The Importance of Having Contacts in Costa Rica

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We have made quite a few Costa Rican friends here and they are always available when we need help.

Minor is a bilingual retired EMT who now works for a Canadian company here. He has helped us with medical appointments at our hospital as our translator. He also helped us out during our last move. He arranged for a transport truck to help us move from Puente de Puedra to San Roque de Grecia, where we now live.

Alex is one of our taxi drivers when our car is out of commission. Recently we were parked at Super Rosvil grocery and our vehicle would not start - new battery was dead. Two strangers stopped to help. They gave us a boost but it still would not turn over. I WhatsApp’d Alex and 15 minutes later he showed up in his red taxi and got the car started. We drove straight home and let the car run for 15 minutes, as per his instructions. We continued driving the car as it continued to start and run.

The same thing happened again just the other day. Parked in downtown Grecia - battery dead. Lance flagged down a taxi and the driver got it going with a boost. Home we went. By the way, the taxi drivers are great for boosts and changing flat tires. I once had two Super Rosvil managers change a tire for me. They just came out of the store and did it.

We contacted our mechanic Josué. He recently installed the new battery. He picked up our Subaru at our house and took it to his shop. Turns out it was an electrical problem draining the battery. There were some other problems which he is now fixing and hopefully we will have our car back today. It’s not a new vehicle so problems can be expected.

There’s also Coco, a tow truck driver we know. I can WhatsApp him anytime if we need a tow.

Costa Ricans are great sources of information also. Alex referred us to Josué. Minor found Coco for us. They are wonderful friends. I once had a nice lady (bilingual) come up to me at our Ebais clinic. She offered her help when I saw the nurse and told me to call her any time.

Off Topic

As mentioned in my last blog post (April 2025) we have been having heavy rains. A storm that blew through the other day was fierce. Strong winds were blowing the rain sideways.  It resulted in this heavy mud floating down our laneway onto part of our patio and in front of our garage.

Our landlord Luis arranged for Toño and his helper to clean it up for us, which they did in short order.

Turns out the mucky mess is from a vacant lot next to us that is being developed and there is a lot of dirt piled up. Luis’ uncle lives near us and he is keeping an eye on the lot. Luis lives in Guanacaste (northern Costa Rica).

It’s My Birthday and I’ll Eat Dim Sum

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And, no, I am not revealing my age. As soon as one does that, one gets lumped into a category and there they stay.

Lance took me out for dim sum, one of our favourite meals when we lived in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.  Richmond, B.C., (near the international airport) has many excellent Asian restaurants - and dim sum restaurants are excellent.

We found an Asian restaurant here in our town of Grecia - Restaurante Sian Wei. It is really nicely decorated. There is an attached parking lot.

We started off with a Bavarian beer for Lance and a glass of red wine for me. 

All meals come with a complimentary bowl of broth and it was very tasty:

We ordered min pao de lechón (steamed buns with a meat filling), ja kao (dumplings with shrimp filling) and wonton frito relleno con camaron (fried wontons with shrimp stuffing).

I was so busy eating that I forgot to take photos but everything was quite good. And there was enough left over to bring home for another meal. They have a lot more than dim sum on their menu so we’ll return to try other dishes.

All in all, an excellent birthday.

Cats and More Cats

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Don’t ever say: “We don’t want to have any more cats”.

It immediately attracts the attention of the Cat Distribution System (aka CDS). In the last several months, we have had a Siamese cat stroll in and out of our house at will. He’s a snob. Doesn’t really acknowledge us - just flicks his ears at the sound of our voices. Walks through the entire house to inspect it, probably judging us. If you try to touch him, he is super quick with his front paws, claws extended. He belongs to a neighbour - he’s clean and well fed - so just a visitor.

Next up for our selection: Little Orange Cat. A small female, a bit nervous but affectionate to a point. She showed up every day until:

This unneutered tom came waltzing into the kitchen one morning. He has the longest legs and is quite pushy. Orange Kitty and this tabby didn’t fight but he established dominance immediately.

So we don’t see Orange Kitty very often now. Now Big Tom is here all day every day, but goes somewhere else at night. He too must be someone’s pet because he is super cuddly and in good shape.

Here he is airing out his “trouble puffs”:

And an art lover:

Lance set up a bird video on my iPad for him to watch:

So all this visiting was working out fine until the day he got underfoot. I tripped over him and fell down, hitting a cabinet on the way. Right arm partially skinned! Bump on head, sore right shoulder. One very red toe. 

The next day we decided I should go to a clinic to have the arm cleaned up. And off we went to Clinica Medica Sanchez here in Grecia.  You can see a general practitioner without an appointment. They also accept MediSmart, a discount medical plan.

Not all doctors at this clinic accept this plan so I waited for one that did, and she arrived at 10:00 am. Dra. Estefany Pacheco is really nice. She asked the usual questions, made sure nothing was broken, then passed me over to a nurse to deal with the arm injury. Well I have to say that debriding a wound with a cleaning solution of some sort does involve a bit of pain! That done, she covered the area with bandage and then ten feet of gauze wrapped around.

I left the clinic with antibiotic cream to put on it every 8 hours. You will not believe what this visit cost me! Doctor consult: 8,100 CRC (about $23 CAD) and 5,000 CRC (about $15.00 CAD) for the infirmary treatment.

Too bad we can’t sue cats for bodily harm.

Health Care in Costa Rica

I recently needed to see a doctor for vertigo and wasn’t sure where to go for private treatment. Our good friend Minor recommended Clinica Medica Sanchez. He even made the appointment for me. 

Over the past almost two years, I have been treated by an excellent orthopaedic doctor for an injury to my left knee. You can read about the experience here. X-rays, ultrasounds, and blood tests showed inflammation in my joints and he thought it might be rheumatoid arthritis.

Since rheumatoid arthritis can affect more than joints - lungs and heart for instance - I decided to see a cardiologist at Clinica Médica Sanchez. Using Whatsapp, I was able to get an appointment quickly with Dr. Brenes. I’m always prepared with copies of recent blood work, x-rays, ultrasounds, diagnoses, etc. 

His office was fully equipped. There was a treadmill for stress tests. He did an ultrasound and an echocardiogram. This is a cool test where you can see your heart live on the monitor beating away. My ticker is in good shape. He recommended that I see a rheumatologist. Total cost: 85,000 CRC or $247.37 CAD.

I obtained a next day appointment with Dra. Romero. She was really nice and spent an hour with me - looking at all my test results, x-rays, etc., physical exam. Also an ultrasound of my joints. Three anti-inflammatory shots (I think that is what they were) - in left knee and both shoulders. Wasn’t as painful as it sounds. Today I could walk without left knee pain. Total cost: 65,000 CRC or $189.17 CAD.

She gave me a prescription for anti-inflammatory pills and a cream to rub on painful joints. She also ordered blood work - hemograma VES PCR, factor rheumatoid and anti-CCP. These tests are to determine if I do have rheumatoid arthritis. Clinica Sanchez has its own laboratory. Cost: 49,560 CRC or about $143.00 CAD.

By the way, this clinic is a member of MediSmart, a discount medical program that we belong to. We can see specialists quickly for reasonable prices.

So my next appointment with Dra. Romero is in one month. She stressed that I continue with physiotherapy, the exercises they have taught me, the anti-inflammatory diet and, of course, the gym for weights and strength training.

We feel that we receive excellent medical care here in Costa Rica - with both the private system and the public system. All the procedures outlined above could have been obtained in the public system at no cost. But, while the public system can be superb when dealing with emergency situations, it can be slow to deal with non-emergency situations. Bottom line: wherever you may reside, I think you should have the option to rely upon public medical care or private medical care. Neither Canada nor the USA  appears to provide that option in a balanced manner.

Off Topic:

ARCR (Association of Residents of Costa Rica) has recently published the 2025 March - April issue of its EL RESIDENTE magazine. Lance and I are members of ARCR.

The magazine contains many articles and references which may be of general interest or to those planning a visit or move to Costa Rica.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - February 2025

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During February, visits to this blog were received from the following 13 countries:

Each country is followed in brackets by the total number of visits received since records first started to be kept in November 2012.

From the time I started to keep track, the total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 137. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions - for example, Guernsey which is a self-governing British Crown Dependency and from which 1 visit has been received.

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The following is a summary of the weather for February in the area where we live:

Similar to January, there was an unusual amount of cloud cover on many days in February. Generally, the result was lower daytime high temperatures and higher overnight low temperatures.

Again similar to January, there were many days when the cloud cover did not produce any rain. The total amount of rain which was produced during the 5 days when it did rain was minimal and characteristic of the "dry season" in our part of Costa Rica.

Information on current and recent weather conditions, climate change and more in various parts of Costa Rica can be obtained from the website of IMN: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional de Costa Rica (Spanish) or National Institute of Meteorology (English). IMN also has a Facebook page which may be of interest.

Breakfast and Lunch

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We recently discovered a new (to us) restaurant that serves breakfast on Sundays - Arje Restaurante y Cafe.

Here is their location:

Here’s what I ordered:

It was excellent - two eggs, bacon, avocado and toast. My drink was a lemonado with herbs.

Lance ordered a breakfast burrito:

The interior of this restaurant is really interesting - all murals, funky decorations and the cashier stand is the front end of a Volkswagen. 

For lunch, we ate at Rejn Asian Fusion Restaurant and it is located here:

We hadn’t been to this restaurant in quite a while. Their menu now includes a lot more dishes, including Filipino choices. We shared steamed gyozas and dashi tofu. The drink I ordered was called a “bobalicious”, a kind of cold “bubble tea” concoction - very rich,

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - January 2025

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During January, visits to this blog were received from the following 13 countries:

Each country is followed in brackets by the total number of visits received since records first started to be kept in November 2012.

From the time I started to keep track, the total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 137. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions - for example, Guam which is an unincorporated territory of the United States and from which 2 visits have been received.

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The following is a summary of the weather for January in the area where we live:

January was the second month of our so-called "dry season". However, there was an unusual amount of cloud cover on many days resulting in lower daytime high temperatures and slightly higher overnight low temperatures (the clouds tending to keep heat in during the night).

On many days, the cloud cover did not produce any rain but on the 7 days that it did it produced more than three times the amount we encountered in any previous January during our time in San Roque de Grecia.

Information on current and recent weather conditions, climate change and more in various parts of Costa Rica can be obtained from the website of IMN: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional de Costa Rica (Spanish) or National Institute of Meteorology (English). IMN also has a Facebook page which may be of interest.

Atenas Art Show 2024

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On December 6,7 and 8, 2024, the annual Just in Time for Christmas art show and sale was held at Colinas del Sol, Atenas, Costa Rica.

I had a number of my art works on display:

The “Madam Justice Bovina” series.

We stayed at Colinas del Sol for a couple of nights and had a really nice room close to the swimming pool:

Of course Kermit came with us.

Leading up to the restaurant.

It was a fun weekend. We met up for lunch with friends that we had made when we lived in Atenas. The resort had live music each night in the restaurant area. 

We made dash cam videos of our drives to Atenas from Grecia and back home to Grecia. Some may find it interesting to see what the roads, towns and scenery are like in this part of Costa Rica.

The first video is from Grecia to Atenas:

Here is a map of this route:

The next video is from Atenas to Grecia:

Map of the route:

Here is a shorter route to Atenas that we might have taken. We have done so in the past but it is not currently recommended because of land falls:

Off Topic:

ARCR (Association of Residents of Costa Rica) has recently published the 2025 January-February issue of its EL RESIDENTE magazine. Lance and I are members of ARCR.

The magazine contains many articles and references which may be of general interest or to those planning a visit or move to Costa Rica.

Hear! Hear!

Last Wednesday morning, I woke up with a spinning sensation in my head. When I tried to sit up I just flopped back down like a rag doll. Eventually I was able to stand up and walk without falling. The sensation gradually eased off during the morning.

The same thing happened on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, the dizziness did not ease off at all and we decided I needed to see a doctor. Our Ebais is not open on weekends. We could have gone to the Grecia hospital but it can be chaos there, especially when one’s Spanish is not up to medical terminology standards.

We decided to call our Costa Rican friend, Minor. He is an EMT (emergency medical technician) and bilingual. I Whatsapp’d him and he replied within a very short time. Minor agreed that I needed attention soon and suggested we go to Clínica Médica Sanchez in Grecia. He knows Dr. Sanchez. Minor even called the clinic and got an appointment for me that same day.

This clinic is very impressive. The waiting area has super comfortable seating and there is an indoor atrium. The nurse came to get me to take my weight, height, blood pressure and heart rate. Back to the waiting area and soon Dr. Sanchez came for me and we went with him to his office. A plus - he is bilingual.

History and examination completed, Dr. Sanchez determined ear blockage was the cause of the vertigo. He wrote me up three prescriptions, one being ear drops. I was taken to a room that had two hospital beds and a really comfy recliner. Into the recliner I went, hooked up to an IV, covered with a blanket, lights dimmed and told to have a nap. Of course that didn’t happen.

About an hour later, I was unhooked from the IV. Instructions: no driving, no gym, back in a week for ear irrigation, and rest. The vertigo meds helped quite a bit but by Tuesday the continuous dizziness had returned. Back we went to see Dr. Sanchez.

This time he irrigated both ears and the results were fast. I was still dizzy but could hear much better and the pressure in my head had improved a lot. It took a few days to feel 100% back to normal.

I’m going to the gym tomorrow and driving myself there.

I highly recommend Clinica Medica Sanchez.

By the way: when you see a price such as 40,000 colones on the Clinica Medica Sánchez Facebook page, that currently translates to about USD $78.00 or CDN $108.00. In Canada, the rub is that it does not allow a public (Ebais) system plus a private (e.g. Sanchez) system to co-exist.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - September 2024

During September, visits to this blog were received from the following 13 countries:

Each country is followed in brackets by the total number of visits received since records first started to be kept in November 2012.

From the time I started to keep track, the total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 136. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions - e.g. Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

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The following is a summary of weather for September in the area where we live:

Information on current and recent weather conditions, climate change and more in various parts of Costa Rica can be obtained from the website of IMN: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional de Costa Rica (Spanish) or National Institute of Meteorology (English). IMN also has a Facebook page which may be of interest.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - August 2024

Click on images to enlarge.

During August, visits to this blog were received from the following 12 countries:

Each country is followed in brackets by the total number of visits received since records first started to be kept in November 2012.

From the time I started to keep track, the total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 136. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions - e.g. Curaçao, a Netherlands Constituent in the Caribbean, from which 6 visits have been received.

By the way, I have come to the conclusion that the number of PAGEVIEWS which appear in the right hand sidebar of my blog are a total fiction. On August 17, the number of PAGEVIEWS recorded by the blog app I use was recorded as "1342". I doubt that my blog contains 1342 pages. Concurrently, the number of visits recorded by the RevolverMaps app that I also use was recorded as "6".

Frankly, I think the PAGEVIEWS numbers are significantly inflated. I expect they are the result of automated Web scraping and do not represent the actual number of pages viewed by real persons.

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The following is a summary of weather for August in the area where we live:

The daytime high temperatures are shade temperatures. Both the average high in August this year and the average overnight low were slightly higher than August last year.

Concurrently, the total rainfall in August this year was about 2 inches (25 mm) less than the amount last year. Nevertheless, the year to August month end total was about 11.5 inches (291 mm) higher than for the same period last year. This is a good thing. Otherwise, the water reservoirs for Costa Rica's hydroelectric dams could drop dangerously low and that could lead to power blackouts.

Information on current and recent weather conditions, climate change and more in various parts of Costa Rica can be obtained from the website of IMN: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional de Costa Rica (Spanish) or National Institute of Meteorology (English). IMN also has a Facebook page which may be of interest.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - July 2024

Click on images to enlarge.

During July, visits to this blog were received from the following 12 countries:

Each country is followed in brackets by the total number of visits received since records first started to be kept in November 2012.

From the time I started to keep track, the total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 136. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions - e.g. the Cayman Islands, a self-governing British Overseas Territory from which 11 visits have been received.

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The following is a summary of weather for July in the area where we live:

The daytime high temperatures are shade temperatures. The average high in July this year was slightly lower than July last year. The average overnight low was slightly higher.

Concurrently, the total rainfall in July this year was almost double the amount last year. This was good news because increased rainfall serves to top up water reservoirs behind Costa Rica's hydroelectric dams. Earlier this year, water levels had dipped to a point where circulating power blackouts became a serious risk (see my blog post on June 9, 2024).

Information on current and recent weather conditions, climate change and more in various parts of Costa Rica can be obtained from the website of IMN: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional de Costa Rica (Spanish) or National Institute of Meteorology (English). IMN also has a Facebook page which may be of interest.

Shifting Mindset

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On May 29, 2023 and June 4, 2023 I did two posts regarding my injured left knee and how it was being treated by my orthopaedic surgeon here in Grecia -  Dr. Baltodano.

One of his recommendations was physical therapy which I still continue with to this day, only once a month now.

By March of this year I decided to see Dr. Baltodano again because the knee had improved to some degree but now I was experiencing pain in the right knee and right shoulder.

Physical exam followed, along with lab work, x-rays and ultrasounds. The results: “I just received your lab work results and effectively we are dealing with an important inflammatory response with a metabolic syndrome. It is imperative to consider the habit change recommendations since this condition is the cause of chronic medical conditions including arthritis”.

Dr. Baltodano spent an hour with me explaining how he arrived at his diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. This is the chart he drew for me as he was explaining:

Notice the sad face for triglycerides (bad fats) and the happy face for colesterol (good fats)! The habit change recommendations he mentioned were included in a five page document that he created. An anti-inflammatory diet: foods to avoid and foods to increase consumption of - low carb, no sugar. Very much like a Keto diet. Physical activity - weights/bicycle/swimming, etc. Avoid stressful situations. I also take various medications and supplements. Also regular IV infusions of vitamin C, xlipic (lipoid) acid and glutathione.

DO NOT change your diet or exercise program without approval from your health care provider. This is what is working for me and my cluster of medical conditions. It may not be right for you and in no way am I recommending any of this for anybody else. I’m writing this to give encouragement to people and let them know that they have the ability to make positive changes to their health.

My last blood work two weeks ago showed significant improvements. I am no longer pre-diabetic. Total colesterol is within normal limits, same with triglycerides. I’m hoping to put the rheumatoid arthritis into remission.

I have also joined a gym for strength training, which I really enjoy. It is close to our house, has modern equipment and trainers that know what they are doing.

I am more than impressed with the quality of health care in this country, both private and within the socialized medical system.

Dr. Baltodano sent me this WhatsApp message: “There’s still some things to improve. You’re on the right track. Sky is the limit. My total congratulations! And I applaud you. You are amazing. Step by step you’ve taken control of your health and you’ll keep on doing it. I exhort you to keep up the good work”.

And I will! With this kind of help and encouragement from my doctor and also from my husband, I can reach my health goals.

And so can you!

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - June 2024

Click on images to enlarge.

During June, visits to this blog were received from the following 11 countries:

Each country is followed in brackets by the total number of visits received since records first started to be kept in November 2012.

From the time I started to keep track, the total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 136. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions - e.g. the Caribbean Netherlands - which are special municipalities of the Netherlands and from which 3 visits have been received.

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The following is a summary of weather for June in the area where we live:

The daytime high temperatures are shade temperatures. The average high in June was slightly lower than June last year. The average overnight low was slightly higher.

We have not been subjected to any "heat domes" as are now happening up north in the USA and Canada. Nor have we been subjected to ongoing torrential rainfalls. We get the occasional torrent, but it is typically short lived.

Information on current and recent weather conditions, climate change and more in various parts of Costa Rica can be obtained from the website of IMN: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional de Costa Rica (Spanish) or National Institute of Meteorology (English). IMN also has a Facebook page which may be of interest.

ARCR (Association of Residents of Costa Rica) has recently published the 2024 July-August issue of its EL RESIDENTE magazine. Lance and I are members.

The magazine contains many articles and references which may be of general interest or to those planning a visit or move to Costa Rica.