The Ups and Downs of Pura Vida

The beauty of the flowers on our walk this morning stands in stark contrast to the darkness of our mood. Yesterday we got word of another family member with a serious health crisis, prompting Layne to head for Oregon this Saturday for several weeks to help the family. We are quite worried and as a result of the uncertainty, we decided not to take the house I wrote about in my last post. Although we are disappointed, it would have been very difficult for me to pack and make the move without him here. Plus, the possibility of additional trips being necessary during the next few months means we need to conserve our funds; so all in all, it seemed like the best decision. As I’ve said before, we love where we live now, appreciate our wonderful landlords and other than wanting more space for parties and guests, we really are quite fine here. So here we’ll stay for now.

Roscoe returns!

The good news is that Roscoe, our pit bull pal reported missing in my last post, is back home! Eduardo went to the gentleman’s house who was holding the dog about a mile from here and, when he explained the situation, the man said, “Well, if he’s your dog he’ll know you.” And of course, when Roscoe saw Eduardo, he was beside himself with joy so the question was answered in the affirmative and home they came. When Roscoe came bounding down the hill to our apartment Tuesday morning, we were so happy to see him and clearly the feeling was mutual. The smile on his face was ear-to-ear!

Playa Dona Ana

Last week we went back to Playa Dona Ana with our friends Sally and Leonard where we rendezvous from time to time with Gringo and Tico friends from nearby communities. Often we meet someone new and this trip was no exception. In addition to acquaintances Paul and Gloria from San Ramon, who organize these beach outings, we met Kevin and Patricia, saw locals Jim and June and made a new friend named Joe. Layne had taken along his cool backpacker guitar, a gift from his son Jess, but when he found out that Joe was a “real” musician who plays local clubs with his band, Layne got stage fright and never took the guitar out of the case. However, when we learned that Joe would be playing here in Atenas this week, we decided we’d go watch the big boys play. So on Tuesday evening, we headed downtown to Don Tadeo’s bar and restaurant for dinner and a little live music in support of our new friend.

Musician Joe at the head of the table

Joe plays the drums, so with all his equipment he was the first band member to arrive and start setting up. But soon after he had begun to spread out the snares and cymbals, the manager approached him and as they talked, we could tell there was a problem. Joe soon came over to our table and explained to us there would be no music. After a few neighbors went to the city complaining about the noise and other problems, management had decided to end the live music. Unfortunately, they didn’t get in touch with the band members in time to avoid their making the trip to Atenas, in one case a three-hour drive from Cartago! To say we were all disappointed is an understatement. But when our Tica friend Leigh and her Gringo date arrived, we made the most of the evening with a few beers and some lively conversation. So, as we say, Pura Vida! 

Lusty Iguana Love!

The old saying “Time flies when you’re having fun” sure seems to fit our lives here. Or at least that’s the excuse I’ll give for my limited posts of late. The days seem to whiz by, full of big and little adventures. Take this morning’s walk, for instance. As we strolled along a side street of modest Tico houses, just ahead of us I saw a large crested iguana apparently basking in the sunlight on a concrete driveway. We had stopped so I could snap a photo when I noticed another smaller iguana in the culvert beside the driveway looking up at him. Quietly we moved to the other side of the street so as not to disturb them. As we stood watching, we noticed the big guy exhibiting unusual behavior: bobbing his head and seeming to preen himself. Suddenly we got it! It was “iguana love” in action. His movements were clearly directed at his lady friend below, who eyed him adoringly, if such an emotion can be attributed to iguanas. I started to take a video of their activities but a Tico on a bicycle rode by and scared them into the gutter beneath the drive.

 

Another reason I’ve been blogging less is that much of my writing time and energy has been devoted to a weekly column on retirement in Costa Rica which I started doing for an English-language website, http://TheCostaRicaNews.com. Although unpaid, the project does provide me with motivation to research some of the issues facing expats who are considering relocating here. In addition, I am compiling information for seminars Layne and I hope to offer next summer when we are in the United States. At least we plan to do a few “pilot project” versions of workshops on “Retiring in Costa Rica on Social Security,” which, of course, is what we ourselves have done. If you or someone you know might be interested in coming to a seminar, drop me an email and we’ll notify you of the schedule when we figure it out. You can find my email at the top of this blog page.

One of my recent columns in The Costa Rica News was on the numerous micro-climates in Costa Rica. We feel like Atenas has just about the perfect one for us -- warm enough to welcome a swim or to sunbathe but breezy enough to be refreshing. If we get out early for our walks, the air is invigorating and pleasant and the evenings cool down so that I often need a light jacket if we stargaze from the front patio. But just up the mountain from us are several other towns with sizeable expat communities. Grecia, Sarchi, Naranjo and San Ramon are larger cities that are only a thirty-minute to an hour drive away from Atenas but all have considerably cooler climates. Some friends here in Atenas moved from San Ramon for just that reason; they found it to be much too chilly, cloudy and during the rainy season they felt utterly drowned by the heavy downpours. Even now, looking from our front yard up the hill toward these towns, there are clouds hanging over the higher elevations while here we are enjoying gorgeous blue skies.

Yesterday I had occasion to travel up the mountain to Grecia, the closest to Atenas, where a meeting of expats was being held. The U.S. Consul General Paul Birdsall was scheduled to appear to answer questions and explain what the U.S. Embassy does and what services it offers to Americans living here. Our friends Sally and Leonard were interested in attending and they have a car so off I went with them to listen and take notes for possible use in my TheCostaRicaNews.com column. It was being held at the Galeria Restaurant, a few blocks from downtown, and a place well known for fine food. Some thirty-five to forty Gringos were present, including several of us from Atenas. Although Mr. Birdsall’s prepared remarks on the structure of the Embassy, numbers of personnel, services offered and such, were somewhat dry, the discussion livened up once he opened the floor to questions. From complaints about the grammatically-challenged signage at the Embassy and questions regarding the new Costa Rican immigration law, to uncertainties about the effect of the U.S. health care reform legislation on citizens living abroad, queries about changes in the tax law and concerns about the dispute with Nicaragua over the northern border of Costa Rica, the dialogue ranged over many issues of interest to expats. We were glad we went!

On the return trip, Leonard stopped the car so I could take pictures of the gorgeous orange and yellow trees now in bloom around the countryside. We are told the orange-blossomed plants are not native to Costa Rica but they have certainly made themselves at home as we can see acres of them in bloom across our distant view.

Not only is the weather perfect here today but we are also being serenaded by some live and lively Latin music from up the hill at the pool and rancho. Our landlords are having a little party and the bongo drums and enthusiastic male voices are a delightful accompaniment to our sunny afternoon. Although I’m sure we are welcome to join them, so far we are staying down in our apartment to allow them the undisturbed use of their entertainment area. However, since Eduardo did extend the invitation this morning as he gathered limons for the fiesta, perhaps later in the afternoon we’ll grab a beer and join the festivities. Pura Vida!

Progress Report: Eyeglasses ✓ Hair Dryer ✓ Swimsuit ✓

         Two hours ago I was lying in the sun, occasionally swimming laps in the pool in my new hot pink swimsuit. Now there’s a torrential downpour with raindrops as big as grapes pounding through the jungle outside my office window and occasional sharp claps of thunder in the near distance. But as our landlady Odie says, the October rains are important for the rice and bean crops. Plus, that’s why things are so green here: lots of sunshine and lots of rain. Life in the tropics!

         At least Layne’s cold has improved enough that we went for a walk earlier this morning while the sun was shining. Along the way we met a Gringo couple from Chicago and their little Beagle dog, who moved to Atenas only three weeks ago after living a couple of months up the mountain in San Ramon. Although they found that town to be too cool and too large for their taste, they are quite enamored of Costa Rica in general. Like us, they are working on legal residency and have achieved the “active file” status. We got their contact information and hope to get together soon to cultivate our new friendship.

         Our big outing this week was in search of new eyeglasses for me. In Spanish, they are called anteojos, which is so amusing to me because “antes” means “before” and “ojos” means eyes. So literally, it means in front of the eyes! I’ve been wearing the same scratched up, out-of-date prescription lenses for at least three years so I was overdue. And since part of the reason for this blog is to inform my readers what life is really like in Costa Rica, I will describe in some detail my search for new spectacles.

          Last summer in California, I got glasses made while still covered by Kaiser Permanente insurance but the result was unsatisfactory so I returned them. With only a few days before our departure for Oregon, however, it was too late for Kaiser to make another pair so I got a refund and took my prescription to Lenscrafters, where they can produce glasses in an hour or so. But we were shocked to find that they wanted more than $500 for a new pair, even using discounted frames. At that point, we decided prices would surely be better in Costa Rica and we held off until our return to Atenas.

         A few weeks ago, we stopped by a local optician’s office with my prescription and were quoted a price of one hundred seventeen thousand colones or about $235, using my same frames but with top-notch progressive lenses. They warned us that although we could have glasses made for much less through CAJA, the Costa Rican universal health insurance which we have, they would not be of the high quality that I am used to. Apparently, CAJA keeps their costs down by using lower quality laboratories for such items.

         But the price seemed rather high to us so I put off making an appointment until I could talk with our trusted landlady about it. When I did, Odie frowned and shook her head no. That was too much, she said. And besides, she didn’t really trust the level of competence and knowledge of the company here. Better I should go in to San Jose to a store she could recommend. Since we needed to visit the U.S. Embassy to give Social Security our new address anyway, we headed out on the 9:00 a.m. bus last Thursday. After the brief stop at the Embassy, we walked a few blocks to Plaza Mayor shopping center where I found a great deal on that pink vestido de bano, or bathing suit, in a shop just across the from the optometrist’s office. We found it curious indeed that the cigar kiosk in the center of the aisle was filled with colorful hookah pipes since drugs such as marijuana are quite illegal here.

         Optica Vision was sparkling clean and high-tech, the doctora (female doctor) was in, the staff was friendly and with no other customers around we got quick service. Using my old frames, I was quoted a price of ninety thousand colones ($180), which sounded pretty good compared to the Atenas or U.S. prices. But after I mentioned that we were getting our pensionado status, they tacked on a 10% discount, dropping the total to about $165. They offered to have the glasses back within two days and even gave me a free pair of contact lenses to use while I would be without glasses. We picked the anteojos up yesterday and once I tried them and found the result so excellent, with the progressive lenses sharp, the anti-reflective coating clear and the prescription apparently perfect, I inquired about getting some single-vision computer glasses. I spend a lot of time at my computer and the drugstore pair I use can cause eyestrain. How delighted we were to find that for a simple prescription like that, they offered a “promocion” of only twenty thousand colones ($40) including the frame and the lens! Needless to say, we ordered a pair of those as well as a pair of reading glasses. Now I’ll be set for all my vision needs.

         On our return to Atenas by bus, we stopped by to check on my hair dryer repair, the one that was supposed to take only two days but which, at that point, had been over a week in the shop. I am happy to report that we did indeed retrieve it, fully repaired and for only 2000 colones, about $4. That’s the good news since there’s no way you could have a hair dryer repaired for that low price in the States. Thus, back home one would just sigh and head out to by a new one. Here, the new one would cost quite a lot but the repair is cheap. The bad news is that it took so much longer than I had expected. Each time I went to pick it up, the clerk on duty was unable to locate it, to the point that I had begun to worry that it was actually lost. Apparently the repairman had placed it high up on a shelf out of easy sight, leaving the other workers at a loss as to where it might be found. Finally, I happened in when the repairman was there and it was quickly returned to me with sheepish smiles and apologies for the delay.

         On a final personal note, I would like to thank all you readers for your loyalty to this blog. My page views are now well over 2600 and my audience just in the last week has included visitors from China, New Zealand, Australia, Finland, Slovenia, Denmark, Djibouti and of course, the United States and Costa Rica. Thank you so much for coming to visit this page and keeping up with our adventures in the land of Pura Vida!