It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like (a Tropical) Christmas

Christmas Day will be here soon. Our small "tree" is made of driftwood from the Jaco beaches, arranged in the shape of a pine tree and lit with sparkle lights. It sits in one of our windows so people on the road can see it. I also hung some lights on our hedge and a bit of ornamentation on our fence.

 

Another sure sign of Christmas in Costa Rica is the appearance of Rompope (although I think I have seen it on the stores shelves at other times of the year).

Notice it contains 4% alcohol and 100% milk .... I guess we are getting 104% of Rompope.

Rompope is an eggnog-like drink made with milk, eggs and vanilla flavoring. It is a traditional drink in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Belize and Puebla Mexico.

There are many recipes on the internet if you want to try making your own rompope. Cheers!

 

Hospital San Rafael

On Friday, December 4, 2015, we boarded the 0630 Atenas bus to Alajeula for early morning appointments at our Seguro Social assigned hospital, Hospital San Rafael. Forty five minutes later, we were at the bus depot in Alajuela where we got a red cab to take us to the hospital. It's a short ride and cost about 1,000 colones, not including a tip (around $2.54 CAD).

My neighbor and friend Rose Mary told me there is a free hospital bus at the station - it runs back and forth. We didn't try it this time but will next trip.

Hospital San Rafael is very modern. It opened in 2004.

Looking from parking lot to emergency entrance and regular entrance is next on the right.

 

My doctor at our assigned clinic in Barrio Jesus gave me a referral to the mammagraphy clinic at this hospital. I received the referral in February of this year and the appointment was set for December 4th. Not a long wait at all. In Canada, I had to book a year in advance to get a mammogram. I had registered at San Rafael when I took in my referral.

My appointment was for 0800 and we got there early. I handed over my paperwork - which included a questionnaire in Spanish and previous Canadian mammogram results which I had translated into Spanish. We were sent through a door and down a hallway where there were chairs to sit on. It wasn't long before I was called down the hall to a room with the "squishing machine". The mammografia equipment was as modern as anything I had seen before and the technician was very nice.

We figured out my level of Spanglish and we were able to communicate well enough. After all, when you've had one mammogram there isn't much more to learn about what to do.

Back to the waiting room. Meanwhile, some more women had arrived - one woman pointed at her breast and we all said "si"!! Poor Lance. Not long to wait before I got the all clear that we could leave. Results will be sent to our doctor at the Barrio Jesus clinic and, if anything needs to be discussed before our next four month appointment, they will call me.

Lance also had a referral (to see an ear doctor). There are people on each floor of the hospital who help direct patients and we were told to go to the third floor. The third floor looks down into a light filled atrium on the second floor. We found the lineup we needed to be in but realized too late that Lance was entitled to stand in the "preferential" lineup because he is over 65 and seniors in Costa Rica are treated very well. We'll know next time to look for the marker for this special line.

As an aside, there are "preferential" lineups all over this country - in banks, in the medical clinics, when you are boarding a bus, etc. If you are disabled, pregnant, "mature", carrying a baby in your arms .... that's where you go.

The wait was not that long in any case and Lance is now registered at Hospital San Rafael and has his specialist appointment in June of 2016. Not a long wait at all for an appointment with a specialist.

There was a bake sale outside the hospital entrance and I bought a small bag of pastries stuffed with something sweet to eat on the bus ride back to Atenas and we were back to our town before noon. Stopped to pick up a few groceries, then taxi home. All done!

Thanks to our friends, Diane and John Reid .... I had gone with them twice before to San Rafael when Diane had appointments and they showed me the ropes. That made a big difference with our confidence in doing this visit on our own. If you find yourself in this position, reach out to your expat friends who have come here before you. Every time you accomplish something like this, in a foreign country and with limited language skills, you have come a long way and should feel very proud!

 

How I Get My Painting Supplies

When we lived in Cloverdale, British Columbia, I bought all my art supplies from Opus. They carry top of the line artist's paints and associated products.

When we moved to Costa Rica, I wondered if I would be able to find any art supplies, let alone the quality that I wanted.

Enter "Art Depot" - they have just about everything I need. They have a store and also an online shopping service. I always place my order online because we don't live where their store is. I check my order on the computer to see if it is ready for shipping, then phone them with a credit card number. They put my order on a bus to Atenas and I pick it up at the San Jose/Alajuela bus station here in Atenas.

This is so much easier for me (because we don't have a car) and the shipping charge is reasonable.

Shipping Label

 

The paints that I ordered

I always need gesso.

 

Splurged on some drawing paper.

 

Soda Anita

Yesterday morning, we decided to go into Atenas and have breakfast at Anita's. This is a soda in the centro market place of our town, right across from where the red taxis park, and it's all under cover. Here you will find several butcher shops, vegetable and fruit stands, places to buy boots, shoes, purses and bags, jewelry, get a battery for your watch or have your broken glasses welded together (Lance did this) and lots more.

I consider this market to be the heart of Atenas, along with the Catholic church and the park. It is located right beside the local bus station where the old Bluebird buses ((which were manufactured in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - of all places) travel back and forth from all the outlying towns and communities. It's also close to the other bus station where the more modern buses travel between San Jose and Alajuela.

The courtyard of this market has recently been updated, with new benches to sit on, landscaping and a big bird feeder.

A soda in Costa Rica is a small family run place serving "typico" or typical Costa Rican food. There won't be menus but there may be a chalkboard with the daily offerings. The food will be cheap, fast, tasty, filling and authentic - the best deals around in my opinion. You sit at a counter on a stool and the lovely ladies in the small cooking space will have your meal ready in no time.

At Soda Anita, we were welcomed by a really nice Tico who spoke some English (or Spanglish as he called it) and we speak some Spanish (Spanglish) so it was all quite easy to order. He told us what they had for desayuno (breakfast) and I ordered a canelone with cheese, corn tortillas and black coffee. Lance ordered a chicken canelone, corn tortillas and gallo pinto (black beans and rice), plus black coffee.

New to me is the "canelone" ... it looked like a rolled omelet but the word "canelone" threw me off because I kept thinking of the more familiar dish "cannelloni" - pasta stuffed with a filling and covered with a sauce. Well, this item is actually the same pasta stuffed with meat and rice or whatever you select and then rolled in an omelet. I think the Spanish name is canelones de carne envueltos en huevo.

Both our choices were delicious and the coffee was hot and strong. Next time I may add some potatoes or bacon. It really was nice to sit there in this open sided Tico market, watching everyone go about their morning business - waiting for buses, shopping, having something to eat before heading for work. Atenas is a small town but it's bustling. A smile at one of our cooks earned me an even bigger smile back. We have always been made to feel welcome in Costa Rica.

Also on Anita's menu board are casados. "Casado" means "marriage" and this dish is a marriage of rice, beans, salad (cabbage based), a meat of your choice, plantains, cheese, potatoes and whatever the chefs decide should be included. This choice will keep you going from morning to night.

Final cost for both of our breakfasts: 4,500 colones (about $11.00 CAD or $10.00 USD). So not only did we have a filling breakfast, we also mingled with the locals, practiced our Spanish, and immersed ourselves even more in this culture. Soda Anita opens quite early in the morning and serves breakfast and lunch.

Afterwards, we wandered down to the park and sat for a while on the benches around the new well facilities. Then we walked over to El Canario, a Tico grocery store I frequent. This is where I have learned a lot of Spanish words for different meat selections and I always get a big smile from the butchers and they don't mind correcting my Spanish. Picked up what we wanted to get and then Rodrigo drove us home in his taxi. He has his annual Christmas display set up on the back shelf of his taxi, complete with lights. We always know when Rodrigo is in the taxi lineup because he plays Latin music nice and loud in his taxi.

 

I'll Probably Regret it Tomorrow .....

This morning, I decided to walk to Maxi Pali (grocery store) and back. Normally I take a return taxi because I'll have bags of groceries. Today I just wanted to use the ATM and pick up a couple of items so figured I could walk back home.

Maxi Pali is 2.6 km from our house and it's downhill all the way. That means, of course, that it is 2.6 km back to our house and uphill all the way so I knew what I was getting into.

Donned my beautiful backpack, a present from my friend and neighbor, Sharon, and away I went.

This is all hand embroidered.

It was a beautiful morning - sunny and with a breeze blowing. I don't know how long the walk took me. I don't go very fast because the sidewalks are uneven. Lots of people were out and about.

Used the ATM and bought the few items I wanted, including a cold bottle of water for the trek back. My backpack was perfect for this ... it held all that I bought and it was comfortable to wear. About a third of the way home, I was starting to feel the uphill strain. Stopped to rest a couple of times in the shade. The sun this close to the equator can feel very hot even if the ambient temperature is quite comfortable. I hate wearing hats but never go out without sunglasses.

Coming my way was a gentleman I have met and seen many times in Atenas, so I guess he was on his way there from his home. We talked about the weather and, as usual, he had things to sell. Today he had bottles of miel (honey) but they were too big for what we need. Instead I bought a bag of jocotes. The bag even included a smaller bag of salt.

Jocotes

The jocote is a flowering plant in the cashew family. It's widely cultivated in tropical regions throughout the world. The fruits are eaten ripe, with or without the skin. They can be dipped in salt, vinegar or lime juice - hence the little bag of included salt.

One time I was sitting in the Atenas medical clinic and this same gentleman walked by and patted me on the head! What made me feel so good about today's encounter was the fact I was able to understand a lot of what he was saying and respond in kind. I can now hear separate words, know what they mean, and have my answer almost immediately .... at least today. This doesn't happen all the time. When we first moved here, it was just long strings of sounds and, believe me, this still happens.

I find the hardest part of my walk back home is the last push on the last hill. Finally made it and headed right to the shower for a welcome cold water cool down.

I took an Aleve ..... just in case!

 

Tropical Evening

Here we are having dinner outside at the tail end of the green (or rainy) season. The rain is pouring down. Most of the day was sunny. But at just before 5:30 pm, it is pitch dark.

Dinner is a bowl of red bean soup with vegetables. I cooked the dried beans in the slow cooker a few days ago. Bags of dried beans are a great value. You can add all kinds of spices to make them taste how you want.

I added fresh cauliflower to our bean soup, along with toast and cheese on the side. The rain is easing off now, but the temperature is still cool.

 

What Are "The Tropics"?

In Costa Rica, we are said to be living in the “tropics”. Maybe yes, maybe no. But, conditions in the “tropics” are not what many people imagine or, in some cases, would like to believe because we are here and they are not. Critics try to remind us of how hot and uncomfortable it must be, and they are sadly wrong.

Although we live near the equator (9 degrees north), our location is at an altitude (~ 2750 feet / 840 m.) where conditions are quite different from the combined heat and humidity which can be encountered at lower altitudes (beaches on both coasts for example). I have tried to say it on various occasions - we have not needed either air conditioning or heating to feel comfortable. And we come from the great white north (Canada) which many outside Canada falsely imagine to be a desolate snowy landscape year round.

Where we live in Costa Rica, and throughout the year, daytime temperatures are rarely stifling hot and humid as in the eastern U.S. and Canada during the summer. Overnight low temperatures are cool and sometimes require a sweater or jacket if you get up in the early morning. Extreme high dry heat as in the southwestern U.S. is unheard of.

The only caution is not to obliviously march around outdoors in the direct rays of the sun in Costa Rica. Carry an umbrella or wear a big hat not only to occasionally block the rain but also to block the sun (which is much more frequent than the rain). Don't forget your sunglasses and sun block.

The above is quite different from the conditions that you may encounter at touristy ports and resorts on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts in Costa Rica. If you are not acclimatized, and if air conditioning is not provided, then you may suffer dearly. You will be in what you have always imagined to be the “tropics”.

Atenas, higher elevation

At one of the Pacific beaches.