The Importance of Having Contacts in Costa Rica

Click on images to enlarge.

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).

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - April 2022 / Covid-19 Update

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

The total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 134. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, etc.

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Our move in April from Hacienda El Paseo to San Roque de Grecia (see my blog post on April 23, 2022) has led to two weather summaries for the month:

Hacienda El Paseo is a community in Costa Rica in the canton of Puente de Piedra ("Stone Bridge"), a short distance generally southwest of the city of Grecia. San Roque de Grecia is a short distance generally northeast of Grecia. As the crow flies, the particular location where we now live is about 4.6 miles (7.5 km) from where we lived in Hacienda El Paseo. Our elevation is about 913 feet (278 meters) higher than in Hacienda El Paseo. So, on average we can expect lower temperatures but not temperatures which require indoor heating.

Rainfall comparisons are a bit more problematic. The first three months of 2022 were squarely within the so-called "dry season" in Costa Rica. There were only 3 or 4 days with small amounts of measurable rainfall at Hacienda El Paseo. The same is likely true for San Roque de Grecia. But, all bets are off when it comes to the so-called "green season". 

This year, the rain gods flipped a switch to the green season on April 1. There was measurable rainfall at Hacienda El Paseo every day from April 1 to April 10. On April 11 we moved - so we have no more information from Hacienda El Paseo. But, from San Roque de Grecia, we recorded measurable rainfall on April 15 and on every day from April 21 to April 30. During the remainder of the 2022 green season, it is entirely possible that the recorded rainfall from our location in San Roque de Grecia will be quite different from that which might have been recorded in Hacienda El Paseo. We will never know for sure. But, at the end of this year, we will be able to make comparisons with previous years at Hacienda El Paseo.

As has been indicated in previous posts, Costa Rica is a country of microclimates. Temperatures, temperature averages and rainfall can vary significantly over short distances depending on elevation and geographic location.

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Covid-19 Update

The following table updates information which appeared in my blog entry posted on April 11, 2022:

Overall, the death rate in Canada is down 0.02% since my last post. That in Costa Rica and the United States is unchanged.

If you want to see how some other country is doing in comparison to Costa Rica, then visit the website of Worldometer. Numbers for populations, reported cases and reported deaths can be obtained from that site. All that is then needed is some simple math to calculate the percentage death rate for the other country and the death rate in that country compared to Costa Rica.

Click on images to enlarge.

At Last! The Video Series of Our Road Trip to Buena Vista Beach Villas Completed!

On September 15, 2021, we left our house in Puente de Piedra, Grecia, for a road trip to the Buena Vista Beach Villas in Quepos. We spent two nights there and returned home on September 17, 2021.

I did a blog post on our little trip and you can read it here.

We also recorded our drive there and back with our car cam. There was a lot of footage to organize - Lance did a great job with this. I did the editing and posting to YouTube.

So here they finally are - nine videos of about 15 minutes each starting with number 1 through to number 9. Some people may enjoy seeing what the roads and driving conditions are like.

Video 1 - off we go!

Video 2 - Entering Atenas and then Hwy. 27 west:

Video 3 - Hwy. 27 continued and through the coast mountains, bypass highway 34, and carry on to the Tarcoles/crocodile bridge:

Video 4 - Hwy. 34 continued:

Video 5 - Hwy. 34 continued, thru Parrita, palm tree plantations:

Video 6 - Arrive at El Avion restaurant in Manuel Antonio, end at Buena Vista Beach Villas, then heading home:

Video 7 - Heading home, Hwy. 34 north:

Video 8 - off Hwy. 34 north, onto Hwy. 757 east, then Hwy. 27 east, then radial to Atenas:

Video 9 - Through Atenas, then shortcut to Grecia via Hwy. 716  and onto home:

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - November 2021 / Covid-19 Update

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

The total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 133. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, etc.

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

It seems that a switch was thrown on November 8 - signaling movement from the green season to the dry season. There was at least some rain every day during the first 7 days of the month. In the remaining 23 days, rain occurred on only 6 days with significant rain on only 1 day. The total amount of rainfall in November was the lowest it has been during that month since we moved to Hacienda El Paseo in the Central Valley - much lower than last year when the total was 19.75 inches (502 mm). Dry season trade winds occurred on several days.

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Covid-19 Update

The following table updates information which appeared in my blog entry posted on November 7, 2021:

Since my last post, the death rates in Canada and the United States have each dropped (by 0.2 percentage points). Conversely, that in Costa Rica has risen by 0.02 percentage points.

If you want to see how some other country is doing in comparison to those listed, then visit the website of Worldometer. Numbers for populations, reported cases and reported deaths can be obtained from that site. All that is then needed is some simple math to calculate the percentage death rate for the other country and the death rate in that country compared to Costa Rica.

Click on images to enlarge.

Experience with the Updated Healthcare System in Costa Rica - Should You Retain a Translator?

As I have previously indicated in this blog, the healthcare system in Costa Rica is quite unique. The country has its own government run public sector system which provides coverage for all medical procedures, prescription drugs and other benefits. This is provided to citizens and ex-pats alike, the latter of whom have been in the country long enough to acquire legal residency status. There are a number of public hospitals and a network of public "Ebais" clinics throughout the country. Overall, the public system is commonly referred to as "CAJA" which is short for "Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social".

As well, the country has a private system which is also able to provide high quality healthcare services. Many doctors in this sector speak English and have received training in the United States, Canada or Europe. There are four major private sector hospitals in Costa Rica.

Some private sector doctors are also affiliated with CAJA. They work part of their time in private practice and the remaining part for CAJA. If you find a doctor in CAJA who also has a private practice, it sometimes may be helpful to consult that doctor in his or her private practice. If you meet them once in CAJA and are happy with the experience, there is no assurance that you will ever meet them again in a routine appointment in CAJA.

Over the time we have lived in Costa Rica, Lance and I have relied on both the public and private healthcare systems - whichever seemed most convenient or expedient at the time. But, it can be a challenge to navigate the public system if you are not fluent in Spanish. Some CAJA doctors are fluent in English or speak at least some English but many are not. The same is true of nurses and administrative staff. Unlike the private system, you are unable to choose your doctor in the public CAJA system and you may be met with different doctors at different times.

Recently, Lance got fed up with a persistent bad back problem which can act up whenever he twists himself the wrong way or lifts something too heavy using his back instead of his arms. He decided to get an appointment at our local CAJA Ebais clinic in Puente de Piedra (less than a 5 minute drive from our house). Today, if one is able, this is done by having the EDUS app on your computer or phone. EDUS stands for Expediente Digital Unico en Salud (unique digital health record) and this is where you make clinic appointments, see your medical history, drugs, vaccinations, etc. You look at a calendar for available dates and select a convenient date and time. CAJA then responds with an email which confirms the date and time.

After getting the appointment, we decided to engage a translator ("Minor Villalobos" - see his contact information below) to be present during the appointment. Our understanding of Spanish is limited to day-to-day stuff and does not include technical medical terminology. He is fully conversant in English and Spanish. He has a paramedic background and is familiar with medical terminology. 

The appointment went seamlessly. The Ebais doctor decided that some lower back x-rays were in order. But, they had to be taken at the local hospital in Grecia (not the Ebais clinic). The doctor provided a requisition to get a hospital appointment to facilitate that purpose. 

Normally, without the translator, we would have had to drive to the hospital, find somewhere to park, and navigate to the right location in the hospital to submit the requisition. We speculated that this could be a real chore. Minor said he would do it. With the requisition in hand he drove off to the hospital and we drove home. About 1 hour later he arrived at our home with the x-ray appointment.

The x-ray appointment was on one morning at 8 a.m. We decided that we did not need Minor for this purpose because we had a good idea of where to go and the x-ray technician would simply follow the Spanish language instructions in the Ebais requisition. We were right. Shortly after arriving at the hospital and knowing where we had to go, we left with the x-rays.

We surmised that we should deliver the x-rays to our Ebais clinic. This was wrong. The receptionist at the clinic indicated that we needed to get another appointment (going online, etc.) and hand them over to the doctor at that appointment. We left the clinic with the x-rays went home, and once again went online to get an appointment.

Lance got an appointment. We then contacted Minor to determine whether he could attend. As it turned out, he could not. He had a previous commitment. So we went online, cancelled the appointment and got a new appointment which worked for both Minor and ourselves. In cancelling the appointment, we were asked to provide an explanation and said that we were doing so because our translator was unavailable at the scheduled time. That turned out to be good enough. There was no problem getting a later appointment.

With the latest appointment, Lance and Minor once again attended our Ebais clinic. The doctor (who was not the doctor that prescribed x-rays) reviewed the x-rays and decided (a) that there was nothing particularly urgent and (b) nevertheless, the attention of a specialist was in order. There were two bone spurs at or near the lower spine which the doctor indicated should be controlled and that a specialist should be consulted for that purpose.

As a result, the doctor issued a requisition for an appointment with a CAJA specialist. Minor is currently handling that. By reason of non-urgency, it may be a few weeks before we get any feedback including an appointment with a specialist.

The above is in contrast to how a medical issue might be handled within the private healthcare system in Costa Rica. Whether urgent or non-urgent, whatever issue you might have may be handled much more promptly in the private sector. Lance is laid back. He does not care very much except when his back acts up.

Despite the bureaucracy of CAJA, we remain convinced that the healthcare system in Costa Rica is second to none throughout the world. The bureaucracy and the available options are designed to serve both the poor and the rich, and those in between, and so it should be.

For those who may be interested, the contact information we have for Minor is:

Should you retain a translator in dealing with CAJA? In our experience, a competent translator like Minor can be very helpful. So, the answer is "yes".

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - September 2021 / Covid-19 Update

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

The total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 133. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, etc.

The level of interest in my video "Landing at Juan Santamaría Airport, Costa Rica" has spiked in the last few months. It was first posted to YouTube and to my blog on August 26, 2017. Between July 2019 and February 2021 the number of views has risen from over 4400 views to over 6400 views - or roughly 95 views per month. Since February 2021 until now the number of views has reason to over 8000 views - or roughly 200 views per month.

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

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Covid-19 Update

The following table updates information which appeared in my blog entry posted on August 28, 2021:

Since my last post, the death rates in Canada and the United States have dropped by marginal amounts (0.10 and 0.04 percentage points respectively). That in Costa Rica is unchanged. 

If you want to see how some other country is doing in comparison to those listed, then visit the website of Worldometer. Numbers for populations, reported cases and reported deaths can be obtained from that site. All that is then needed is some simple math to calculate the percentage death rate for the other country and the death rate in that country compared to Costa Rica.

If you want more comprehensive and up-to-date information and statistics on the situation in Costa Rica, including various locales in Costa Rica, then the La Nacion newspaper is a good source. If you do not understand Spanish, then you will need a web browser (Google Chrome, Safari, etc.) which is set to translate to your language of choice from Spanish.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - June 2021 / Covid-19 Update

During June, visits to this blog were received from the following 5 countries and the Cayman Islands:

This compares with 14 countries in June 2019 and 21 countries in June 2020.

The total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 133. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions.

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

The total rainfall was less than that in June 2020 (12.56 in. / 319 mm) but more than that in June 2019 (5.52 in. / 140 mm). High and low temperatures were a bit cooler.

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Covid-19 Update

The following table updates the information which appeared in my blog entry posted on June 9:

The death rate in Costa Rica has dropped by a marginal amount (0.01 percentage points). Conversely, the death rates in the U.S. and Canada have risen by the same marginal amount. 

If you want to see how some other country is doing in comparison to those listed, then visit the website of Worldometer. Numbers for populations, reported cases and reported deaths can be obtained from that site. All that is then needed is some simple math to calculate the percentage death rate for the other country and the death rate in that country compared to Costa Rica.

If you want more comprehensive and up-to-date information and statistics on the situation in Costa Rica, including various locales in Costa Rica, then the La Nacion newspaper is a good source. If you do not understand Spanish, then you will need a web browser (Google Chrome, Safari, etc.) which is set to translate to your language of choice from Spanish.

(Click on images to enlarge).

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - February 2021

During February, visits to this blog were received from the following 10 countries and the Caribbean Netherlands:

The Caribbean Netherlands is not an independent country.  It consists of three special municipalities of the Netherlands (the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) located in the Caribbean.

The two visits from the Caribbean Netherlands were the first ever and appear to have come from Bonaire. They bring the total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received to 131.

In addition to the Caribbean Netherlands, there are 12 other non-independent jurisdictions from which one or more visits have been received: Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Macau, Martinique, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. That leaves 118 sovereign countries from which visits have been received.

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

February was marked by many days with high, gusty winds. There were zero days with measurable rain despite several days with morning overcast which looked capable of generating at least some rain.

The average overnight low temperature was a bit higher than last year while the average daytime high temperature was a bit lower.

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Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - January 2021

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

There were no new countries and the overall total since November 2012 remains at 130 countries.

My video "Landing at Juan Santamaría Airport, Costa Rica" posted to YouTube and to my blog on August 26, 2017 still attracts interest.  Since July 2019 the number of YouTube views has risen from over 4400 views to over 6400 views. Undoubtedly, most views are by persons accessing the video directly and not indirectly via the blog post.

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

The average daytime high temperature in January this year was about the same as last year. However, the average daytime low temperature was about 2°F (1.1 °C) cooler than last year.

We are in the midst of the dry season, so rainfall was minimal - only 1 day with measurable rain. This compares with 3 days having measurable rain in January 2020. However the amount of rain in January this year, although not very much, was more than 3.5 times that measured in January 2020.

The real weather story to be taken from January is high winds. While these winds, known as Papagayo Winds, are a regular occurrence at this time of year, their strength was unusually powerful in our experience. As noted in my blog post on January 29, 2021, they did some damage to our house. I might add that they also took down a fairly large tree in an empty lot behind our house. Here is a photo of the aftermath showing the tree stump and a few remaining log bits cut from the tree after it fell.

Part of our house appears in the background. Had the tree fallen towards the house, it probably would have come close to the property line but would not have reached the house.

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The Kindness of Costa Ricans

Like the proverbial stubborn mule, our Subaru refused to move another step as we were driving home from grocery shopping yesterday.

Here is where she decided that enough was enough:

 Waze put us as being stranded on Invu 3, Rincón de Arias - not far from Carlos, our mechanic.

Lance was able to reach Carlos who arranged for a tow truck (flatbed truck here) to bring our reluctant vehicle to his shop. The only issue was how long that might take. It turned out to be quite a while.We were stranded in a nice area, with houses on the left of the street and sugar cane fields on the right. Lance had guided the car to a space under a large tree so we were in shade.

Not much to do but hang around the car and wait. A fellow walking along the sidewalk stopped and asked us if we needed help and what our problem was. He indicated he lived not far down the road and if we needed anything to just ask. We told him help was on the way but we didn’t know exactly when.

About half an hour later, he returned - concerned about where our tow truck was. Not long after that, another fellow turned up on a bicycle. According to Jorge (that was our Good Samaritan’s name), this person worked on vehicle air conditioning systems. Then, another mechanic who lived on this street appeared. They all disappeared under the hood of our car.

Men doing man stuff:

The tow truck arrives:

More men looking into the engine area. This is our vehicle parked near our mechanic’s shop. They later pushed it across the street and into the garage.

Jorge said he would drive us to Carlo’s shop and he did. He said the next time we were driving on this road to stop by his house and have a coffee. In previous posts on my blog, I have related how Costa Ricas have stepped up to help us when we are having problems. This has happened time and time again and they never ask for anything from us.

We’re going to go to the feria this weekend and buy a big bunch of nice flowers for Mrs. Jorge. It’s a way to say thanks without making anyone feel awkward. This was Lance’s idea and it’s a good one.

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Clouds, Bananas, Lunch and Another Spider - Costa Rica

This past week, we had lunch in Atenas with our friends Diane and John. We met them at El Fogon Campesino restaurant and, as usual, the food was excellent. The portions are very large. El Fogon has safe Covid-19 practices in place so we feel comfortable there. It’s open air so we are not enclosed inside.

My shrimp salad.

Lance’s chicken dish.

My favourite bananas are the very sweet so called “finger bananas”. They are small and the perfect size for a snack. I read somewhere that if the cut end of a banana is wrapped in plastic wrap or foil paper, they will keep from going too brown too soon. I don’t know if this really works, but I am trying it out with the last bananas we bought.

Lance found a YouTube video of the condominium complex we live in. You can see our house at about the 51 second mark in the lower right hand corner of your screen. It goes by quite fast - it has a large brown shingle roof, which is rare in Costa Rica. The architecture of many of the houses in this complex may be of interest to some viewers. In many cases, the design is somewhat free form. This is because in the area where we live there is no need to worry about artificial cooling or artificial heating.

Living in the tropics as we do, one gets used to the various forms of insect life that we share our house and planet with. This beauty was on one of our commodes - I just went and used another bathroom.

We saw a beautiful cloud formation over our house yesterday (Saturday):

I made some gallo pinto:

And that was how our week went. Other then going to Atenas for lunch and shopping at stores we feel are very safe, we keep to ourselves. Remember - keep your distance and wear your masks!

(Click on any of the photos to enlarge).

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - October 2020

 During October, visits to this blog were received from the following region and 21 countries:

For all years, the total number of identified countries from which visits have been received remains unchanged.

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

After September's results, I surmised that we could look forward to increased rainfall in October. This supposition turned out to be correct. Not only did we get more rainfall than in September but we also got more rainfall than in any other month this year or for that matter the last two years. With two months to go (November and December), the total rainfall this year has now exceeded that for all of both 2018 and 2019.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - August 2020

During August, visits to this blog were received from the following 22 countries:

For all years, the total number of countries from which visits have been received remains at 130.

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

August was marked by more rain and cooler daytime high temperatures than last month. The maximum rainfall for any one day was a record for the year.

Friends who live south of us on the Osa Peninsula have reported incredible amounts of rain over the last couple of months - far more than our experience in Grecia where we now live and in Atenas where we previously lived.

Though it cannot be blamed on the weather, a significant magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred mid-afternoon on August 24. The epicenter was about 40 miles (64 km) from where we live as the crow flies. We felt it for about 5 to 10 seconds. Apparently, it was more intense in other regions near where we live but with little or no damage.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - July 2020

During July, visits to this blog were received from the following 24 countries*:

The number of countries (24) compares with only 16 countries in July 2019. For all years, the total number of countries from which visits have been received remains at 130.

* Hong Kong identified above is not an independent country. It is a special administrative region (SAR) of China.

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

Despite fewer days with rain, there was more total rainfall in July than there was in June. Reminiscent of the dry season, there were several days in the middle of July with little or no rain and a substantial amount of sun. Temperatures bordered on hot, albeit with low humidity. This is a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the Veranito (Summer) or Veranillo de San Juan (Summer of San Juan). In English, one also hears "little summer".

Apparently, the phenomenon arrived a bit late. Normally it occurs in June.

Here’s a video I made of a thunderstorm at our house in July: