Wanna work for the OIJ?

There are a number of police organizations here in Costa Rica. All are terribly underfunded and thus badly understaffed.

I think the one police organization that receives the most respect is the Organismo de Investigación Judicial  (OIJ) and when spoken of locally is called the Oh EEE Hota.  They are sort of the FBI of Costa Rica, but with more powers and less silly limitations placed on their work.

They are certainly the most selective of all the police agencies and have a rather interesting criteria for accepting new recruits. Of every 100 applicants, only 10 make it. There are extensive psychological and physical tests that each must pass. They are also subject to an extensive background check that includes not only their behavior and records, but their life style and behavior within their own family. Automatically disqualified are those that show any signs of drinking problems, friendships present or past with anyone of ill repute, or any other behavior that shows lack of judgment.

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Getaway Weekend and Bird Watching Pt 2

I was so tempted to go back and change my last post promising Part 2 for the next day… but I figured someone would bust me in about two minutes… so here is PART TWO. Sorry for the delay… my BLOG was not displaying properly and I chose to update it before posting again. Not sure if this was necessary as most of my readers get updates by email or by RSS… but it makes for a good excuse.

On we go…. Part 2

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Getaway Weekend with Maria Part 1

As a lot of you know, Maria Luisa and I are fond of taking weekend trips to places in Costa Rica that neither of us have been to before. For me, that is easy, but for my Tica wife, you would think she would have been everywhere after living for about a half a century. Not the case. One of the truly amazing things about Costa Rica is that for such a tiny country, it abounds in places that even Ticos do not know exist. Some are getaways just for weekends, while others are places you might really like to live! This is one of the reasons why I advise those moving here to not buy right away. Explore! You will find treasures and likely pay half of what you will pay of you don’t do this. The place we visited falls into the getaway category.

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Mouse Saves Family from Invader Bug Attack

I was ashamed. I couldn’t speak of my family’s problem. I was ashamed our home and all living things in it had been overtaken by fleas. My pets were in agony. Their soft bellies were bitten, bloody, and scabbed. The scratched constantly, and so did I. The fleas thought my husband’s midsection a delicacy; my ankles a treat.

Buddhists believe in the sacredness of every living creature including fleas, leeches, and mosquitoes. I try to live in harmony with the insects that appear on my walls and floors. Since we live with our doors open year around, Continue reading »

Like Caterpillars?

Occasionally, I get submissions from folks and if I think they would be of interest to my readers, I blog them.

This was submitted to me complete with a great photo by Ronna von Knorring, a transplant from Kansas who blogs here.

As a fair number of my readers seem to be very curious about the creepie crawlies who live here (no, I am NOT talking about those guys hanging around the bars in Jaco), I thought I’d publish her submission! Enjoy!

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More Questions from Readers

I need to apologize. I have not been able to Post here nearly as often as I would like. I am just buried in work, and sadly, income still must proceed pleasure… even in Costa Rica. The main site, The Real Costa Rica, is now up to about 25,000 new visitors each month, and between that and the Guestbook, I am just getting buried in emails as well. So once again, here are some of my replies to those emails.

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Sand Dollars Bring in Gold

The beach was calm; the waves subdued. It was easy to walk up to our ankles and knees in the water. More shells than usual were on shore and Coco was stuffing her bag with shiny finds. Then we came along a sand dollar. It was white and had a perfect imprint of the animal, which looked like a flower, in the middle. I only remember seeing a sandollar once in my life, and it was dipped in gold and I wore it as a necklace.

When we got back to our house, Coco told the nanny about our find. The nanny couldn’t believe our luck.

You are so lucky Coco! She said. My mother told me Continue reading »

The Office Depot Experience

First, this is a not a paid ad. It is easy to always say things negative, but when something GOOD happens, it is rght to tell that story as well, so here it is.

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Then, the Other Car Goes

So this other car we have, a little French van you can’t get in the States, choked in the middle of driving. The power went out – usually on the freeway. Needless to say, we’ve had it in many, many tallers – garages. No one could find the problem. We lived with the problem on and off for three year. Then, another problem began: it would take about 30 minutes of turning the key before the engine started. Problem was…. Continue reading »

When is it Time to Buy a New Car?

The kids were being champs. We sat in traffic, 20 miles from home, after a long ride home from the beach. Rush hour made traffic lights long waits. My car had been well tuned-up after a few break downs. I was glad our old car made it through another trip. Friends of ours sat a few cars behind us. It had been a great weekend. Then a taxi driver Continue reading »