One Year Anniversary in Costa Rica

Life has definitely not been dull the last month.  In fact, I long for a few non eventful days!
After being released from the hospital, my infection returned so I was ordered to receive a daily shot of antibiotics for five days.  The second night the Red Cross doc in training came up to the house, we even managed to get a "group consult" since my brother-in-law, who was visiting from a recent stint on the beach, had ears full of sand and a sinus infection, and a couple of other friends who were visiting had ailments.  The doc lined us up, assessed each one and after three of us received shots, and the other a pill, the doc was on his merry way.  I wonder what the doc must of thought of the crazy gringa with all the sick guests?

On December 3rd, my husband went to the Nicaraguan border to reset his 90 day visa for driving privileges.  I was unable to go because I was still suffering back pain.

As my husband and his companions arrived at the border they noticed an extraordinary large crowd of people waiting to cross.  They soon discovered that a new road exit tax had been implemented just a few days earlier by the Costa Rican government that had to be paid at a certain bank.  However, the nearest "certain bank" was at least an hour and a half away.

The government eventually plans to install machines at the border that will be able to accept payment for the tax, but in the meantime, the staff at the border have no way of accepting the payment.

One of my husband's friends called to tell us about the problem and suggested we send someone to San Jose to make the payment and then fax proof to the border so they could get across the border.  We quickly dispatched someone to the big city to make the payment, however, before the payment was made, we received another call from the group at the border telling us that a border official, upon realizing a potential riot was about to ensue at the border, announced to everyone that the tax was being temporarily suspended!

The group managed to get home with all the passport stamps in hand and some of their sense of humor still intact.  The next day, I also found out that three hours into the trip one of our friends told the friend driving the car to pull off the road immediately.  Apparently, an uninvited passenger, a large scorpion had joined the group en route to Nicaragua, and was on the headrest of the sear near my husband's head!  Fortunately, the scorpion was tossed out the window and aside from the near riot at the border, the trip went off without a hitch.

Since both my dad and I managed to land in the hospital and were grounded from flying, my sister and her husband rerouted their trip to visit us.  We had intended to fly to Acapulco to meet my sister and her husband there for a few days.  In the end, we all managed to be together and enjoy a nice Thanksgiving here in Costa Rica.

On December 9th, we celebrated our one year anniversary here in Costa Rica.  While the last couple of months have been filled with challenges, we do not regret our decision to move here.  We have learned to appreciate the blessings of our new lives here.

I especially have learned to appreciate my health.  Being hospitalized for the first time in my life was a difficult experience, but at least the medical attention and service I received was first class.

Could this be the end of our bad luck?

It is Thanksgiving in the USA, and while we no longer live there, we are honoring the day to be thankful for all our blessings.  My dad finally got released from the hospital and is happy to be home one day before my sister and brother-in-law arrive for a 10 day visit.
However, before all of the good things like dad's release happened, we had to have just a few more instances of drama..as if we needed any more at this point.  Two nights ago,  I developed a fever again.  Fortunately, a couple of Tylenols managed to bring my temperature back down to normal.  Because of my recent infection, we decided to notify the doctors of the fever and see what course of action we should take.  Urine sample and more blood were the order of the day.  So, while I was in the middle of my physical therapy session, the lab technician showed up to draw blood and I did my best to provide the urine sample, despite the fact that my plumbing has not been up to par lately.  Even the soumds of waterfalls does not seem to help things get flowing.
In fhe afternoon the doctor called and said I would require 5 more shots of heavy duty antibiotics.  I naively thought I could wait to get the first shot in the morning.  My friends picked up the shots and delivered them to the house around 7:00 pm.  My husband was staying at the hospital with my father so I did not want to let him know that around the same time I developed a fever.  This time, though, the fever would not go down, but rather was increasing that made me think I could end up in the hospital room next to my father. Since my friends were spending the night, I asked if they knew someone who could come to the house immediately to give me the first antibiotic shot.  Sure enough, in less than 10 minutes a wonderful young man who works for the local Red Cross was here giving me a shot.  In less than 20 minutes, the fever was gone and I was able to sleep.
Thursday morning, I decided to recruit my good friend and another young lady to help me get the house all cleaned up since I have not been able to do any housework for almost a month and thought it would be nice to surprise my husband with a clean house and also have the home presentable for my sister's visit.
An hour after the ladies got started with the cleaning we had a major disaster.  I was in the master bed typing emails to update family, and friends when I heard a loud loud crash.  I look up and my friend's
friend had just accidentally tried to walk through a big glass wimdow.  Two thirds of the glass had
fallen and shattered all over the place.  My friend started yelling, and I asked her to calm down as I quickly got up to assess the girl's wounds. She was sitting st the end of our bed, sheer fear written all over her face.  I realized she did not have any cuts on her face, neck, or arms.  She ended up only having three minor cuts on her left hand,  I got the first aid kit and stuck three bandaids on the cuts and then we all three looked at each other in amazement of what had just happened.  I was in complete disbelief of the odds of having this happen on top of everything else. But more importantly completely grateful Alejandra was just fine.  Dad is home, the glass is getting replaced, I am on my way to getting better, my sister and her husband arrive tomorrow, and I get my antibiotic shot tonight.  We do have many blessings to be thankful for, most especially the absolutely wonderful friends who supported us through this whole ordeal.

Just laugh or jump off the cliff into the nature reserve next to home!

My poor dad had his trip cancelled and the initially estimated stay at the hospital has turned into more like a one week stay.  He was doing fairlh well until he was put on a restricted diet.  Now he is cranky and ready to escape the joint, except he has two or three IV's hooked up to him.
I was sure my bad luck was continuing was still present and accounted for since my physical therapist was due at the house at 10:00 am, so naturally, the power goes out in the neighborhood at 9:55 am.  My hubby had our cell phone so I had no way to contact Oscar, the therapist and he could not get into our gated community without calling me to open the gate remotely.  One never knows how long the power outage will last.  Fortunately, the power came back at 10:05 am and Oscar said he had only been waiting a few minutes.  Told him to get a move on because with our luck never know what is around the corner.  After he left, I went to get my swimsuit to do my hydrotherapy, since yesterday I had just stepped in the pool when it started thundering and raining..20 seconds after I was in the pool.  However, Taco, my still overweight, senior Chihuahua, who is also supposed to swim 8 minutes three times a week spotted my swimsuit and made a beeline, with his bad back hind legs to umder the bed, way in the middle!  Little turd.  I finished my hydrotherapy and my husband had to lay on the floor to try to get Taco from umderneath the bed.  Again, Taco's back legs do not work well so that was a mess too.  Just your usual day at the nut house we call home.

The Fun Just Continues

The bad luck just keeps coming our way.  My dad is now hospitalized in the room next to the room I was in for four days.  On Thursday while I was laying on my belly getting physical therapy the hubby calls from my dad's cardiologist's office to advise that my dad's EKG showed an anomaly so he was being sent home with a holter to monitor his heartbeat for 24 hours.  My hubby and dad drove almost all the way home when the hospital calls and tells them to turn around and go back due to some problem with the holter, which turned out to be a "AAA" battery.
The following day the holter was returned and my dad ended up being immediately admitted to the hospital due to an arrhythmia in his heart.  So now he is hospitalized, and his trip had to be cancelled.
I began to question the odds of a scorpion stinging both my husband and I and my dad and I landing as patients in the same hospital.  I know God is not supposed to test you beyond what you cannot stand, but I am beginning to feel like Job in the Old Testament.  I think though, that God and I will be having a serious conversation very soon.
On the positive side, I am doing much better, my dad and I did not land in the hospital and the same time and we are blessed with our "adopted daughter" and her hubby who have been a true blessing from God.
Ironically landing in the hospital for four days meant being away from being with my mother-in-law, who suffers from advanced dementia, which helped restore my patience with her.  I have come home and been extra patient and attentive to her needs even when she does whacky things like pack all her belongings in a box, and carry around a towel with soap and toothpaste all day long.
Maybe the same thing will happen to my husband spending 2 or 3 days with my father in the hospital.
I truly wish I could be with my dad in the hospital 24/7 but since I cannot, I am thankful to be able to Skype with him from here.
We were advised today that he will have to remain in the hospital another 48 hours.  He has extra imcentive to bust out of there since my beloved sister and her husband will be arriving here Friday. I cannot wait to see them both since she is my only sis and her hubby has a special way of bringing laughter to all of us, which is the best medicine.

The Perfect Storm

About a week ago I was feeling like a teenager after my first session of physical therapy.  The lower back was not hurting and I was over over the moon about having a therapist that comes to your home instead of having to travel 3 times a week to him.
The next day though the perfect storm began to brew in our home.  I had my second physical therapy session and was feeling sort of okay.  That afternoon, however, I developed a fever and my back pain seem to be intensifying at a rapid pace.  I went to bed and prayed things would be better in the morning.
On Saturday, I woke up feeling kind of weak and the back was hurting a bit, but tolerable.   My sweet husband offered to make me an extra large watermelon smoothie for breakfast.  I sucked it down and decided I was feeling well enough to go to the kitchen to prepare four different meals at once so my hubby would not have to worry about cooking for at least a couple of days.  Surely, I would be better by then.
I was in the middle of peeling potatoes when I became weak and felt I was about to pass out at any minute. I headed with my cane toward the bedroom as fast as I could, but midway I felt the urge to vomit so I told the hubby to bring a bowl.  Just as he turned the corner, the vomit came out like I was Linda Blair in "The Exorcist."  I felt so awful about nearly showering him with the smootie he had lovingly prepared for me just an hour earlier.
A few minutes later, I felt better so back to the kitchen and we finished cooking.  The family had lunch and I went to bed.  Later  I developed fever and decided it was time to go see Dr Candy.  She said I was severly dehydrated and had a serious infection.  Three hours later, after serveral medicines being administered via IV, we were on our way home.  I felt a bit better, but still pretty weak.
On Sunday afternoon I developed a very high fever so the hubby decided that was enough and off to the hospital we went.  I had been communicating with my orthopedic doctor via emails over the last day or two because my pain had intensified so much.  Dr Mauricio said he would be at the emergency room waiting on us.  We arrived and I was quickly admitted to the CIMA hospital, which in my opinion is like checking into Hampton Inn, except with great medical care.
After multiple tests I was told that indeed I had a very nasty infection, which was exacerbating my back pain.  On the second day of my four day stay, an MRI was done and it indicated one of my disks was completely gone and I had a pre hernia on another disk.  Doc Mauricio said the back issue could be addressed with physical therapy, hydrotherapy, losing a couple of poumds, and leading a life style that involves no heavy lifting, learning to bend with the knees, etc.
I was released Wednesday, but was banned from flying for four weeks.  I was supposed to accompany my dad on a trip the following Sunday, so that trip had to be cancelled.
On Thursday, my hubby took my dad for his cardiology checkup since he was still planning to leave Sunday.  I was laying on my stomach getting physical therapy when hubby calls and says "possible bad news."  Really?  My dad had to be sent home with a holter to monitor his heartbeat for 24 hours.  Just as they were arriving into Atenas, about 35 minutes from the hospital, the hubby gets a call from the hospital that there is a problem with the holter so they have to turn around and come back to the hospital.  The problem turned out to be installing a AAA battery!
On Friday, hubby and my dad head back to the hospital to leave the holter.  But just as our streak of bad luck would have it, my dad had to be hospitalized for 24 hours, in the room adjacent next to the room I had just occupied earlier in the week.
So now my dad has been banned from flying for a week.
On the upside, we have had the most wonderful support from friends and neighbors.  My sort of adopted daughter stayed by my side 24/7 so my hubby could be at home taking care of his mom, my father, and the doggie.
I am now home doing much better and grateful not to be in pain.  I am also grateful that my dad's problem is being taken care of by a wonderful doctor.
I cannot say enough about the medical care system here.  If you have private insurance like I am blessed to have, you can feel like a celebrity.  The physical therapist comes to your home, as does the phlobotomist to draw blood, doctors will  personally answer phone calls, and correspond with you via email.
Hopefully, our bad luck has come to an end and all will be better from this point forward.

Gratitude

I have been in a reflective mood this week.  Perhaps being down on my back in bed with lots of pain was divine intervention to encourage me to take an inventory of the many blessings in my life.

Moving to Costa Rica has been such a transformative experience for me.  While our situation is far from perfect having to care for an elderly person with advanced dementia, there are still so many blessings to acknowledge.  I have really learned to appreciate new friendships we have made and the generosity of our community.

For almost 20 years I worked for a government correctional institution which seemed to encourage mediocrity, or at least blantantly tolerate it.  Initiative was a pretty much non existent trait in most of the employees who were more likely to be conditioned into accepting the status quo.  In my naivety,  I believed that with even a small group of rebels like myself, the agency could be transformed.  In the end, I came to the realization that just like the Titanic, the ship could not be saved.

Now, far away from the nonsense of working for an agency that does not have to be held accountable for the lack of productive processes,  I love mentoring a new young friend from Nicaragua.  She absolutely has the highest values and shows so much initiative to better herself.  I have always loved to cook, and love anyone who shares the passion.  My new young friend is so excited to come and learn how to whip up new dishes.  I could not believe she had never tasted apple pie!  We decided to make mini apple pies in muffin pans and a separate apple crumb dessert.  Her enthusiasm is certainly infectious and has really made it a joy to mentor her cooking skills.  She has even developed a craving for spicy Mexican food, which is a favorite type of cuisine in my household.  We have found it very easy to grow our own tomatillos and serrano peppers.  Since our crop of tomatillos has been so successful, I am even going to try making green enchiladas next week.

I have become very close to my Nica friend, so much so, I feel like she is like is akin to an adopted daughter.  Her background is one fraught with many difficult and painful events, but somehow she has managed to grow into a strong, independent, and hard working young woman.  I think she feels blessed to have someone here that can be like a family member to her since all of her family is in Nicaragua struggling to overcome economic challenges.  What she does not realize, is that her friendship has been transformative for me in so many ways.  I have learned to be grateful in a purposeful manner for the multitude of blessings in my life.

Get me out of bed!

Yesterday morning around 3:00 am, my hubby sprung out of bed like a jack in the box.  Just as finished asking him what was wrong, I felt a sting on my right wrist.  He saidm "something just stung my back."  Upon examination of the sheets near our pillows, the obvious culprit was evident.  There it was, tail up in the air ready to sting another victim.  Yes, indeed we had both been stung by the same scorpion!  What were the odds that would happen?  I flung the attacker across the room and the hubby grabbed a shoe, the preferred weapon of choice around here to eliminate creepy, crawly critters.

The last four days I have been hardly able to walk due to some sort of lower back muscle or nerve issue.  However, when I too felt the sting on my arm, I shot out of bed rather quickly.  I have been stung before by scorpions so I knew what to expect.  The hubby, on the other hand, seemed a bit freaked out by the experience. I reminded him that he had allowed our friend, Julio, to put live bees on his hand just a couple of weeks ago with sole purpose of having the bees sting him, so the scorpion thing was not even worth discussing, especially at 3:00 am!  I almost wish the scorpion would have stung me on the butt instead of the wrist to see if maybe the poison might have some type of healing elements for my back pain.

Since the literal "pain in ass" was more present than ever all last night and causing me extreme pain this morning, I bit the bullet and called our doctor.  She answered the phone (I am still shocked that a doctor actually answers a phone) and suggested I go to see an orthopedic doctor she recommended from the CIMA hospital.

I quickly Googled his name and found his contact information.  The web page indicated he did consults on Mondays and Fridays from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  I decided to try to call him anyway, but did not have luck reaching him or his office.  Since his email address was listed,  I drafted an email to him.  Less than 30 minuts later he responded suggesting some meds and indicated he could see me today at 12:30 pm.

The hubby dashed off to town to get the meds, which really helped alleviate the pain quickly.  We then got ready to head to the big city, Escazu, a suburb of San Jose, to see Dr. Mauricio.  About an hour later, I left his office feeling 100% better after receiving two shots.  He had evaluated me with a series of questions and tests and suggested we try the shots and meds for five days before ordering a bunch of other tests.

I was feeling so good when we left the office that I insisted my hubby and I go indulge in a tasty hamburger at one of our favorite restaurants, Hamburgesia.  The fact that. I was very hungry and feeling so much better made the lunch extra special.

I have learned that good health should never be taken for granted.  Due to intensity of pain I experienced over the last 48 hours I came to realize how easy it would be to become dependent on pain killers.  The other lesson is the gratitude I feel to have  great access to such good doctors here in Costa Rica.

I think everyone was happy, except my dog, to see me feeling so much better.  Being bed ridden for the last few days meant my overweight doggie did not have his hydrotherapy sessions.  Not to worry, tomorrow we are back in the swimming pool.

Close Encounter with Automeris IO Moth Caterpillar?

This afternoon while waiting for my doggie, Taco, to "take care of his business" I decided to pluck a few bromeliad type plants to propogate a few more.  I managed to get two or three planted without any problems.  When I reached to grab one last piece to transplant I immediately felt a very strong, nasty stinging sensation on top of my left hand.  I searched the plant and quickly discovered a brightly colored large caterpillar.  The critter (seen attached photo of the culprit) was definitely very pretty, but I knew it was also very deadly!  One of my fears of Costa Rica had come true.  I had been careful thus far to avoid the multitude of scorpions, spiders, and other unknown insects successfully, but today my luck came to an end.

Several months ago I had read about the beautiful, but toxic caterpillars of Costa Rica.  I had promised myself that I would carefully avoid any encounters with these beautiful critters at all cost.  I had read about how caterpillar stings could easily disable a person for one or two days....much worse damage than any old nasty scorpion bite.

Immediately after being bitten I headed back to the house to scour the Internet for advice on how to minimize the effects of the toxins.  The first thing I did was grab a few pieces of tape to apply repeatedly over the area that had been stung.  Supposedly, this would help remove the stingers.  Next, I washed the area with soap and water.  I then headed for the freezer for an ice pack that was applied for 20 minutes or so.   The last step was to make a paste of baking soda and water and liberally apply over the area.

Fortunately, I survived the sting, however, a large vase we had purchased a couple of years ago became collateral damage of my close encounter with nature.  My hubby had been cleaning floors and had moved the vase near the front door while I was outside getting stung.  As I hurriedly opened the front door to seek relief from my potential fatal wound, the vase fell over and broke into a hundred pieces.

At least I have survived and lived to fell about my first war wound with one of Mother Nature's beautiful, but deadly Costa Rican creatures.

Interesting Facts About Costa Rica

http://thecostaricanews.com/interesting-costa-rica-facts/16916

The above link has a whole list of interesting facts about Costa Rica.  I soon realized that there were a whole bunch of insects here, but I never would have imagined that 750,000 or so different types of critters!

Shifting Patterns

There have been many adjustments made since we moved to Costa Rica.  Most of the changes have infinitely improved our lives.  For example, the lack of fast food restaurants, processed foods, and high cost of meat have encouraged us to consume a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables, which are abundant and cheap.
Another wonderful new, cost effective shopping option is to call a taxi to deliver items from town that we may have forgotten buy at the store.  Just yesterday I was getting ready to prepare some chicken and realized I needed a specific ingredient to coat the chicken in before cooking it.  I called up our trusty taxi driver and within 15 minutes he had dispatched the ingredient from the supermarket with only a $3.00 delivery fee.   Now that is what I call "sweet!"  In my former life I would have been trying to figure out some other recipe or find and alternative ingredient for the meal.
I have really learned to rely on the Internet to find innovative and wonderful new recipes to try incorporating all the local produce and products.  Due to the nice cool evenings in Atenas, I often prepare vegetable based soups for us for supper.
My dad and I are also excited to discover that we can easily grow tomatillos, serranos, and even peas.  Okay, so our first bounty of peas has only yielded about 20 or so pea pods, but it is a start.  We also have Jamaica plants doing really well and we hope they will soon start blooming so we can dry the flowers to make one of our favorite drinks, jamaica tea served very cold with just a hint of sweetness.

Birds, Bees, and Butterflies

Birds, Bees, and Butterflies

One of the blessings of living in Costa Rica is the extensive variety of birds.  I think I read somewhere that there are approximately 825 species of birds throughout the country.  Unfortunately, some of those birds have "bird brains" when it comes to figuring out how to avoid flying into windows at full speed.  In the last week alone, three yellow mountain warblers (at least that is what I think they are) have banged into our windows and landed feet up on our tile floor.  Thankfully, all three just endured foggy brain syndrome, and intense migraines from the hit each one of them took.  I picked each one up and massaged them back to their senses.  I have attached pictures of two of the victims of dangerous flight patterns.

My husband suffers from arthiritis in his hands (at least that is the excuse I have heard used for not finishing planting a dozen plants we bought over a month ago).  Our trusty, multi-talented friend,  Julio, suggested trying bee stings to help relieve the symptoms since he claims the bee stings did miracles for his arthiritis.  Yesterday afternoon Julio showed up with a bag of live bees to perform the treatment on my hubby's hand.  Before the experiment began, I asked my hubby if he was allergic to bees to which he flippantly responded, "don't know, but I guess we will find out soon."  I then proceeded to verify that his life insurance policy was paid up and got the telephone number for the ambulance from Julio's trusty assistant, a local handyman!  After the first bee was extracted from the bag and left his stinger in one of the knuckles, a small area of redness appeared around the sting area.  I asked Julio if the area looked normal after a sting.  He said "si" and Dr Handyman chimed in his second expert opinion of "si" as well.  Ok, now I felt so much better!  The next morning my hubby woke up with swollen knuckles and had a dizzy and nausea spell, which he immediately attributed to the bees.  We applied some ice to his knuckles, and it seems like he is going to live even though we have to wait a week to see if the stings actually relieve the arthiritis.

One of my favorite daily routines is to go outside and see how all of our flowers and plants are growing.  We have an abundance of butterlies of all varieties visit the zinnias and lantana plants daily.  I spent just a few minutes taking the attached pictures of some of the beauties from our yard.

One of our neighbors needed help making cookies the other day so I volunteered to go help.  After we sampled the cookies we went to walk around her patio.  We saw some branches being rustled around below us.  Upon further inspection we noticed a bunch of white faced monkeys bouncing from limb to limb.  Wow!  Speaking of baked goods, I am over the moon to have found a new stand at our local Friday market that sells fresh baked bagels!  Life is good.

Losing a friend I never knew

A couple of weeks ago I lost a friend I never knew.  Mr C, who lived in a neighborhood nearby suffered an accident a couple of months ago and had been hospitalized in San Jose.  I helped his daughter during her stay here when she flew down immediately after his accident.  She did not know anyone here and needed logistical and moral support.  During my rounds around town with her, I learned about her dad, a stubborn man who also had a very strong independent spirit.  He was an elderly gentleman who moved here about seven years ago in an RV he drove down from California.  He enjoyed raising sheep, chickens, photography and had two beloved dogs.  Unfortunately, while he was in the hospital his home was robbed four times.  The first time the thieves took many valuable electronic items and despite immediately reporting the incident with a full comprehensive list of items stolen and pictures, none of his items were ever recovered.  Maybe in some ways it was good that he never had to come back home to see what had happened.  

On a positive note, three weeks or so after he was hospitalized a wonderful friend of his trained as a hospice care worker and her partner learned of his accident and began to visit him daily in the hospital and were there until the very end to let him know he was loved and keep him company since his daughters were unable to be here with him.

The weeks here always seem to bring some type of event that makes time fly by faster than we would like.  The death of Mr C brought us friends who stayed with us for a few days.  During the same time, our beloved pooch had an incident with a herniated disc that rendered him almost unable to walk.   We  had prepared for the worst news when we took him to the vet since the pooch is 12 years old.  Fortunately, a wonderful vet here in town and his staff were able to provide a care plan that now includes hydrotherapy in our swimming pool three times a week that has enabled our doggie to be back to his old self.  He does have a funky haircut that looks like a small football field across his lower back for ultrasound and electrotherapy treatment, but he doesn't seem to mind.

Last month we also had fun meeting and spending time with a wonderful couple from Florida who we met via the Internet last year when they were interested in renting our home.  Even though our home was not available, we stayed in touch and they ended up renting a lovely home we had looked at during our visit a few years ago when we were looking for our retirement home.  They really enjoyed their month long stay here and we were fortunate enough to enjoy time with them getting acquainted.  They plan to return next year for a two month stay.  

Changes

Many of my family and friends from the US, Mexico, and Canada have asked how I enjoy living in Costa Rica and how it differs from living in the aforementioned countries.

My immediate response would be that in Atenas we have consistent climate and more limited items to shop for than either country.  Costa Rica also is a much smaller country (smaller than the state of Texas where I lived most of my adult life!) and much smaller population.  I suspect that both of these factors tend to contribute to the selection of stores with the variety of goods found in the USA.  However, I have learned less selection does not mean lower quality of life or deprivation.  In fact,  the only items that I have not been able to find in the grocery stores that I previously used in cooking or preparing desserts is Velveeta cheese, Cool Whip, and Rotel tomatoes.  Two of the three items are processed foods which I am probably much better without eating!  Most of the other food items not readily available here in Atenas can be found at stores such as  AutoMercado, WalMart, PriceSmart, or Saretto, all within less than 30 minutes from our home.  Imported grocery items do come at a premium price so through attrition I am replacing old recipes with new ones that incorporate local goods, including an abundance of very cheap veggies and fruits.  Just the other day, for example, I purchased over 6 lbs. of fresh tomatoes for less than $2.00.

If pressed to name three things I miss, besides family and friends from each place, I would say sweet bread from Mexico, cherries and raspberries from Canada, and food from PF Changs, a favorite restaurant in the USA. Oh, yes and Orville Redenbacher popcorn for my air popper.  For some reason, good popcorn is hard to find here.

I have very few complaints about Costa Rica.  The lack of road signs can be frustrating, daunting, and yet adventuresome.  Since street signs are pretty much non existent, you have to learn to rely on inexplicable directions involving trees, businesses that are no longer there, the few hundred meters, and other assorted markers.  Besides, for me personally, the great things about living here far outweigh the minor inconveniences.  

Two blessings of our new lives here are watching a lot less TV (we were both kind of news junkies) and living a much slower pace of life that allows us to take in the beauty around us, and spend more time with new friends.

Nine month anniversary

It has been nine months since we made the big move to Costa Rica.  We have settled in nicely and made many new friends.  Some things in our lives, such as taking care of a senior citizen with dementia, are challenging no matter where we live.  We do our best to manage a difficult situation and are fortunate to have one another to lean on for moral support.  Unless a person has cared for a person with special needs, another cannot possibly understand the patience that is required and the mixed emotions a caretaker faces.

Even taking care of old dogs can be challenging.  The other day while my senior citizen Chihuahua was out taking care of his evening business, I noticed the neighbor standing at the end of our driveway with a long pole.  I asked him what he was doing since he seemed a bit frazzled.  As it tured out, his old dog had walked into a drainage tunnel (for the second time in a week) that runs underneath our driveway.  The dog appeared to be stuck or too tired to come out on his own.  Since our neighbor had been trying, unsuccesfully for over two hours to rescue the dog, I offered to help.  I found a shorter wire pole and hopped down into the drainage ditch at the other end of the driveway and managed to hook onto the dog.  Once the dog realized I was there to help, he started trying to crawl with his front paws.  He was exhausted by the time he was rescued.  It truly felt good though to have the doggie out and safely on his way home.

We get some horrendous electrical storms here with lots of rain.  The poor ole' dog would have easily drowned if a rain storm had developed that afternoon.  We did have one such storm just yesterday, which caused loss of power for over an hour at the house and Internet disruption for most of today.  We depend so much on the Internet these days...no Skype phone service, no television service, no shopping online, and no emails!  Whew, it was a long morning, but we did get some weeds pulled and even scan through a couple of books that had been collecting dust.

While we realize our paradise is not everything we wished for due to our circumstances, the consensus among us is that we made the right move and there is nowhere else we would rather be than in our home here in Atenas.  Posted pictures may help explain why.

Life.....Beautiful and Scary

Despite the last couple of months being filled with many challenges, this place has magical (or at least in my view they are magical) ways of renewing my spirit of discovery.  Mother nature has blessed this country with an overwhelming bounty of beauty, whimiscal, and scary!

The beauty abounds in the diversity of flowers, plants, butterflies, and birds. For example, the other day while waiting for my doggie to find the perfect place to do "his business" I noticed a critter that looked like a miniature hummingbird fluttering around a lantana plant.  I stared at it long enough to realize the critter in question was some type of moth or butterfly with the speed and flight pattern of a hummingbird.  After Googling my imaginative description I found out that the flowers were being visited by a "hummingbird hawk moth," otherwise known as macroglossum stellatarum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroglossum_stellatarum).  

I have also learned from our local herb man who I always visit at the Friday morning farmer's market that there a a number of interesting plants used for natural remedies.  We recently purchased a Juanilama plant that apparently is useful for helping with digestion and upset stomach when the leaves are steeped in a tea.  We were also introduced to the Carao bean yesterday, also known as the Stinky Toe Bean.  From what I have read, the odor of the contents of the bean can have a pungent smell like some types of expensive cheese, or plain ole stinky feet!  However, the taste of the nectar is supposed to be pretty good when mixed with milk or served in various concotions.  The bean is touted as aiding in circulation, anemia, and is even considered an aphrodisiac.

I am always surprised at all the new fruits, vegetables and plants that we are introduced to during our daily lives here.  The double pleasure of learning about them is that they are readily available and very inexpensive.

During one of duties playing tour guide to relatives last month we also visited the wonderful Cafe Toledo here in Atenas.  We all enjoyed the very informative tour provided by Gabriel, the son of the owner of the coffee farm.  We not only got to sample some extraordinarily good coffee, but also learned about the importance of biodiversity of plants and weeds in the farm.  We even discovered another new favorite fruit, mamon, a green large queen olive size fruit that has a great tangy taste.  

Now, for the scary.  Probably the two biggest fears that many expats like ourselves have in common living here are home robbery/invasion and close encounters with a fer de lance snake.  Both of these items seem to be common topics of conversation....and where to find certain imported items that we miss having readily available at the local grocery store.  Last week we heard the scariest story yet about an encounter with a fer de lance.  A couple in a nearby neighborhood found one of those dreaded, poisonous, aggresive snakes in their bed of all places.  Fortunately, the couple were able to dispatch the snake to a better world before the snake bit either of them.

We have so much more to learn and explore here.  We also have to learn to adjust our perceptions of norms and customs, but as long as we have great friends to help us navigate the maze we will continue to be more blessed than we deserve.  

My husband asked the other day if I felt we had a mistake by moving here.  I responded, "absolutely not!"  Happiness is a choice and state of mind.  I had a couple of rollercoaster months that had nothing to do with this place, but rather circumstances and it all just caught up with me emotionally last week, but the good here far outweighs the bad.  The natural beauty here renews me everyday and I look forward to the small surprises that abound in this paradise.

Twilight Zone

The whole month of July turned out to be like being swept up into a reality/telenovela show based in the twilight zone.  My brother and his two beautiful children had been to visit for two weeks and we had just said goodbye to them a few days before the saga began on July 4th.  

We recived a call from our friend, Julio, telling us that an older friend of hs that lived up the road in another community had been involved in an accident and had to be taken to the emergency room at a hospital in San Jose.  The man, Mr. C, ended up having emergency surgery and has been in ICU, unconscious since that day.  We located information to contact his daughter in California who flew down to assess the situation.  

Since she spoke very little Spanish, Julio asked if I would help her upon her arrival, which happened one day before we were expecting company more family to arrive for a visit.  Throughout the next 10 days or so we learned about this man I had never met through various people in the community as we went around town trying to take care of his personal business.  It was like having a portrait painted of him through the stories of people he dealt with in town and in his neighborhood.  Mr C moved to Costa Rica seven years ago and drove down here in an RV all alone.  He wanted to raise chickens, sheep and had two beloved dogs left behind while he was hospitalized, whose names we did not know, but through savvy detective work managed to discover.   The funniest story I heard was that Mr C had purchased a sewing machine to be able to mend his underwear.  Just one of many eccentricities that seem to be part of his character.  Strong willed, independent, cranky, and generous were the impressions that seem to personify Mr C.  

Things went from bad to worse though as the caretaker we placed at his house immediately after Mr C was hospitalized came down with dengue and then had to be fired by yours truly after some unfortunate things happened.  The last straw, though, was that we built a security cage to secure Mr C's valuables until he could return home.  Three days after the cage was completed, someone broke  into his home and stole all of his stuff.  We were shocked, angry, and saddened that this crime would be committed against a poor old man who was battling for his life in the hospital.  It is unlikely the culprits, who obviously knew exactly where to go for the goods will be caught.

We had two rounds of family visitors in July in the midst of the whole ordeal with Mr C so we were quite busy on all fronts.  I am glad July is behind us, but hope that Mr C will eventually recuperate and that he will be able to have some quality of life left to enjoy.  

As for me, I have learned more about the Costa Rican judicial and medical system than I wanted to know so early into my life in this beautiful country.  There is so much natural beauty, but that can be sometimes overshadowed by the rampant theft, lack of accountability for criminal behavior, and complexity of laws.  

We love our new homeland, but do wish that home robberies were not so commonplace and that criminals were more aggresively prosecuted.  Sadly, we had been warned that as soon as Mr C's home was left without a person living there fulltime, the home would be broken into, and sure enough, the predictions became reality.

Ants, ants, and more ants

The ants of Costa Rica are fascinating and a constant source of frustration for those trying to grown plants, shrubs, and other ornamental flora.

The cut ants can literally strip a mid sized tree naked of all leaves within a few hours.  Constant vigilance is required to win the battle against them.

Another type of ant that has become part of our communal living arrangement are the army ants.  The arrival of swarming army ants is something to behold.  They arrive suddenly in large waves as they migrate through.  To read more about the intriguing Burrell's ant and the habits, link to http://eol.org/pages/470832/details.  The first time we saw the swarm approaching our home the experience was akin to a low budget horror movie.  We were told that the best thing to do is leave the house for a couple of hours and let the colony pass through the house, leaving the house free of all other insects since they pretty much eat any other ant or insect in the path as they migrate.

A couple of weeks ago we visited a botanical garden in Sarchi and as we were exiting the park, my husband had the misfortune of having an ant land near his eye and sting him.  The pain was intense and then the area below his eye became very red and swollen.  We purchase some ointment from the pharmacy that helped alleviate the pain.

We have read about another species of ant called a bullet ant that has a sting potent enough to disable a person for a day.  

Oh, yes, and then there are the tiny ants that tend to infiltrate and destroy electronic equipment such as laptops, printers, and speakers.

The ants are plentiful and challenging to live with, but we can learn a lot from them too.  The ants are hard workers and epitomize teamwork.  It is not uncommon to see a large dead insect being hauled across the road by a group of ants. 

Off to Nicaragua

We made our first journey to Nicaragua last Friday to renew visa for driving privileges.  We left around 3:30 am with our friends, Julio and Yesenia.  We arrived at the Peñas Blancas border crossing around 7:30 and began the inexplicable  process of getting into Nicaragua.  First, we were greeted by the money exchangers in the parking lot carrying wads of different currency.  We soon realized thar we would probably need some U.S. Dollars and decided it was better to use the ATM machine rather than accept the exchange rate offered by the money changers.  We also were surrounded by men trying to offer to help fill out documents for the crossing.  We accepted the services of one dude and then headed into the Costa Rica immigration building to get our exit visa stamped.  Next stop for me was the Aduana to get the papers cleared to cross the vehicle into Nicaragua.  We then drove to a checkpoint in between the Costa Rica and Nicaraguan immigration buildings to show our passports...we handed them to the same guy who had filled out our papers and he took all of the passports to the man sitting behind a desk under a makeshift checkpoint.  Next stop was to pay $1.00 each for some stamp which is then handed over to Nicaraguan immigration with $12.00 US dollars...no Colones or Cordobas (official Nicaraguan currency) accepted...go figure.  After about 15 minutes of haggling with the officer who insisted we had to stay in Nicaragua for a minimum of three days, we managed to convince him we were only going for the day....he insisted Nicaraguan law mandated a minimum of three days, but I suspect after he realized there was not going to be a forthcoming bribe, he relented and stamped our passports with the entry stamp.   We also had to get permission and pay $27.00 for one day of car insurance before having all our papers in hand to proceed to the next stop which was to show all the papers to another dude.  Finally, we drove through the dreaded, but compulsory spraying of the car...not sure what the spray is for, but we made sure the a/c was off and all windows closed.

After a 45 minute drive north on very nice roads we arrived in Rivas.  Since Julio and Yesenia had to go to the bank and Costa Rican Consul for some business, the hubby and I went in search of food.  On the way into Rivas, Julio had hired the services of a taxi, which is actually a rickshaw driver on a bike, to bike ahead of us and escort us to the Consul building.  We then left the car at the park and went with the rickshaw driver to tour the backstreets in search of food.  An old man on a bench said he would "watch our car for us" while we were gone.  

Our driver asked if wanted "simple food" to which my hubby responded too quickly, "si."  Little did he know that meant just beans, rice, and fried eggs.  The driver stopped at three holes in the wall and would shout to the cook if the food was ready.  After two "no's" we ended up on a side street at a joint with three tables and hundreds of flies!  The food was surely simple, and very cheap...less than $5.00 for both of us.  We headed back to the park and the car.  When we arrived at the park, the car guard was fast asleep on the bench so we took off smiling at the "guard!"  Must have been siesta time.

We were on our way back to Costa Rica two hours later and went through the whole process in reverse with a couple of extra bribes since the Nicaraguan agent insisted we did not stay in Nicaragua the mandated minimum of three hours...three days, three hours...what is it with threes?  Anyway, an $11.00 bribe which was the exact change we should of received from our $50 US dollar bill seem to meet the requirement of the officer to place the exit stamp on our passports...funny how that works!

On our way home we stopped in at the Three Hermanas Restaurant about two hours from home to enjoy a delicious meal.  While dining we saw three beautiful macaws fly overhead.  The waiter told us the macaws roost at the restaurant across the road where they were raised and released.

On our final stretch home the traffic came to a stop.  A bus had been involved in an accident which caused delays each way.  While we were stopped we noticed a bunch of loud howler monkeys in the trees next to the highway.  It was quite special to see them all along a stretch of road.  They really are loud, hence their names!

We finally made it home around 7:30 pm and could only think of falling into bed and sleeping.  

 I was really touched by the evident poverty as soon as you enter Nicaragua and the irony of how nice the roads were, but very few cars traveling them.  I also realized how lucky so many of us are not to have to stand in long lines outside the consul in the hot sun waiting for paperwork to be stamped.  Our rickshaw driver, like many others I saw were young men who clearly have very few employment and education opportunities in an impoverished country.  

Cheese, Balloons and Jaboticabas

Discovering new traditions, fruits and plants is a passion of mine.  Since moving to Costa Rica, I have had the opportunity to do all three and it seems like just when you think there is nothing new, some new tradition, fruit or plant is introduced to me.

Yesterday, for example while driving to our friend's place we noticed yellow and white balloons everywhere in town.  At first, we thought the balloons were for a wedding, but as we went from one side of town to the other, we realized the abundance of balloons and other decorations had to be related to a religious festival.  As it turns out, the balloons were to welcome a saint that is transported through all the neighborhoods with a large procession of people singing behind it.  

We have made some wonderful new expat and Tico friends.  Today, we were invited by our friends Julio and Yesenia to go to Los Angeles over near San Ramon to buy the "best cheese" in the area.  We were not dissapointed.  We arrived at a small roadside store and began our adventure by ordering some great cafes con leche.  Our friend, Julio, them asked the owner to warm us up a package of corn tortillas.  One minute later we were enjoying great cheese wrapped in tortila with our coffee.  I remarked that it might seem crazy that we drove an hour to indulge in a corn tortilla with white cheese, but it was well worth it.

After our cheese and coffee break we headed back through the town of San Ramon and stopped in at a family owned nursery.  Julio has known the owners for years, and kindly invited us for a tour of the nursery and farm.  They even allowed us to raid their Jaboticaba (like a Brazilian grape) trees.  The fruits were new to me, but I quickly became well acquainted with them after trying a few.  They reminded me of eating concord grapes. The tree is fascinating since the fruit grows directly on the bark, almost like someone glued dark purple balls to the stalk.  The proprietor makes wine as well from them.  She gifted us a bottle of wine in the making to place in our closet for another two months and then it should be ready to drink.  

Another wonderful surprise was seeing her variety of rabbits that she raises and the rare turquoise jade plant that is flourishing at her property.  The plant produces a spectacular flower that can only be appreciated in person.

After spending an hour with the family at the nursery, we purchased a couple of Jaboticaba trees and headed to Palmares to eat at a great restaurant.

As we arrived home, I remarked to my hubby how fortunate we are to have made friends with Julio who is equally passionate about all the plants and fruits of his homeland and his willingness to show us his homeland.

Two Different Worlds...Wish You Were Here

"Wish you were here" yesterday took on such new, funny meaning for me.  I drove a dear friend over to the hospital in Escazu yesterday for a doctor's appointment.  On a side note, it was my 25th wedding anniversary, but my hubby had to attend a drawn out homeowner's association meeting so I volunteered to drive my friend to Escazu.  She and I and two other ladies went with us.  After the appointment, we decided to have lunch together at a fabulous hamburger restaurant named "Hamburgesia," and get to know one another better.  We all decided to share a story about a nutty relative in our respective family trees.  One of the ladies had the most priceless story of a sister of hers in prison who sent her a greeting card from prison that read, "wish you were here!"  She said she got in touch with her sister to ask her what the heck was up sending such an off the chart message from prison.  The sister told her that the volunteer had run out of all the good cards by the time he reached her cell block so she had no choice but to settle for the "wish you were here" card! By the way, anyone who says you cannot get a decent hamburger in Costa Rica should try this place!  

It's funny that after our venture to the big city and the nice restaurant we realized that while it is nice to be able to go to a establishments that resemble gringolandia (the US or Canada), some of prefer the simplicity of our lives here in the small town of Atenas with only one traffic light.

Don Alejo, the Orchid Yoda

A couple of weeks ago we discovered a great nursery right here in Los Altos de San Isidro of Atenas.  Our handyman, Julio, had recommended us to visit the nursery.  The owner, Alejo Campos is one of the most passionate people about orchids I have ever met.  He, his wife and daughter run the family nursery and he tends to his hundreds of orchids.  Each orchid is like a child of his and his passion shines through his eyes and stories when he tells you about each variety.  He said he never had the opportunity to study in school, but his wealth of knowledge is certainly worthy of a master's degree in cultivating orchids and many other plants.  We love visiting the nursery not only because of the wonderful variety of plants, but also because of the warmth of the family.

It was also such a funny coincidence that our friends who accompanied us to the nursery were in search of the exact same plant we were looking for as well.  The plant is known as a Jabuticaba.  We both arrived at the nursery unaware of the plant's name we had both written on a small piece of paper.  When we both pulled out our papers to ask about the availability, we discovered we had the same name written.  Fortunately for us both, we were able to purchase the plant and are now anxiously awaiting the fruit the small tree produces, something akin to a grape.

Brahamas, Iguanas, Strange Amphibians

Burping brahamas, petunia eating iguanas, and Texas size earthworms that are really amphibians...that pretty much sums up the last two weeks.

The other day while on our morning walk, we heard the strangest bellering from some cows or four legged type cow critters.  Anyway, I remarked to our neighbor that I had never heard such strange noises from a cow.  He responded that those noises were nothing compared to the noises he heard one night.  He said when he had first moved to the neighborhood here he heard some very odd sounds one very early morning.  He got up in his scivvies to explore the origin only to discover burping brahamas over his fence near his bedroom window!  Seriously?  I have yet to verify this phenomenon, but it does sound intriguing.

Now, about those petunia eating iguanas.  I purchased some beautiful petunias to put in three large planters next to our pool.  One of the planters is shaped like a big frog.  The plants were doing great and providing lots of color.  One day last week my dad, the Costa Rican sloth, was laying in his hammock and shouted that I should come see my petunias as they were quickly disappearing.  As I approached the planters I understood what my dad meant.  Right in front of him in the hammock was a big stinkin iguana making a lunch buffet out of all of the flowers off the petunia plants.   Plants actually bloom more profusely if you snip the dead flowers regularly.  So, in interest of living communal peace and harmony, I must find a way to communicate to Mr Iguana that he is welcome to come for buffet, but only after 5:00 pm.  This way, we can enjoy the flowers for the day and he can eat and prune at the same time.  

With all of the welcome heavy regular rain downpours we have had there have been apparent sightings of one of the most oddball critters we have encountered.  Unfortunately, our encounter was with the critter's remains rather than alive.  Apparently, there is an amphibian that looks more like a snake or Jurassic park size earthworm that periodically comes out during the heavy rains.  Our neighbor, John, informed me that the name of the amphibian is a purple caecilian.

We also had the opportunity to visit the farmer's market in Alajuela yesterday with our neighbors from Texas who just returned to Atenas last week.  The market is the largest of it's kind in Costa Rica.  We had a great time exploring all the stands and even tried out some new exotic fruits.  We purchased a big slice of soursop (Guanabana) since my hubby has been wanting to try this super fruit.  I made some sherbert out of the piece which was enjoyed by all of us this afternoon.  The sherbert tasted sweet and sour and had very aromatic smell.  I felt it was a great palate cleanser.

Obama visits on my birthday...sort of.

Today was the first of what I hope to be many more memorable birthdays in Costa Rica.  I received the best birthday present a week early this year when my dad came through his pacemaker installation with flying colors.

He was supposed to have his followup appointment today with the cardiologist, but due to the arrival of President Obama in Costa Rica, the appointment was rescheduled for Tuesday.

It was ironic that we got to be closer to the U.S. president today than we ever did when we lived in Texas!  Air Force One flew by at almost eye level from our front yard which allowed us all to see the unique plane in it's majestic glory.  The flight path for commercial flights landing at the Juan Santamaria airport is right in front of our house so we get to see the flights daily as they arrive.  Today was definitely different since we did not see any flights this morning arriving, except for Air Force One.

Costa Rica is such a small country that every security resource has been allocated for the security of Mr Obama as well as the other Central American leaders that have gathered in San Jose.

From what I have read, the last U.S. president to visit Costa Rica was Bill Clinton in 1997, so it has been a long time and now it happens on my birthday!

The military planes had been flying in for at least for a couple of weeks so now that the big day is here, the city of San Jose is pretty chaotic and locked down in all areas where President Obama is scheduled to appear.  It is good to live where we are about 30 miles from the mayhem.

For us, it was a nice relaxing day to spend having a nice lunch with two of our new great friends enjoying baked chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, and pinto beans.  Okay, so the meal was not traditional Tico cuisine, but we figured it would be nice to have a taste of our old homeland for a change.

Getting a car and a pacemaker

Last week we decided to trade in our 12 year old car for a 10 year old Honda CRV.  Vehicles are very expensive in Costa Rica so we have opted to own a used vehicle instead of incurring the expense of a new vehicle.  With the limited driving we do, the pot holes and cost of insurance, it just makes more sense to go with a reliable, used SUV.

Some interesting highlights of the process included visiting the small town of Grecia, where seemingly the majority of used car dealerships  in Costa Rica are located.  

Once we selected a vehicle, we provided the information to our lawyer to complete the transaction for us.  Yes, the lawyer handles the paperwork for you when you buy a car.  Fortunately, we have a great inexpensive attorney (sounds like an oxymoron, but true).

In addition to getting a "new, used vehicle" we have had to really test the Costa Rica medical care system as my dad was advised by a cardiologist here that he would require a pacemaker.  We were very impressed with all of the doctors and nurses that attended to my dad at the CIMA hospital in Escazu.

Costa Rica is considered a top medical destination which helped us easily get approval from my dad's U.S. based federal insurance.  Presumably, the lack of malpratice lawsuit awards the size of lottery winnings helps to contribute to the reasonable cost and access to wonderful medical care here.