Costa Rica Retirement – Thanks for the Ride

My fondness for Costa Rica grows every day.

I’m sure it has to do with my motto, which I say to myself every morning when I get up: Expect great things to happen! I know, it sounds Pollyannaish, but saying this to myself sets my intention to have great things happen. And they do.

I decided to venture out by myself on a bus expedition to the Real Cariari Mall. My first house guest was due in a few weeks and the guest room bed needed a comforter. I had no luck at Hipermas or closer to home in Santa Ana, so I set the mall as my destination.

Standing at the Santa Ana parada (bus stop) I chatted up a college-aged guy carrying a conga drum. It was a fun opportunity for me to practice Spanish and for him to practice English. He played in a six-piece band that had been invited to perform in Cuba next year. When I said I teach English, he said he wanted to become my student. Great! He accompanied me by bus to Belen where he made sure I got on the right bus to the Real Cariari Mall. What a great thing to have happened.

At the mall I found a bed-in-a-bag that would go well in my guest room, so I bought it and shlepped it in a gigantic Hefty bag out of the mall. I looked like a miniature Santa Claus (I’m petite).

Instead of taking a left out of the mall, I headed right, thinking it was a shortcut. I saw the bus stop across the highway, but there was a cement divider in the middle of the road. With my short legs and Santa’s bag of goodies, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make a run for it. And I saw no overpasses to walk across. How to cross the street?

I walked down the stairs to the parada on my side of the street and asked a guy who had just crossed the median how I could cross safely. Oh! Did I say that it had started to rain and we were in the midst of a downpour? Just as he was writing in Spanish in my notebook where I was to tell a taxi driver to take me to cross the street (it was complicated), a truck drove through the flooded ditch near where we were standing and drenched us. Oh joy.

Notebook and Santa’s bag (which was getting heavier by the minute) in hand, I trudged up the stairs to find a taxi. What I found instead was an angel in the form of Randy (originally from Wisconsin) in his SUV who, when I asked if he spoke English and could he please tell me how I could cross the street (I thought there had to be an easy way for me to do it myself), said, “I’ll take you.”

His teenage son put my big purchase in the back and Randy, with son, daughter, and wife in tow drove me in a circuitous route across the street, which I could never have duplicated by myself. But he didn’t stop there. He said that was not the parada I needed for returning to Belen. It was still raining very hard, and Randy most generously drove me all the way to the Belen bus station. Thank you, Randy. It was a pleasure meeting you and your wonderful family.

Do great things happen or what?

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Written by Margie Davis – Retirement in Costa Rica.

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.