Blogs

Well I would like to share a few of my run ins with the health care system here. First my mom... 64 years young. she was walking down the street and holding my 2 year old daughter when she mis stepped and fell face first, she tossed my little one to keep from falling on her and not being trained at the fine art of falling on your face without hurting yourself, like most of us guys are, she busted her nose and her glasses cut a deep wound on it as well.  My mom bleeding pretty heavy was not worried about herself but if my daughter was ok.  my wife told her over and over she is fine, your the one that needs help right now.

One quick point here, the people here will go out of there way to help you. my mother, wife and daughter were standing by the side of the road and one of our local truck drivers saw what had happen and pulled over and helped load them into his truck and off they went to the local doctor.

I just listened to Lisa Valencia's sample episode of her audio version of her Costa Rica adventures.  If you've got just a few years of commuting and rat race before heading to Central America, you might want to get a copy of her audio stories to listen to in the car to keep you going in the home stretch!  Her website is http://www.travelexperiencecostarica.com - enjoy.

Another morning taking my son to school, another Costa Rica school bus crash.

Unfortunately, this is a daily occurrence in Costa Rica where too many private school bus drivers run the roads in a reckless manner - unchecked.

In the following situation the school bus driver illegally passed a stopped vehicle on the right in a busy intersection. The vehicle the school bus was passing without regard for safety was stopped for a reason ... they were trying to allow a taxi to pass in front of them through an extremely busy intersection.

The following pictures are the result of this school bus drivers actions: 

And who said the U.S.A. doesn't care about Central America?!

According to Government Security News, the U.S. State Department plans to give a dozen "Body Orifice Security Scanners," also known as B.O.S.S. chairs, to the Government of El Salvador to X-ray inspect its prisoners for weapons and other metal objects hidden in their anal or vaginal cavities.

Need to know more?  Read the full story here:  www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/features/news-analysis/2487.html

No Skype in Costa Rica or Anywhere Else?

When Skype voice over-the-internet system was offered in Costa Rica, it was a welcome alternative to ICE’s monopoly on phone services. For a flat rate, Costa Ricans could call just about anywhere for a fraction of the cost … now that may change due to a legal spat over a licensing agreement.....[....]

originally posted on www.CostaRicaBlogger.com 8/4/2008, See full article at  TicoTimes.com, August 4, 2009

Yep. I'm 47 years old, smoke far to dang much, trying to stop. want to be around to see my two girls grow up and get them on the right path. I watched as a father handed his daughter to her new husband the other day made a tear come to my eye.. 

My whole life changed the day my daughter was born, for the first time I know the real meaning of the word love. nothing compares to when she grabs my neck and squeezes as hard as her three year old arms can and says I love you so much.  The other day at the zoo a chicken which she was feeding corn too, pecked her little finger, she yelled out and jumped back. That night when I put her to bed, she said daddy do you remember when that chicken ate my finger??   yes my love yes..

It's funny to me for them to have chickens in pens as part of a zoo. that's just to common really.

A July 2009 non-scientific poll by online English speaking forum Costa Rica Central Valley Living resulted in the following for the question "Where do you actually live?"

Crocodile makes a lunge for German tourist

This morning I discovered my wallet missing from my previous days’ pants pocket here in Costa Rica.

A search of the house, car, etc. turned-up nothing. Gone was all my Costa Rica identification, local debit cards, U.S. credit cards … most everything important except for my passport (which remains at home).

In between canceling local bank cards and going to my local Banco Costa Rica to obtain a new Costa Rica Cedula (National Identification) and C.R. drivers license I called a friend to see if they could visit the Moravia, Costa Rica café I had sat in the previous night – just in case my wallet had fell out of my pocket at the restaurant and an honest customer or employee had turned it in. A stretch on many different levels.