My photo gallery of Reagan’s Visit to Costa Rica is now complete. Just click that title! And note that he has his own photo gallery connected to his blog for those of you who follow Reagan: http://reagantravel.blogspot.com/
Bus to Alajuela Today
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| Catedral de Alajuela seen from Juan Santamaria Park |
Even though I have rental car, I really don’t like to drive in the big cities and wanted Reagan to experience how I get to town and walk around in the old, simple city of Alajuela – more crowded and dirty than Atenas and with more old buildings. So we rode bus to town where we walked and took taxis to and from the mall. He did not particularly like it until we got to the modern City Mall
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| Juan Santamaria Statue Alajuela, Costa Rica |
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| Main entrance to City Mall, Alajuela, Costa Rica |
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| Reagan in the City Mall Food Court Where he finally got to eat at McDonald’s! |
Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of his visit here!
Rainy Day in the Mountains
After a Tico breakfast at Casita del Cafe outside Atenas with a beautiful vista we drove up into the mountains with hopes of seeing Poas Volcano and the waterfalls of La Paz. Well, as we drove higher the rain increased and at the gate of Poas National Park we were told we could enter for $15 but we would not be able to see the volcano. So we turned around and headed for La Paz Waterfall Gardens where it was raining has hard but we could see most of the sights. Ponchos and a lot of dampness accompanied our tour of the gardens. But we did see quite a bit! And chose not to eat in the expensive La Paz tourist restaurants, instead driving to La Garita for lunch at Arroz Mango. Then home for sitting in sunny Atenas on my terrace until a little Mexican dinner at Donde Bocha Antojeria. An adventurous day!
I will try to label the animals the waterfall later. I guess it was as good of a way to spend an active day in the rain as we could find. I don’t expect any more rain until possibly a little at Tortuguero. It is the dry season, but the high cloud forests and the lowland tropical coastal rainforests can have some rain year around. Not a drop in Atenas! 🙂 Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of the visit here!
Triquitraque or Flamevine Finally Blooming
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| Finally my concrete wall made pretty! Triquitraque or Flamevine |
The triquitraque or flamevine I had planted 7 months ago started out with a burst of growth and then just quit and never bloomed much. So Jean-Luc suggested I feed them since the construction site soil was not particularly rich and I thus added a fertilizer, sort of a 12-12-12 from the La Coope Farm Store. Wow! what a difference it made! They grew and got greener and are now just starting to bloom. I think there will be more, but I’m sharing what I have now and I’m pleased! It kind of makes up for the Porterweed not blooming now. Both attract hummingbirds.
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| From above the flamevine contrasts nicely with the blue plumbago below. I love it when a plan comes together! 🙂 |
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| And just in time for the visit here by Reagan Frazier from Nashville. Photographed here on his camera on my terrace overlooking Atenas. |
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| Thanks to Reagan for snapping this photo of me at the San Jose Airport! I promise to give a warm welcome to anyone who comes to visit. Pura Vida! |
Reagan arrived yesterday afternoon and today we took it easy, walking around Atenas Central a little and eating a typical Tico lunch or “Casado.” Tomorrow we start with a Tico Breakfast with a beautiful view at Casita del Cafe and then drive to Poas Volcano and the La Paz waterfalls so he can feel like a real tourist! 🙂 Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of the visit here!
My Library
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| My library recharges at night, Kindle Fire & Samsung Cellphone (Kindle App). |
One of the smartest things I did before the move south was get a Kindle Fire and then add the Kindle App to my cellphone! I read everything from the Bible to novels, National Geographic and occasionally the news, all electronically on my Kindle. When riding a bus or eating in a restaurant I read on my phone. As a quote I used yesterday in the butterfly post says,
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
-Marcus Tullius Cicero
FYI, I’m currently reading the latest English version of Don Quixote and it is too early for me to have a judgement on it yet (but a little weird so far). A couple of days ago I finished reading Pay It Forward, one of the best books I’ve ever read! It is by Catherine Ryan Hyde whom I discovered by accident from a little 99 cent Kindle book by her titled Electric God which was very good and pointed me to Pay It Forward which was also made into a movie. Sorry that Netflix is not streaming it, just on DVD which I can’t get here. It is about how a little boy’s school project to “change the world” actually did! Of course the movies are never as good as the books! 🙂
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| Locally made bookcase with doors to protect from dry season dust. It is between book boxes & guest room wardrobe. |
After arriving I started by reading all of the Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, and all the books in Lord of the Rings series. Great ways to escape the American culture! Those lengthy readings were broken up by two John Grisham mysteries, Agatha Christie, Louis L’Amour, three books on Costa Rica, two science fiction books, and The Psalmist (a mystery) by James Lillieford, a new and interesting writer for me. I’ll try him again.
Because I did bring two hard copy Bibles, my photo books, a couple of books on simple life, and my bird, butterfly, plants and other Central America nature & travel guides, I got a little bookcase (Pequeña Biblioteca), with doors to help with the dry season dust. It is simple, handmade locally, and serves my purpose well. I will also be keeping a few of the genealogy books as I go through them, but all my scrapbooks are going to be photographed and become electronic files as most of genealogy stuff will.
Mostly, my library now is my Kindle Fire! Best library yet!
Nature is my theme, so here’s one nature photo: 🙂
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| Rainy Day Green! Even with dull, overcast sky, greens seem brighter in rain! Another view from my balcony in Atenas, Costa Rica! |
And for those of you who know Reagan Frazier, he just scheduled a visit with me for two weeks in February 2016, just 8 months away! 🙂 But if thinking about it, February is off limits now.