Category: Healthcare

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Independence Day Special Report

My Health Update & The Culture Report

Sep 15 Independence Day Costa Rica

Every year the entire country flies flags and marches in parades to celebrate their independence from Spain and I’ve missed only 3 of the parades here in Atenas because I was in the Caribbean during this week. And was about to miss another for the same reason, but once I changed my trip this year to October, I thought I would again photograph the parade, but with the main part of the parade being from 10 to 12 during some of the hottest sunshine of the day and my right knee hurting, I decided to miss the parade on purpose this year. But I’ve posted links at the bottom of this post to the 6 parades I did photograph, plus I wore my Costa Rica National Soccer Team shirt (red, white & blue) to my usual breakfast out at Restaurant El Fogon Campesino and not only was the staff dressed patriotically but they had a marimba band playing on the terrace near where I always eat. So that was my celebration today! 🙂

Marimba Band at Restaurant El Fogon, September 15, 2024, Atenas, Costa Rica

For those who don’t know Spanish, “el fogon” is the Spanish word for “the kitchen wood stove” and “campesino” is “peasant” or “poor farmer.” Everything in this place is cooked on an old fashion wood-burning stove just like one of my grandmothers. They are mainly a lunch & dinner place, but have breakfast on Saturday & Sunday mornings and are the only place here with “Avocado Toast” and other breakfast dishes with guacamole! Yummy! 🙂 They of course have the traditional Costa Rica breakfast of eggs with Pico de Gallo (beans & rice), the best pancakes in town, a great omelette, and even a Breakfast Nachos for the young at heart! 🙂 But I’ve narrowed down my favorite to the Quesadilla with guacamole & picadillo on top and a side of bacon! 🙂 The only time I eat breakfast out other than on trips and a weekly treat for me!

Update on My Health

The public health system here is simply great and they are monitoring me in more ways than I ever would have on my own with private doctors, providing a specialist for nearly everything. Most of the specialists are in either San Jose or Alajuela and my driver, Walter, goes in with me as translator when needed, especially with the fast talkers! 🙂 “Hablo despacio por favor.” 🙂 But many speak English and nearly all the younger ones do, so no problem! But thankful for Walter!

Last week my geriatric doctor found that I had a little high blood pressure. She immediately put me on a blood pressure medicine and sent me back to my local clinic here in Atenas for my local GP doc to monitor me. There they wanted me to come in regularly to check the blood pressure or get a machine and check my own every day at home (or at a local farmacia that will check it daily for free). I chose the convenience of my own machine and will report back to Dr. Zuniga (my GP) with a month’s worth of BP numbers and it will tell if the current med is working or if I need something else. And I expect he will discuss my diet and exercise with me also. 🙂

Nothing alarming and I feel fine and the BP has already been back in the normal range one day. I think it was some little temporary thing, but we will see. And my oncologist says there is no trace of any cancer anywhere now. Plus I’m sleeping great with the new CPAP Machine the Costa Rica Social Security bought me! Costa Rica spends its money on its people and not on an army and constant wars! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

¡Feliz Día de la Independencia!

Photo Galleries of Earlier September 15 Parades

¡Pura Vida!

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#1 Best Travel Destination AND #1 Best Place to Retire!

No big surprise for those of us who live here, but Costa Rica was named as the #1 Travel Destination for 2024 by Travel & Leisure Magazine AND the International Living Magazine and organization simultaneously named Costa Rica as the #1 Best Place to Retire in 2024! Read about it in Travel & Leisure. Or on International Living website.

View from my cabin at Playa Cativo Lodge, Piedras Blancas NP, Costa Rica. And feature photo is a Keel-billed Toucan in my garden in Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.

For someone who made what a few American friends back in Nashville thought was a radical or crazy decision to move here in 2014, these announcements confirm the good decision I made back then! :-)

And these rankings are a good celebration of my 9 years of living in Costa Rica (as of December 24, 2023 — 2+ weeks ago). And my survival of cancer a celebration of the excellent healthcare here! Plus there is no better place for a nature lover and nature photographer like me! Tell your nature-lover friends to follow my blog to see what it is like to be “Retired in Costa Rica!” :-)

¡Pura Vida!

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Birds, Rainy Season, and Personal Catch-up

Finally! Rainy Season seems to have started with rains every afternoon for 4 days straight now, but oh so much later than usual and from what I’ve read, we may still have a drier rainy season than usual. It is amazing how much greener it gets here after even one rain! And how many more birds! Below are photos of 4 birds I managed to snap this week. I love the rainy season, my favorite time of year here! And most days it rains only 2 or 3 hours in the late afternoon or early evening.

Rufous-naped Wren Eating an Insect, Atenas, Costa Rica
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Blooming Cactus?

No – though the first time I saw these bright pink flowers on top of the cactus plant at a house I walk by frequently on my way to town, I thought is was going to be a beautiful cactus! But it seems that the owner of that house has allowed his Bougainvillea to climb over from the wall to the cactus and from a distance, the second photo, it looks like it’s blooming. And some cactus here do bloom, but I’ve not seen that one bloom yets.

Bougainvillea on a cactus makes it look like the cactus is blooming.

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Today is HUG Day!

I learned about the fun and silly holidays from a Washington Post article, including February 12 as Hug Day!

This celebration is part of someone’s idea to stretch Valentine’s Day into a week. No need to buy flowers or candy for this day, thankfully. Just offer friends and family something that has been scientifically shown to lift their mood: a hug.

February 12 – National Hug Day!

¡Pura Vida!

🙂

New Trip Blog Posts Start Tonight!

Also TODAY is the day that I fly on a little Sansa Airlines 12 passenger plane to one of my favorite wilderness places in Costa Rica, Tortuguero National Park, as mentioned yesterday. So most likely you will get a post from there tonight, assuming that their internet WiFi is as good at this most expensive lodge in Tortuguero as they claims it is.  🙂   Tortuga Lodge & Gardens

Much wildlife spotting is done from a boat at Tortuguero.

So expect a week or more of photos and comments from what travel magazines call “The Amazon of Costa Rica” and one of the few places in the country where travelers have actually seen a Jaguar (from a boat) though they are mostly nocturnal like all the wild cats here. Plus I expect a lot of birds, some butterflies and several other animals, along with the tropical rainforest and rivers/canals and of course some great Caribbean food and 4 good nights of sleep!  🙂

And to read more about Tortuguero, see this interesting little article on CR Travel Life:  14 EPIC Things to do in Tortuguero, Costa Rica & Guide to Visiting though not necessarily what I will be doing!  🙂

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My Garden Peacock & Health Update

And of course you do know that I mean Peacock BUTTERFLY!  🙂

There are two species that I see here, the more common is the Banded Peacock that I see all over Costa Rica and shared one from last week’s visit to Xandari, but maybe my preferred is the simpler but elegant  White Peacock Butterfly, Anartia jatrophae. Click that link for my gallery photos of them. They are also found all over Costa Rica, though not in the abundance of the Banded Peacock. These are the only 2 “Peacock” butterflies in Costa Rica, while Panama and south into South America there is also a Red Peacock Butterfly which is similar to the Banded but with thicker bands of red where the Banded has thinner white bands.

White Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

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Costa Rica Reinstates Mask Mandate in Schools and Public transport

This is for all schools and all public transportation including adults. Read why in the Tico Times article.

I was concerned that the dropping of masks by most might be a little premature and it appears that it was. I will again wear a mask in all public places for a while anyway. And get the latest booster shot! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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The Allure of a Beach

With (1) the lesser popularity of the Caribbean side of Costa Rica from the Pacific side for both tourists and residents. (2) Lesser development on this side of the country (not a single chain hotel). (3) My chosen hotel being away from the other hotels and more popular white-sand beaches further south, and (4) therefore we who stay at Banana Azul Hotel often have the beach all to ourselves! And that’s nice for the tranquility and for the photos! 🙂

I no longer swim or surfboard in the ocean for many reasons, but I love to walk on beaches and also here I walk on a beach road with glimpses of the ocean through the trees. Plus my favorite beach photos here are my sunrise images which I shared daily each morning last week, so you’ve seen those. But here are a few others shot this year that I basically liked.

Tomorrow I will share a few “People Shots” that I sneaked of people on this beach and the beach road. “People watching” can be fun! 🙂 Here’s one beach shot for the email and 6 more to follow online below . . .

Looking North from Banana Azul. “Mi Playa Tranquila” – “My Quiet Beach”
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Pura Vida Inspiration

I read three things today that helped me realize again how fortunate I am to be living in such an amazing little country as Costa Rica! AND how much I have slowed down, calmed down, and embraced nature since I’ve been living here, eight years this coming December! Here’s links to the three inspirational articles I read today . . .

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