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[quote=”Scott”]You’re written Spanish is perfect!
Scott
PS. Although the Royal Marines are “Special Forces” – Just for the record I was not in the SAS although I did do the SBS ([url=http://www.eliteukforces.info/special-boat-service/]Special Boat Service[/url]) acquaint course… I passed but they told me I was too young at the time to join…
Thank goodness![/quote]
LOL Sorry Scott, I merely meant the SAS-Type…I understand your consternation and I stand duly corrected.
I DO salute you con mucho gusto, as a fellow serviceman….I know the Royal Marines are a tough bunch…… I’ve met a few and some SAS guys as well over the years as I was a part of the USAF’s “Red Horse” and “Prime Beef” units and have had to ride along a time or two with Her Majesty’s troops.
It also appears that I need to upgrade my membership, as I cannot access Roger Petersen’s importing Q&A, but no hay problema. (see, I’m learning Spanish as we speak….LOL)
pasar un buen día!
Dan.
USAF. 1978-1981[quote=”Scott”]The articles will give you much of the information you need and there is a pretty good choice of weapons here although with import duties, they will cost more here than they do in the USA.
I practise at an indoor shooting range in Pavas on the outskirts of San Jose on a regular basis and there are other ranges around (in Spanish you need to search for a poligono).
Scott[/quote]
As always, THANKS Scott….. You’re ok for one of them former SAS-Types and stuff….I look forward to meeting you with great anticipation…thanks for all you do, INCLUDING answering as many emails and posting on as many threads as you do.
Pura Vida Mi Amigo! (Uh, did I say that right?…..LOL)
Dan.
Point well taken. I’m like you in that I like to keep the skills sharp, and I also am a minor collector and would just like to have my collection WITH me, rather than sitting in some storage locker.
I’m not afraid of the process, I just wan to make sure I don’t inadvertently violate some law or sanction in what I hope will be my new home…It would stink to get thrown out……LOL
What kind of legal weapons are available there? is there a separate provision for automatic and semi-automatic?
And most importantly, are there ranges where one may spend a little time shooting at dirt clods or something?
And lastly, what type of security do you recommend for home storage of said firearms?
I know I’m getting WAAAY ahead of myself, I need to actually GET there first, but to be forewarned…..
Gracias!
Dan.
No, I haven’t Scott, but thank you, I will read them thoroughly..
THANKS!!
Dan.
P.S. How’s that sunburn? Great account of the macaw escort btw!
[quote=”soldier”]Dan,
23 years! I can imagine what you went through, I only had to deal with the two brain cell idiots for five years. Glad you finally received your earned award! I’m a Viet vet and a legal asistant with 21 years of experience. You are right, VA does not adhear to 38 C.F.R., nor any other regulations or laws. Even with my legal experience, the VA disregarded my legal arguments and medical evidence for five years. With VA disability claims at the one million mark, and raising every day, the VA has ordered more denial stamps, or, merely lost or shredded veterans medical evidence. You made a good point, I will file a claim for the additional retro pay, so a VA claim adjudicator will be required to, but will not, review two boxes worth of my medical documentation. What most vets do not know is that the VA adjudicators are required to process 3-4 claims a day; which means, they only have around two hours to review and process each claim.
Take care.
Alfred[/quote]
My older Brother is a retired SF. Sergeant Major, a VietNam Vet also, and I can’t even begin to tell you what he has gone through recently. He’s been one of the lucky ones and Agent Orange hasn’t affected him before now, but at 60, he’s starting to have problems and the VA is trying to weasel out of doing anything.
THIS guy is a bona fide hero-type and even tho now he works as a “Governemnt Contractor” He’s having problems.
The VA needs a serious enema, but it will never happen until/unless we can get these Anti-Veteran “Representatives” out of Government
Please, stay in touch!
Dan.
[quote=”soldier”]Dan,
Glad I could help. The VA is anti-veteran, as any veteran knowns. I have been battling the VA for five years, in order to obtain 100%. After five denials, two decision review officer hearings, and numerous appeal and medical document submissions; I finally won my award in 2009. VA still gave me the short end of the stick, they only made my award retro to 2007; instead of 2004, my original filing date. I could continue to battle VA for the additional retro, however, after five years of battling the VA; I am exhausted and drained from the paper fire fight! I read http://www.vawatchdog.org every day, this is a great website by and for veterans. Be prepared for shocking news about our VA!
Take Care.
Alfred[/quote]
Alfred, none of this surprises me, it only took me 23 years to finally get my rating…YES, 23 years.
The law, the US Code (US CODE, Title 38 Paragraph 1110, I believe), not the CFR, sets out that Veterans are to be paid to the time of their injury, I was injured in 1978. My claim was finally approved in early 2000 and I was back-paid to only 1995. The VA engages in all these denials and delays in order to PREVENT having to pay like the Law states, deferring to the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations), which isn’t even law.
Then our lovely former president, GILLIGAN, signed an executive order, sticking it further into Vets waiting on long drawn-out claims, stating that no Veteran’s claim shall be back-paid earlier than 1995. (I know WWII Vets still fighting claims)
Yes, the VA is our biggest adversary, I consider myself lucky to have done it in only 23 years when SO MANY deserving Veterans are still fighting the system. The VA hopes we will tire and just walk away, or die somewhere in the process….Dead Vets collect no benefits.
Forget fighting for an earlier effective date, the VA is immortal and we are not, and that is their advantage.(Keep fighting, it just pisses them off, serious.)
Regards!
Dan.
[quote=”soldier”]Dan,
In August 2009, the VA granted me 100% disability, permanent and total disability, with special monthly compensation. Like yourself, we will be retiring to CR, and through online research, I became aware that the VA pays for service-connected disabilities in CR; and around the world. I downloaded the application from online, and mailed it to Denver, Colorado. About two weeks later, I received the approval letter for VA foreign medical treatment. Refer to the following for addition information: hac.fmp@med.va.gov; http://www.4.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/fmp/fmp.asp; telefax: 303-331-7803 and VA Foreign Medical Program Office, P.O. Box 469061, Denver, Colorado 80246-9061.
Hope this helps, it is a pleasure corresponding with a fellow brother in-arms. Take care.
Alfred[/quote]
Wow, Alfred, thanks. I’m sure you have also become aware that the VA tells us NOTHING, and what we find on our own is just dumb luck sometimes.
Thank you, this is a teriffic find, and I appreciate your sharing………I’m on it right now!
Hope we can keep in touch!
Dan.
P.S. that link was incorrect, but I got it figured out, here it is:
www4.va.gov/hac/foreignbeneficiaries/fmp/fmp.asp
An easy typo, no biggie, but THANKS for the link, hope this helps someone else as well!
[quote=”soldier”]Could any fellow service-connected disabled veterans, offer any insight into service-connected medical care provided; and reimbursed by the Veterans Administration, in Costa Rica. [b]I have been approved for the VA foreign medical care program[/b], and would like to obtain information of other veterans experiences in regard to this matter. Any information would be greatly appreciated.[/quote]
I’m a 100% Service-Connected Vet and am making the move to CR VERY SOON…..I have never heard of this, could you give ME some info on this Foreign Medical Care Program, while you are waiting for responses?
I would appreciate it!
Best of luck!!
Dan.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]You will find lots of them at any of the bars in Jaco, any time, night or day :lol:[/quote]
OK…..Next question…..Drink prices???
[quote=”azjimaz”]And this all relates to the high price of vehicles in CR, how?
[/quote]
I suspect that there might be a little bit of a language barrier, but I think he is trying to rationalize why the cost of cars is so disproportionately high compared to the cost vs. average salaries in Switzerland, and have someone help him understand why the cost is so high…..
I think that someone more knowledgeable than I might explain the import duties, as I THINK that that is where his answer lies…..could be wrong.
Hope the answer is found!
Best to All!Dan.
[quote=”maravilla”]yum! my neighbor found a 22.5 kilo ayote in her compost heap. she divided it up and gave us a big chunk which my husband made soup with, very similar recipe except that he use miso paste as the base. omg! it was divine. then i made fresh croutons from some italian bread i’d baked and we put those on top to add texture. but we did two things differently from your recipe — one, we used FRESH milk/cream from our local dairy, and FRESH butter. mmmmmmmmmmm[/quote]
Maravilla….when we get there, would you teach us how to cook, or come cook for us just once?! LOL
I’m now disappointed with the Chili I just had.
[quote=”janetready”]I moved to Canada from England in my twenties with very little thought beforehand except I knew a friend of a friend there, but I had never been there, didn’t know much about the country and didn’t really have any plan to stay permanently but ended up staying for many years.
For me the difference in thinking of moving to Costa Rica is the amount of stuff involved! I left England with two suitcases, now we have two properties filled with belongings, pets, vehicles,a boat, kayak etc etc that need to be dealt with.
What holds us back ( or maybe down) is all our accumulated things and the need to replace a lot of them once we do make the move. It was a lot easier when I was younger and had much less.[/quote]It sure would be easier if one were “Unencumbered”….We face this to a lesser degree, as we lost MOST everything in Hurricane Charley. What we DO have now will be divided up, some we may try to bring and the rest may go in storage, then again, we may sell everything we can and just go make a fresh start.
These are the decisions facing a lot of people, I suspect, and the question is….. Can we make that leap?
I guess everyone’s motivations are different, it’s the execution that hangs us up.
I wish you luck coming to whatever conclusions YOU personally have to come to in order to make your own personal leap.
My apprehensions have been diminished by talking to the fine people here and I hope that when we make OUR journey, we can shake the hands of some of those who have given THEIR time to come to these forums and talk to people like you and me.
Regards,
Dan.
[quote=”maravilla”]with the way they drive down here, the narrow windy roads with no guard rails, the pot holes that will swallow your car or cause a major collision, FORGET MOTORCYCLES unless you want to die young. stop signs are merely a suggestion, as are red lights. passing on the right is a right. crossing a double yellow to pass in a no pass zone is also a right. the highways are full of yellow hearts where pedestrians were run down. it’s not the car’s job to stop; it’s the pedestrians job to get the hell out of the way.[/quote]
Thanks Maravilla, that is about how I had it figured, but I’m not going to want to do this on a Goldwing, I’m talking about something made for off-road, long haul riding, so I’m not scared (Yet)…….I still want to look at that aspect once we’ve been there.
…My Wife wants to go NOW…serious.
Dan.
I’ve been waiting for a couple of days to see if anyone added anything here, and no one has, so here I go again…….LOL
MOTORCYCLING. Speak to me of this, anyone who knows. I’ve followed a lot of threads from people touring the world, some made round-the-world trips, but I would only be interested in touring Central and South America (Primarily Costa Rica tho…).
I know cars are EXPENSIVE, but what of Motorcycles? Still the same thing applies?
And LASTLY, a question on a different note……..What areas, if any, of Costa Rica need to be avoided, especially by a tenderfoot Gringo fresh off the boat?
Thank you all, this has been a most informative thread, I hope it continues.
Dan.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]Dan, I just want to add a comment to everything else that’s been said. maravilla and I disagree on some things and agree on others. But she and I share the common experience of having come to Costa Rica for the first time ever, gotten over the culture shock (for me, at least) in short order, and made a commitment. This is not the safe route for everyone, but it has obviously worked for maravilla and it has worked for Marcia and me.
Our first visit here was for the express purpose of ruling out Costa Rica as a destination. We kept looking for the disqualifier . . . the thing we couldn’t tolerate. When we couldn’t find it, we jumped.
Now to be sure, it ain’t perfect, but it’s a lot better (for us) than what we left behind and it may be for you, too.[/quote]
Thanks David, it seems from some extensive reading, that THAT is a common story across a broad spectrum of people…….This truly will be an adventure of the first order.
Can’t wait to get there…….We’ll be looking for that very same “disqualifier”
