One vet who has lived here for a while is reader Rick Deahl who asked me if I would like to publish some information regarding medical and hospital services available to United States veterans living here in Costa Rica.

I jumped all over that, and this post is the result. If this topic is of interest to you, read on! I am not a vet, so if I screw up some terms, cut me some slack. If you wish to add information, correct me, please use the comments area at the bottom of this post. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised as to the breadth of the data and services available to vets. At the end of this post, look for a list of all web sites I could find that might be of value to vets living or coming to live in Costa Rica. Also, several links in this post require Adobe Reader be installed on your computer. Adobe Reader can be downloaded here.

Extensive medical benefits are available to vets living here.  By this I mean excellent medical care, access to specialists, hospitalization, prescriptions (either free or at a discount), and varying support services.

While it seems that some other hospitals do have some staff familiar with VA affairs, it appears that one hospital in particular is the best contact point and provider of all the services mentioned above.

Hospital Hotel La Católica (+506-2246-3000) also sometimes known as Clinica Católica is located in the San Jose suburb of Guadalupe. The hospital was known as Clínica Católica for twenty six years and was founded by Franciscan nuns.  Years later, the formal name was changed to Hospital Clínica Católica de la Purísima Concepcion Association or just Hospital Hotel La Católica.

Hospital Hotel La Católica actually has an American Legion office on the premises. The director Jim Young is the man in charge and he can be reached at +506-2246-3509.  He certainly would be a good place to start for gathering more detailed information than I can give in this post. His email is: jey08442[at]aol.com.

We live in the central valley not far from San Jose  so we are not troubled by snakes or wild animals. We do get the occasional scorpion (venomous but not life threatening), the occasional tarantula, but not much more. Killer bees live here, of course, and once in a while there are news reports about an attack… seldom fatal. The poison darts frogs of Costa Rica are quite famous and we can see them all the time near the river on my wife’s property in Limon Province, but they are not found in the central valley. Folks living near the beaches or in other truly tropical areas have told me of brushing against or handling certain varieties of caterpillars that can cause amazingly serious and painful injuries.

Here though, and right in our back yard, we get toads.  Big fat fellows that emit a serious poison through their skin when threatened. I must say I completely underestimated the danger of this reptile, and my lack of understanding almost cost the life of our dog, Piro. She would be dead if not for our parrot (lora). a yellow naped Amazon.

If this story interests you, read on!

The Bird (top left – whose real name is QuiQui) and the dog (bottom right) are fast friends. This was not always so as there was some dispute as to who was going to be alpha in the pet hierarchy. Those of you familiar with parrots know them as pretty fearless critters, and ours falls into that category quite nicely.  The Dog learned this the hard way having had her nose tweaked numerous times when she tried to assert herself. The Bird, who is quite capable of flight, prefers to walk. As walking places her nicely on the Dog’s terrain, turf wars were inevitable. It took the Dog and the Cats a very short while to learn who was alpha insofar as the floor was concerned.  The cats give her wide birth and the Dog is her sidekick covering her like a bodyguard.  This procession never fails to amuse me.

As mentioned, the Bird is quite fond of the Dog and it was this weird relationship that saved the Dog’s live a couple of weeks ago.

The Bird was in her outdoor cage and the Dog was roaming the back yard. We were all indoors doing whatever when QuiQui starts screaming. Those of you who know or have parrots know that when they let loose… they really let loose and can be heard for miles. As the bedroom is not miles from the back yard, we jumped out of our skins at the racket and ran outside to see what was the issue.

Piro had found and decided to chow down on one of the large toads I mentioned above.  The result was almost immediate and had not the Bird sent out the alert, it would have surely been fatal. Piro started running in circles, out of control as the poison entered her system via her gums. My wife and Carlos attempted to give her milk with lemon juice, later determined not to be a useful, and also used water to flush her mouth, later determined to be the correct thing, but still relatively useless.

We all piled into the car for the 1 KM trip to the vet hoping that she would be there. At this point, Piro was totally out of control, suffering spine bending contractions, similar to epileptic seizures of the grand mal variety.

We arrived minutes later, and thankfully, the vet was there. She grabbed Piro and placed her on the operating table. Piro’s heart rate was out of control and she bagan an IV, not a simple task on a dog suffering whole body contractions and whipping around like crazy. We  saw no improvement and the vet, without my wife seeing this, shook her head. No chance.

Still, she gave us small hope saying if she survived another 5-10 minutes….

She did, but the contractions were absolutely unchanged. There were no outward signs of improvement. It did not look good.

Carlos and I had to leave, but Maria Luisa decided to stay with Piro, promising to call when she either improved or…

Five hour later we got the call. Piro was alive and we went to pick her up. She was alive, but completely sedated from the drugs.

We made a bed for her indoors when we returned, but she did not move a muscle for 7-8 hours. When she did wake up, we discovered that she was completely deaf and blind. This was apparently normal because of the massive amount of drugs given her, but at the time, we did not know this.  It was heartbreaking.

Two days later, she regained her vision and hearing, but her coordination was gone.  She could not even negotiate a single six inch step. We had no idea what to expect and the vet, who I think was surprised she made it this far, could only suggest we wait to see how she progressed, but gave some hope that she might well recover completely.

She did!

It took two more weeks, but she made a 100% recovery.

Folks often ask about the vets here, and I have always said my experiences have been very good. Clearly, our vet did wonderful work, never leaving Piro’s side for almost 5 hours.

As we were leaving her office with Piro, I went to settle up the bill. I am not sure what I was expecting.  Veterinary care is less expensive her, but 5 hours? Drugs?

She told me the bill was 20,000 colones (about $40.00).  I said that was impossible, totally forgetting that my comment would be taken as trying to negotiate a better price. It was, and she looked embarrassed.  I looked more embarrassed as I explained it was far too little for the work, and not too much.  After “bargaining” she accepted 40,000 colones, and that was a battle.

Nice story huh?  Happy ending!

I told her last week that I planned to Blog this story.  She asked for confidentiality.  Please do not ask me for her name and office location.  She has a small practice and does not want/need new clients at this time.

That will soon change as the Costa Rica Central Bank, Banco Central de Costa Rica, does a complete do-over of the country’s national currency.

Changes to all bills (including the existing currency!) are drastic. Changes will include not only the standard anti-counterfeiting techniques standard on the Euro and the new US bank notes, but also two new denominations; the 20,000 and 50,000 colon bills. That is a Godsend!  Additionally,  the new bills will come in different widths… from 125 mm to 160 mm… truly important for the visually challenged.

If this topic interests you and you would like a peek at the new bills, read on!

First, the new bills are quite beautiful! All sport vivid new colors and designs, the requisite famous historical person, and now, some of the flora and fauna of Costa Rica.

Below are the new bills, front and back.  The front of the 2,000 colon note is under redesign and the one shown may have slight variations when actually produced.

All are 67mm high

Click any image to enlarge.

Front and back (below) of new 1,000 colon (un mil) note.
Width is 145 mm
Braulio Carrillo Colin

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Front and back (below) of new 2,000 colon (dos mil) note.
Width is 132 mm
Mauro Fernández Acuña

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Front and back (below) of new 5,000 colon (cinco mil) note.
Width is 139 mm
Alfredo González Flores

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Front and back (below) of new 10,000 colon (diez mil) note.
Width is 145 mm
José Figueres Ferrer

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Front and back (below) of new 20,000 colon (veinte mil) note.
Width is 153 mm
María Isabel Carvajal “Carmen Lyra”

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Front and back (below) of new 50,000 colon (cincuenta mil) note.
Width is 160 mm
Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno

]]> http://blog.therealcostarica.com/2010/06/06/easy-money/feed/ 3 http://blog.therealcostarica.com/2010/03/02/ley-de-transito-results-day-one/ http://blog.therealcostarica.com/2010/03/02/ley-de-transito-results-day-one/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:51:24 +0000 Tim http://blog.therealcostarica.com/?p=1039 Typical of Costa Rica, news reports differ as to how went day one following implementation of the new ley de tránsito (traffic laws). One English language online stated that more than 300 fines were handed out in San José  alone. This was kinda amazing as the transit officers union stated in pretty clear terms that their membership would not be handing out tickets except for violations that could be dangerous to other drivers.

I normally only read La Nacion or some other Spanish language newspapers as they tend to get it right… and as I suspected, the information reported was not quite accurate.  The actual number of tickets was far less.  By 4 PM yesterday,  218 tickets had been handed out nationwide.

These tickets were for:

Using mobile phones without a hands free device or failure to use seat belts. (¢ 220,050  or $400.00)  (Yeah!!)

Driving in San José in violation of vehicle plate restrictions (¢ 29,340 -   $53.00)

Driving with polarized (darkened) rear window (¢ 117,360 – $213.00) and finally,

two people who were caught driving without a driver’s license (¢ 293,400 – $533.00 ) and whose cars were impounded on the spot. Wow!

Also, La Nacion staffers apparently did a bit of reconnoitering around the country and found that many transit officials had apparently not even been on duty, prompting the response “Promise Fulfilled” by Joselito Ureña, secretary of the Unión Nacional de Técnicos y Profesionales en Tránsito the transit officers union.  Interestingly…. Those officers did give out tickets  were officers who were working directly  under the supervision of Marin Germain, transit director aka the big cheese. Guess that confirms who is the real boss.

So the verdict?  None of the big cheeses (transit bosses nor the diputados) are thrilled about the officers not obeying orders and  handing out those tickets…  still it would be wise to keep your foot under control, not talk on your cell phone,  use your seat belts and generally be good little boys and girls!

The long awaited (30+ years) highway from San Jose to Caldera opened a couple of weeks ago. I had a hunch that anything that long in the making would draw the curious and traffic would be a disaster.  Turns out that I called it, and the touted 45-60 minute trip to the Port of Caldera (Puerto Caldera), Costa Rica’s only commercial and cruise terminal on the Pacific coast, took up to three hours for much of last week

Not so yesterday!

Yesterday, I thought it might be worth a chance, so my wife Maria Luisa, my sister Pamela and I jumped on the new highway and found ourselves pretty much alone with pretty minimal traffic.  Better yet, we were in Orotina in 45 minutes and in  Caldera in 60.  Another 15 minutes put us in Puntarenas and walking on the beach. this is a big deal to expats and Ticos and will certainly have a positive commercial effect in all those locations.

Thirty years or not, this was worth the wait.  Interested?  Read on!

Before the completion of this highway, the alternative was to take the Pan American Highway (aka Route 1, or the InterAmericana, etc) northwest to the Atenas/Jaco cutoff in La Garita, then deal with horrendous traffic to the beach… or, you could continue a bit further on Route 1 and get off around Puntarenas.    Either way, you were in for a nasty time having to  follow trucks moving at 8 mph through winding, but admittedly beautiful, mountain roads.  You were looking at a minimum of 2 hours, or  more likely longer, to get to Jaco or Puntarenas.  Two hours of breathing exhaust, and that was if you were leaving from the San Jose airport.  From downtown San Jose you’d need to add an (optimistic) thirty minutes more. You can see how this will make things a lot better for anyone wanting to get to the the beach quickly and comfortably.

The drive is pretty spectacular too.  The new bridge over the Rio Grande is quite beautiful and the mountain views are worth the trip.

Cost?

This trip is not cheap, and by Costa Rica toll standards, it is a fortune.  There are three toll booths (peajes) en route,  The first and third are 490 colones each and the second is 640 colones. This is a bit under $3.00, cheap by most US standards, but huge by Costa Rica standards. Still, with gas prices at ridiculous levels and the time saving, I am guessing this is not going to deter anyone.

I picked yesterday as I thought that many Ticos might choose to hang around their homes in preparation for today’s presidential elections. Lucky guess!

Road conditions

The road is in beautiful shape as you might expect from something two weeks old. It is generally two lanes wide (one in each direction) though it widens to an additional lane going uphill (for use in passing slow traffic). Now saying that, Costa Rica drivers may be the worst drivers in the world. Patience is a word few Ticos (and some really dumb tourists) understand when behind the wheel of a car.  Illegal passing on all highways (autopistas) is a primary cause of many incredibly violent and needless accidents every week.

Yesterday, I traveled at the 80 kmh speed limit (about 55 MPH) as I was not at all in a hurry and wanted to take it all in.  I was passed by no less than TEN cars traveling at an estimated 120 kmh minimum and at least twice more by semis at the same speed.  All but one of these required crossing a double yellow line.  There was no police presence at all except two on motorcycles chatting under a bridge and I suppose getting out of the sun

This illegal passing thing places everyone in real danger, and while the trip down was a piece o’ cake, the drive back, took nearly two hours because of a really  bad head-on collision (see photo above right), doubtless caused by illegal passing.

Planning

Why only two lanes? Now there is a question.

I love Costa Rica, but honestly, the concept of planning seems to evade the Costa Rican government(s). One might argue that planning for this highway began long before there were so many cars and so many tourists, but to me, that dog won’t hunt. Traffic to and from Caldera certainly could have been predicted ten to fifteen years ago allowing for widening of this toll road. Granted, widening roads here in Costa Rica that wind through mountains and cross many rivers would clearly be a major expense… still,  if they were not planning to enforce the driving laws, then the real cost of reckless driving will must include numerous lost lives.

Another example:  To reach the toll road to Caldera from say the San Jose airport, the most direct route (but maybe not the fastest) would be to access the toll road using the Lindora highway that runs between Panasonic and Santa Ana. The problem here is that there are at least 6-8 new high rise office buildings, several dozen new stores, strip malls and supermarkets, every fast food outlet known to man, a zillion new restaurants  and several hundred new condos and houses lining Lindora which remains not 6 inches wider than it was ten years ago when it was almost all farm land.

That means that the (perhaps) 1.5 mile drive from Panasonic to the toll road can easily take 40 minutes.  Yesterday, it took 15 minutes and the traffic was not all that bad. Still, they are continuing to all new construction almost daily.   Oh well!

Anyway… we had a fine time walking along the beach in Puntarenas and stopping at the many dozens of kiosks selling jewelry, souvenirs,  and clothing.  It was warm (high 80′s) but there was a fine breeze making it all tolerable.  I also got nice brownie points for buying my wife new earrings and a pair of shorts. Life is good!

There are two or three US holidays that are not celebrated  here… well more if you add all those goofy ones like President’s day where nobody does anything special.  Of them all, Thanksgiving is the worst for me maybe followed by the 4th of July. No fireworks.

First, everyone is working on a Thursday… everyone meaning everyone in my family who would normally be invited to celebrate, so we celebrate it on the following Saturday.

Turkey is easy to buy, but ludicrously expensive.  I cannot buy sage here, required for traditional sage and onion dressing. I also cannot find rutabagas! I know rutabaga is not for everyone, but it is an integral part of my family tradition.  One nice person brought me **ONE** from the USA a couple of days ago. I am hiding it.  We have maybe 8 people coming Saturday and one is not enough to split 8 ways.

I miss the Thanksgiving day TV stuff too.  Football, parades, you know, all the things we do.

It may be the only day when I really miss living in the USA.

Worse, today is the day my wife is having surgery. Just another Thursday.  That was at 7 AM this morning, supposedly no biggie, maybe 45 minutes, but no one has called to let me know she is OK.  It is 10:30 AM I am worried and after posting this, I am heading out to the hospital to find out what is going on.

To all my readers… I have much to be thankful for, and I wish all you you the very happiest of Thanksgivings!

I especially wish a happy Thanksgiving to anyone serving in the armed forces who cannot be with their families.  You are very special people, too many times not appreciated, but by me, you are very appreciated.

Be well and be safe.

Well.. I was wrong.  It seems there is a process in Costa Rica that can take less than a decade to change for the better.  Today was my appointment for my cedula renewal at at the American International Mall branch of Banco de Costa Rica in Alajuela.  It went without a hitch… and if this interests you… read on!

Twenty Three Minutes!  OK.. actually it was about 28, but I spent 5 minutes chatting up the young lady at the renewal desk.

And! The new cedula is for TWO years.

Those of you who have had the pleasure of a 5-6 hour wait at immigration whilst being moved from room to room and rows of seats to standing areas in 90 degree heat standing near people who did not bathe that day….  well those people know exactly what I am talking about! And that was for a ONE year renewal.

Today was sweet! Seems immigration has gotten their act together!

The Process

The bank security guard took my old cedula, gave it to the woman at the renewal desk (yes, it is a dedicated desk in an air conditioned branch).

She waggled a come here finger to me and it was all over just that quick.  I gave her my address, phone number and the closest Post Office branch (Belen) as they deliver the cedula to the closet branch of Correos de Costa Rica (Post Office) and about three weeks.  I bet they do too!

The only “issue” was the 329 times I needed to press my index fingers (both) into the little fingerprint reader thingy. Apparently it is not a very good fingerprint reader thingy as she mentioned a lot of folks have finger print issues. Apparently it requires a correct reading 4 time in a row per finger.  I’d get 1 then 3 then 1 then none… and eventually 4.  The other digit… sigh.  No big deal! Probably did not help that my fingers are the size of most Tica’s feet… but I digress!

That’s it… a boring post if ever the was one!

As some of these were sent more than 5 weeks ago, I do appreciate your patience. I am just bombarded with email, especially now that readership in The REAL Costa Rica and this Blog is exceeding 60,000 visits per month.

If this interests you, please read on.

I made two comments recently to Posts on your Blog, yet neither is there.  Why?

I do not have many rules about people commenting. The few I have are:

1. You may not attack me or another person in a way that is rude, uses vulgar language, or is just over the top. That does not mean you cannot disagree with me or another person.  It just must be done in a polite manner. If I am wrong about something I posted here and you provide adequate proof (i.e not just your opinion), I will correct the original post, give you credit, and grovel.
2. The comment must have something to do with the Post upon which you are commenting. Commenting about how much you hate Obama in a Post that is about a recipe for Gallo Pinto is just dumb and I will not allow your comment.
3. No spamming. Any comment that even remotely smacks of promotion of a business or a web site totally irrelevant to Costa Rica will not be published. This includes links to any website that contains a virus, Trojan horse or any other malware that affects my readers.
4. Any comment that disseminates wrong information about Costa Rica. This may include the many “urban legends” floating around. For those, I normally respond via email to let you know your information is not correct.
5. Last… but maybe not least. Any comment that uses a false email address will not be published.

In your case, rule #2 was the issue for both of your comments.

We have a home in Costa Rica, and we are looking for the best book we can get on insects of costa rica with good pictures so we can key them when we find them.  Do you know of any such book.

Sadly, I have no bug books, so I cannot recommentd any.  However you will find what you are looking for by scrolling thrugh the books located in the Costa Rica Shop.

I’ve enjoyed your blog as a useful tool for some while now. Question,  have you heard of Cable Tica for internet? Any feedback would be  appreciated. We’re currently using a satellite service (know it’s illegal).

Yes, any satellite Internet service here IS illegal unless purchased from RACSA.  In my opinion, Cabletica is the best of all the Internet Service Providers, though to get Internet service,  you must order their cable service which not everybody wants or needs.

I will be moving in August to Ciudad Colon, just west of San Jose, to attend the United Nation’s University for Peace.  I will be bringing my 3 children (ages 9, 10, & 14) and am concerned about building codes in such an earthquake-prone area.  Is there something I should look for (like date of construction, specific building style) in an apartment building and in their schools?  I’m have a hard time finding anything online.

Building codes?  Building codes?  We don’t need no steenking building codes! Kidding, of course, but in reality, while they exist, there is no guarantee that the builder paid even the slightest attention to them… or if he did, followed them to the letter. I am guessing that if you rent in one of the newly developed areas and the place is less than 5 years old, you have a better chance of finding something “to code”. Saying that, the vast majority of homes (all but the oldest homes) are built with concrete reinforced with metal rods.  I live in a 20 year old home, and even the big earthquake (6.3)  a few months  ago did no damage, and we were only 15 miles from the epicenter. Also, as almost all home are single story,  the collapse of a building is not so much an issue. As for schools… most, I think, are pretty safe.  However if you are at or really near the epicenter of ANY strong (>5.0 for example) earthquake, the building construction is going to be pretty irrelevant.

Edited for clarity

… how do you handle the insistence of vendors quoting in Dollars but when offered a credit card billing in colones? … do you have any suggestions how to circumvent this underhandedness?   If I am quoted in $$ and my credit card account is $$, why am I charged the rate as if I were selling colones and receiving dollars?

First, and just a general reminder, I never shop anywhere that prices its goods in dollars. Although better than when I arrived here lo those many years, it still more often than not, is an indication that I will be paying too much.

Now for your question.  The reason (I am almost 100% sure) is because the vendor’s credit card processor is set up for colones, and not dollars. It would make no difference what your currency your card is using.

I am writing because I am a 28 year old American living in San Jose. I am finding it hard to meet people my age. I’m extremely outgoing and always up for an adventure. Please let me know if you have any advice for me!

I might as a matter of fact!  Click this link.  Once there, look for Calendar in the top right corner of the web page.  Click it and you will see that the Young Expats meet every Saturday in Escazu.  Click that link for info. I am presuming they are still active as they are on that site.  If not, please let me know via email or comment to this post.

Incredibly, the infected woman decided to ignore health officials and broke quarantine so she could attend classes at her university.

Thirty-five others are under watch.

A third person, a youngster, has flu symptoms (not yet confirmed as Swine Flu) possible infected by her father who recently returned to Costa Rica from Mexico. If confirmed, that would be the first case of swine flu caught within the borders.

The Ministry of Health this morning asked the passengers of two other flights, TACA LR 631 and Mexicana  387, to call 911 emergency so they may be tested.

Employees at the San Jose airport are wearing surgical masks, and many incoming passengers are having their temperatures taken upon arrival.

I am not going to go into this swine flu deal because unless my readers are living on another planet, you have been deluged with probably more information that you want to know.

I am more concerned though as my wife works at Calderon Guardia Hospital.

So I was at the airport last week and sure enough, I get flagged down by a transit cop. I am thinking that a ticket is a forgone conclusion but, as I have made a new appointment for another inspection, I thought I had a slim chance of getting by.  I DID, but the really important thing is that when handing me back my documents, he pointed out that my drivers license would expire tomorrow. He saved me just a world of hurt. While you do have some leeway in renewing it, if you let it go too far, you must start with driving school and then re-take the written and practical exams (in Spanish). While I do speak the language, the time lost would have been a disaster. So off I went yesterday to get my license renewed. If this topic interests you, read on!

For years, in order to renew your drivers license, you had to go to the MOPT facility in San Jose. The lines were long often taking 2-4 hours to get or renew a Costa Rica Drivers License (more details on that here). Not only was the  process slow, just finding the stupid MOPT building was a problem. I have lived here for years and I still get lost trying to find that place!  Well no more. New and renewal licenses are now issued from behind the Consevi building on the main drag through Uruca about 250M from the split at the Shell gas station. Easy to find, but very little parking. If you go, there is a little soda (small walk-up restaurant) right next to Consevi where you an park and eat if you wish.

In the USA and maybe elsewhere, your drivers license often expires on your birthday.  Here no! It is the date you got it. This is why I failed to notice or think about it. Further, my license was good for seven years.  2002 is a long time ago and I just failed to check.

Renewing or obtaining a new license (presuming you have a valid unexpired license) is a three step process.

1. Pay for the license in advance at any Banco de Costa Rica office. There is one near Consevi.
2. Get a physical exam and blood typing (see below)
3. Take your payment receipt, your medical exam paperwork, and other documents to the licensing offices behind Consevi.

The first step is to pay 10,000 colones for the license. This is done at any Banco de Costa Rica. They give you a receipt and you must have this when you go to get your license or renewal.

The second step for either renewal or getting a new license is getting the physical exam.  When the MOPT was the place to go, there were at least 10-15 medical offices within one block.  Now there is just one that I could find, located maybe 150M from Consevi on the same road.  Ask anyone. Easy walk.  They just test your eyes, blood pressure and ask some standard questions. If you have medical proof of your blood type, the cost is 10,000 colones.  If you do not, add 5,000 colones for the blood typing. I did not, so renewal for me was 25,000 colones, about $45.00.  Ugh! Further, renewals are no longer for seven years.  Now you must return in five years.

After you have the medical exam paperwork, signed and ready, you return to Consevi, enter the property, then walk perhaps 300M to the back of the lot where the licensing facilities are located. You must have your Costa Rica license (or an unexpired license from your home country, your passport (or cedula if you are a resident), and your receipt from the bank.

Once inside, there are two line.  The first is to get your data entered into the system.  The second is to get a new photo. My total time inside was about an hour. Add thirty minutes for medical and I was done on about 90 minutes.

I underatnd that renewals can also be done at Banco Nacional, but the last time I heard, only Costa Rica citizens could do this because there was an issue with residency cedulas having too many digits in the ID.  If anyone has done this, add that info in the comments below!