Country – Page 14 – Costa Rica and Beyond

Living with the Ticos

We are on our second experience of living with a local person/family. (They call themselves “Ticos”.) The first was 3 days with Rosa who speaks NO English and doesn’t read. That didn’t stop this older lady who has mastered Google translate on her iPhone. She talks into it and has you listen to the translation. What a wonderful world we live in when someone with limited resources doesn’t have to be limited by language.

We have lived with Rigo and Esmeralda and various family members for several weeks now. They really are the epitome of contentment. They both work hard, Rigo outside the home, Esmeralda in the home. Their home is basic with the only luxuries being a stove/refrigerator they bought not long ago and internet which was added about 2 weeks ago.

Really everything you need is available in this house, just not in the way we might think about in the USA. There is no heating/cooling although the temperatures are not bad here. There are a few hours each afternoon now that it is very hot in the living room which doesn’t have good ventilation. Dan might be able to help that by adding a window. It was chilly some days when we first arrived and a small space heater in each room would have been nice but everyone got by fine.

There is one bathroom in a house that since we have lived here has had as many as 9 people sleeping here. The sink is outside the small room with the shower/commode. There haven’t been many times that someone has been in line to go into the actual bathroom, even with so many people here. Having the sink outside the room itself allows someone to wash their hands or brush their teeth without restricting access to the commode/shower.(Note the trash can next to the commode…toilet paper is never put in the toilet,ALL toilet paper in the Latin America countries that we visited goes in the trash cans since septic/sewer systems can’t handle that much paper.)

Faucets are what we would consider outdoor spigots with the handle on top. Not elegant but they get the job done. My picture didn’t come out good but here is the type of spigot or hose bib I am talking about.

Hot water? Yes and no. The showers here use some type of on demand heating system that works best when you have a lower flow. I’ve had a bit of a challenge adjusting the flow some mornings and had a few invigorating showers as a result but not horrible. This is the only hot water in the house (or in Rosa’s as well) so that means you wash dishes and our hands in cold water. Not ideal from the culture we come from but we have stayed healthy so maybe it isn’t that necessary if you do a good job of washing.

Both houses had washing machines with two sections: one for washing the clothes and a second section to take the water out by a centrifuge. I was surprised to see that these machines were about $300-400 USD new in the store. Both houses hang their clothes to dry. Even in the humidity here in the “dry season” they dry quickly because of the centrifuge. (Now that we are starting the rainy season (late April) it is taking 1-3 days for clothes to dry.)

There are no screens on any windows and in an area with so many insects one would think this would be a bigger problem than it has been. I have been getting bites by unknown insects on my arms and once on my knee. Not sure what is causing the bites and they itch for a couple of weeks but I have felt fine and zika isn’t an issue around here since we are so high up. No one else is getting bit…lucky me I always attract the biters!

Esmeralda loves the new stove and refrigerator she got not long ago. She has 6 burners on the stove plus the oven and she frequently has most of the burners going. The refrigerator/freezer replaced a much smaller unit she had previously. It has a cold water option on the door, thanks to a reservoir that she can fill on the inside of the door. I don’t actually see them using it much but it certainly is functional if they want cold water.

What strikes me most is how content and gracious everyone is. Rigo is always saying “Pura Vida”, a very Costa Rican saying meaning basically that life is good. He does seem happy. He works hard when he must and takes it easy the rest of the time. The house could use some “upgrades” (walls not finished out, wires insulated but not hidden in the walls, no matching door handles, etc.) but he has lived here 22 years and said he will get around to them in a few years. It has made me reflect on what is “important” in the US. Not saying I don’t want a nice, finished house when we finish traveling but I can see things a bit differently now.

Second Passport

We renewed our passports last year and they are good for another 10 years. That ought to be more than enough for this trip.

However, a couple of weeks before leaving, I discovered that the State Department allows for a second passport, limited to two years.

The value for us is that:

We have back-up passports in case we lose one.
Some countries are picky about where you have been. Israel is an example of a country others don’t like.
Should we need to present a passport for a visa and return later to pick it up or have it mailed to us.

I set appointments with the embassy in San Jose and confirmed via email what they needed and that they could process the application. They responded and also said we could pick them up in 7-10 days and that they would hold them for up to three months.

Update: We picked them up May 23 and they are good for two years! We did have to remind them not to void our other passports.

Weather Shift

The trade winds off the Caribbean are pushing these clouds over the continental divide toward me. They are usually moving pretty fast and disappear quickly as the humid air is absorbed by the dry Pacific air. The rain we get is mostly mist and when we are close to the divide, we can see the rain moving over us, putting us into a rain shadow. This rain is what makes the rain forest here special.

On Sunday I noticed that clouds were moving in the opposite direction, off the Pacific.

In the picture above, you can see the Pacific Ocean in the distance.

Now with the wind shift, the sun is out more and temperatures have risen.

We were spoiled with the cooler days, although most of the days are still very nice.

First Stop Alajuela

We spent three nights In Alajuela to just settle in and make sure that we bought our bus tickets for Panama. The bus station is in San Jose.

We blew it going through customs. Lindie went into the restroom and I followed suit, but she did not know that’s what I did. Poor communication. While I waited outside the restrooms she went to find me in the customs line. Meanwhile two or three flights arrived and by the time we got back together we were way back in the line. Fortunately customs was easy and we went off to find our Uber ride which became a no show. A valuable lesson to reinforce early in our travels.

We found a taxi and gave him the directions to the Airbnb. Costa Rica names their streets but alas, there are hardly any street signs. Directions are from a known place with instructions like go to the bottom of the street, turn left, go 30 meters, it is the house with three garages next to the kindergarten. We did get there but the taxi driver took us up and down several extra streets.

We are happy with Airbnb. It really helps that visitors and owners leave reviews so that we can expect a place to be safe. Plus there is the possibility of visiting with others. I do like that.

Proof of Paid Exit Transport

There is the requirement that you have proof of exit transport when entering Costa Rica. I had put off dealing with until two days before our departure to Costa Rica.

I thought that I could get an online bus ticket from San Jose, Costa Rica to David, Panama. Nope. I could not even get one by calling the bus company. It has to be in person and you show passports.

My initial solution was to buy a plane ticket from San Jose to Panama City, Panama. This would at least move us in the direction we want to travel. What a surprise to find out that Travelocity would allow me to buy the tickets and then cancel them, at no charge, within 24 hours.

At the Southwest Airlines boarding gate desk in Houston, they did check our documents to verify that we had exit transportation from Costa Rica. At customs in Costa Rica, they did not ask for proof, so the airlines monitor it.

We flew to Costa Rica, cancelled the flight to Panama City, and the next day went to the bus station to buy our tickets in person.

In the future, I will figure things out a little quicker, as I do not expect to fly again until we leave South America. Panama to Columbia will be by sailboat or ferry as there are no roads connecting the two countries.

Finally…on our way!

Here we are, at Houston Hobby, waiting for our flight to San Jose, Costa Rica in an hour. I kept promises to my brother and sister to contact them before leaving.

I am nervous. All the rushing to complete last minute tasks is over, whether they got done or not. Now it is time to just relax and flow.

It works.

Our day was a mix of rushing and waiting.

We left Austin this morning after a final visit with our friend, Ruby, who is 104 and in hospice. She was glad to see us and sad to see us go, knowing it was likely our last visit.

I expect Costa Rica to be our shakedown country to find out what works and what doesn’t, and more importantly, to discover what we never considered.

Time to get on the plane!