From an outside looking in perspective, there are very common reasons why prospective inhabitants look to move to Costa Rica–affordability, tranquility from the rat race, and a robust healthcare system, for example. The truth is once people take their big life leap and go live in paradise, they often realize they are in more of a paradise than they ever bargained for.

Of course, there is the profound adjustment to a new life pace and culture, but behind all that is a truly awesome holistic space of wonderful teachings and miraculous people. During our time in Pair-o-Dice village on the Ballena Coast, we met a delightful acquaintance with a couple of restaurateurs, Jan and Rich, who sat with us after serving us dinner and told us this awesome story excerpted from Radical Sabbatical.

“Experience goes a long way here,” Rich said. “But the health care is really quite good, especially in the capital.”

“And sometimes there might be forces at work that give it that extra push,” Jan said. Rich smiled at her. He knew exactly what she was going to say next.

Rich had become very sick shortly after their arrival. The hospital in San Isidro sent them to San José for more comprehensive tests. San José diagnosed a very advanced and life-threatening tumor–it was very likely inoperable, but more radiography taken that same day would confirm that. An elderly Costa Rican woman sat next to them in the hospital’s waiting area where they anxiously anticipated the results.

Jan said the frail lady just “oozed happiness” without a word and prayed a rosary nonstop for hours. Then they learned from her that she knew their situation, was praying for them, and was there all by herself.

“Just then, the doctor came to get us,” Jan said. “He sat at his desk with this amazed look on his face. I asked him how bad it was. He said the tumor was gone.”

“What?!” Laura exclaimed. I was also stunned and looked to Rich who smiled in universal appreciation.

“Wait, wait. That’s not all,” Jan said. “I asked the doctor how it was possible. He showed us the image with no tumor. In the moment, we almost forgot to thank the lady for praying. I mean what do you say? She was totally modest and hugged us excitedly. Then she left. Never saw her again,” Jan said.

“What a story! Can you imagine having that type of healing power?” Laura was on the edge of her seat.

“And you know what?” Jan asked. “We found out after she left that she had lost her husband to cancer that very same morning.”

“Get . . . out!” I said. Both of us teared up.

“I know,” Jan said. “You said that you really needed to rely on the community here. You probably don’t know yet even how much. There’s hardly anyone here. You see the same people all the time. We all know each other’s secrets, strengths, and faults. Nature constantly has our full attention. And once you get in the groove where you connect into all that, everything just works.”

“Well, that would be a drastic shift from our experience, frankly,” I said.

“No, I know what you’re thinking. You’ve got car trouble. We heard.” I didn’t even know they knew who we were. “And I’m sure you’re having trouble getting a phone, and the village water is a problem.”

“Right,” I said.

“No, that stuff won’t go away. But it won’t affect you as much because after you experience the force of a close community in the cradle of nature, things much more important work out. That life that you might not even know exists beyond machines and TV and computers works. You get back to realizing what really matters.”

The preceding was excerpted from Chapter 24, “A Matter of Wife or Death,” of Radical Sabbatical: A Hilarious Journey from a Stifling Rut to a Life Without Boundaries by Glen Tibaldeo and Laura Berger.
Names were altered to protect characters’ identities.

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Featured on ABC News, in CNBC, ongoing expert contributors to Psychology Today and in Redbook, Self, and the Miami Herald, Laura Berger and Glen Tibaldeo are the Life Leap couple. They chucked their well paying corporate America jobs for the jungles of Costa Rica to bring some spice back into their marriage.

Surrounded by natural beauty, ironically it was the technique in their book Fall in Love Again, Every Day: 3 Steps to True Connection for Any Couple that created the connection of a lifetime for this couple. Their second book, Radical Sabbatical: A Hilarious Journey From a Stifling Rut to a Life Without Bo

If you have ever dreamed of living in a place that’s as close to a tropical paradise as you can find … Please contact our Recommended Costa Rica Realtors Daveed Hollander, John Wieland and James Drews in Dominical in the Southern Pacific area, by using the simple form below:

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.