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The ones at Ciudad Colon are “organico”. None of the chickens are the eggs are the same size, shape or color. It is an older lady that runs the stand and she typically sells out within 30-45 minutes. Tough to live off of bugs and grub and get fat quickly, but bulk grain feed I would consider OK and superior to hormone injected Pipasa. I have a friend here in WA state that has chicken, duck, goose and turkey eggs. Turkey eggs changes the meaning of a 2 egg omelet!
Most all of the farmer’s markets or ferias have organic eggs, chickens and produce and are typically held on Saturday mornings. We frequent the small one in Ciudad Colon but if you are not there by 9, the eggs and chicken are gone. Grecia has a MAJOR feria on Friday night & Saturday morning with covered stalls/walkways that also has numerous street food vendors.
Cabuya is 7 km from Montezuma and the same from Mal Pais, albeit over a very rough road that is impassable in the rainy season. It is basically a fishing village and a bargain alternative to Montezuma/Mal Pais/Santa Theresa that has just started to get some development pressure. There are several large tracts that are new developments, but last I checked (last week in person), they have not been moving. Most of the land is owned by Ticos who are in no rush to part with their property and some believe it is worth $40-$50/m2. Finding water is a big challenge. The biggest plus is that it is next to Cabo Blanco Reserve, the 1st such reserve in the country, which is full of wildlife. I hear rumor of a future marina, but given the very rocky shoreline and major low tide going out to the cemetary island I question whether a marina is even feasible.
Medical malpractice suits will never be reduced until there is comprehensive tort reform. Given that 75% of congress, including the current executive Oblahblahblahma, that is highly unlikely to happen. Lawyers pass laws to benefit lawyers, which can only be interpreted by lawyers. Texas is the only state that has passed comprehensive tort reform (2 years ago) with respect to medical malpractice. The result has been a 51% reduction in malpractice insurance costs and such a mass influx of doctors that the licensing baord cannot keep pace. Any doctor will tell you that many unneccesary tests are preformed on patients simply to keep the lawyers away. There are more lawyers in the 76 story Columbia Center in Seattle than the entire country of Japan. In Japan, the losing side pays all the costs of the lawsuit….what a concept.
[quote=”2BNCR”]Interesting and long over do. Think about this though, in the global picture, Costa Rica medical care is still much more expensive than many other countries. Do you think if this becomes popular that patients will seek out the cheaper countries?[/quote]
That may be true, however, the quality of doctors here is superb; I have a first hand experience. The closeness to the US and the fact that CR is much more socioeconomically advanced that all of its neighbors to the north is also ideal. I would not fly my wife 13+ hours to Thailand or India for health care. The comfort level with the culture and sanitation is not the same. Brazil and Argentina are also a bit far away.
Probably one of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies. Our Blue Cross insurance from Washington State already covers 70% of all medical expenses outside of the US. Bottom line is that it makes complete financial sense: would you rather pay 100% of a $4,200 caesarean section in bill (includes anesthesiologist, pediatrics, two surgeons, total surgical team of 8 and 2 nights in CIMA) or 80% of a $30,000-$40,000 US bill? As a business, I would rather save the $19,800-$29,800 and add it to the bottom line. The #1 reason for such a cost disparity is the cost of liability due to litigation. So many unecessary tests and procedures are performed by the medical community simply to keep the lawyers away.
We are about to go through the embassy process for our daughter and we have every shred of paper required, even our transcripts back to elementary school from 30+ years ago. We are only doing this in order to make it possible to get her into the states with as little fan fare as possible. We are much more interested in the Costa Rica citizenship and residency aspect. Eventually, we could care less about having US citizenship…it means less with every passing year and could become a major liability with respect to taxation.
The tempered glass will shatter into rectangular pieces instead of shards. The security laminate keeps the glass integrally intact with the lainate and is very difficult to penetrate. After several break-ins into our office building in the states, we applied a high quality security laminate to all windows accessible from the ground level. A rock thrown at the glass did not penetrate the interior.
Dangerous and highest road in the country with numerous switch backs to get to San Isidro. The only other option is through Orotina, Tacoles, Jaco, Parrita and Quepos to Dominical parallel to the coast. There is a newly improved road between Quepos/Manuel Antonio and Dominical, but bring a good map (NatGeo Adventure Map is very good) and travel during daylight. Be prepared to fjord some rivers = 4WD.
Stick with the main rental car companies for they have newer, more dependable vehicles that are maintained. There are some good local ones too such as POAS and ToyotaRents. Liability insurance is mandatory in Costa Rica and most all of the companies will be happy to provide you with an all-in cost quote including liability insurance and taxes (add 50% to the quoted daily or weekly rate). What they try to sell you at the time of rental is the all inclusive insurance that covers theft, vandalism and no liability or decutible if in an accident. However, the critical element to making sure this happens, is to contact the police, file a report and wait for an INS agent to assess the damage at the scene. In more remote parts of the country this is extremely difficult to do, especially if you do not have a cell phone and/or cannot give anyone Tico directions.
Breaking News! I just heard Oblahblahblahma just won the Heisman Trophy for watching a college football game.
My credit union in Washington State (BECU) only charges $15 for a wire transfer and BN does not charge for incoming dollars to a dollar account. BECU has an awesome online system and due to the banking crisis has grown from 500,000 to over 600,000 members in less than a year. The only requirement is a Washington State address to establish, but once established they cannot close the account, even if you move. David is right about opening a bank account in CR. Plan on a three day ordeal and having an S.A. put together by any of the attorneys recommended on this site with their letter of recomendation and a copy of an ICE bill with the same address as the S.A. will usually get the trick done. Some banks are more particular than others and with the recent OECD/IRS crusade, they are asking for a lot more personal information. Personally, I wish CR were more like Panama giving Uncle Sam the one finger salute.
