that day), Washer & Dryer sold for Dec. 20 release, Office furniture and bookshelves sold and I’m letting go in the next two weeks when the buyer gets transportation arranged. In relation to that I just bought a new mega-laptop to replace my desktop which comes in next Wednesday and two days to get it setup and my desktop cleaned off for selling. Whew!

And before he gets my credenza file cabinet I have to refile everything for (A) Going to Costa Rica and (B) Going in storage. Whew again! I’m still moving books and little things to The Treasure Shop here at McKendree for about 3 more Saturdays of selling stuff though it is slowing down and is much less money.

I’m also looking at the new T5i Canon Rebel since the two I have are really getting old and worn but I will keep and use. If I get the new one I may start trying little short videos and even start a YouTube Video Channel. We’ll see.

Turrialba Volcano on a Pretty Day

And for those interested, another volcano erupted this week in Costa Rica, again not close to where I will live. Here are some nice still photos:
http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/10/31/turrialba-volcano-eruption-in-costa-rica-photos-from-the-web?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=Daily%20RSS%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email

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Car Paved Around in San Ramon & Theater Anniversary

A Lack of Communication?
I guess in the states the car would have been towed – maybe – but in San Ramon, Costa Rica this guy leaves his car parked on a street on paving day and the workers just pave around it. A little funny from Costa Rica!

See Tico Times article

It is exciting to see how Costa Rica is celebrating the 117th Birthday of the National Theater tomorrow. I look forward to hearing the national symphony or some other performance in that beautiful theater! And by the way, you did know that Nashville, Tennessee’s Symphony Director,  Giancarlo Guerrero, is from Costa Rica? Didn’t you?

Teatro Nacional, San Jose, Costa Rica
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Church Possibilities in Atenas

“Atenas New Community”

About 4 or 5 blocks from my apartment in Atenas is a non-denominational Bible Church Iglesia Biblica Atenas. 

They have Sunday morning services in Spanish language that I’ll attend.

Iglesia Biblica Atenas

Connected with it is an English-speaking Atenas New Community with Bible Study on Tuesday night and English Language Worship on Wednesday evening in the same building.

Both the Tico church and the English speaking community are somehow affiliated with LifePoint Church in Plano, TX and the English leader, Steve Lucas, was formerly on staff at that Plano church. The auditorium above seems to be used for Spanish on Sunday morning and English on Wednesday night.

40 minutes away in Escazu is the large, English-speaking International Baptist Church if I really get in the mood for a larger North American style Evangelical Church, though I expect to stay close to Atenas at first.

International Baptist Church
Escazu, Costa Rica

Click the links to each church above to see what I have to look forward to. The two in Atenas just have Facebook pages, but IBC has a full website and busy program. Christian fellowship and worship is important to me. I may try others I discover in Atenas.

And oh yes, I have already been invited to the Atenas New Community Christmas Eve service in English if I get in and settled in time. I am to arrive at airport at 2:00 and service is at 5:30 – so we’ll see!   🙂

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Atenas Listed as #1 Place to Retire in Costa Rica!

Central Plaza of Atenas
My photo of us walking through in August
I’ll live 8 blocks from this plaza.

Today’s edition of InsideCostaRica Newspaper in an article by Jason Holland,  International Living Costa Rica Editor, lists the five best towns in which to retire in Costa Rica and my choice, Atenas, was ranked #1. It is also interesting to note as the headline says, none of the top 5 are on the beach!

Also see my September 21 Post on AARP listing Atenas as one of the best places in the world to retire. I also included several links to sites about Atenas in that post where you can learn more about my coming new hometown. I’m excited to be moving to such a highly rated place! Just 11 weeks from this Wednesday!

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The Costa Rica Amazon?

Aerial View of Tortuguero River/Canal not showing the beach area.
Photo from Chris Howard’s Live In Costa Rica Blog site

Chris Howard’s newsletter today tells about one of my favorite places in Costa Rica, Tortuguero which he calls Costa Rica’s Amazon. Having experienced part of the Amazon, I agree. And see my photos of Tortuguero as Days 3 & 4 in my Costa Rica 210 Photo Gallery. Or look at some professional photos on the Anywhere Costa Rica website, noting there are two sets on that site, one by tapping the arrows on the header collection and a static collection seen by scrolling down the page. There is good information on the Wikipedia page too!

Well, you can see it is one of the places I love in Costa Rica and will continue to visit while living there! There is another jungle boat ride in Los Chiles that is almost as good and of course Corcovado is the largest rainforest, but that is mostly seen by hiking with a guide. Recently a young man from Alaska was lost hiking there, meaning a guide is necessary. Well enough jungles for today! 

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Apology & Moving Sale!

Okay, the last post about not trying to extend life aggressively after age 75 offended some people and that is not what I intended. I’m just saying I’ll not worry about how much longer I live and I’ll probably live longer than average. I’m still trying to eat healthy and stay active (but do eat a dessert now and then!)   🙂  But if you didn’t go to the link and read the article, you missed a very interesting concept. And my oncologist friend at church yesterday told me about some situations where he has extended life of people already in their 80’s and I told him, yeah, I might let him do that to me. But I’m not afraid to die and don’t want to go to great lengths.

Now the move to Atenas, Costa Rica is serious and I am selling my stuff, first at a antique/thrift shop kind of place here at McKendree and big things via friends and Craig’s List. I have a Moving Sale Page on my website. I have a business card ordered from VistaPrint that looks like this:

And I’ve already sold $135 worth before the shop opens this Saturday. Plus I have items listed on my eBay Store where I’ve sold one set of books and one set of movies for close to $100 to people in Delaware and New York. And I have a friend who says he will buy my library shelves and matching furniture. So it is starting to happen! The car and washing machine are to go at the last minute, but hope to have them pre-sold. I just answered a phone call from someone who wanted the washer/dryer now, but I’m holding them until the last week. Let me know if you want any of my stuff. I’m not going to store it all! And I’ll have to give away most books, so come help yourself! 
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Nature Places

One of my favorite places is Luna Lodge at Corcovado National Park, Carate side. I just saw a ULTRA HD video on their site that I can’t link directly to on YouTube, so hope you find it on Luna’s site – beautiful! Even though he is more focused on snakes than me. I prefer the birds!  🙂
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Me llamo Carlito.

Part of the hilly rainforest I will be exploring between my house and the coast.
I shot this on my 2011 Panama Canal Cruise Excursion to Tarcoles River for a jungle river cruise. 

Today was my second Spanish Class and it looks like the Spanish name Chris Howard gave me is what my Nashville Spanish Class likes best as they are all calling me Carlito now. Fun! Just getting my feet wet in the language and I like it and our teacher Maya! By the way, Charles in Spanish is Carlos, and the closest to the Charlie nickname is Carlito, which literally means “little Charles,” which is okay with me.

The letter from Social Security arrived today, so all my papers are in order for my residential application. By next week I will send them to my attorney in Costa Rica and the process will begin.

Also today Jane and Scott came to my house to see what all I have to sell in their “Village Treasure Shop” on campus. We are no longer allowed to have yard sales because of traffic among the cottages, so the Treasures Shop is a substitute. I have so much stuff that they decided to give me a whole room in the former cottage used as the shop and let me operate it as my store each Saturday until December. I do my own pricing and they just get a percentage of whatever I make. So that is what I will be doing for the next few Saturdays. It will be kind of like an indoor yard sale one day a week. Hope to make some money!   🙂  Come see me some Saturday, beginning October 11, the Grand Opening! I’m also deciding what I will keep and put in storage during my first year in Costa Rica. A few pieces of furniture, books, art, etc. will stay here until I decide to either return to states or make Costa Rica my permanent home. If the latter, then I will ship it all to Costa Rica. As the old TV comedy soldier of fortune used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together!”

Thanks for reading my blog! And please comment or write!   -Carlito