ARCR’s English Language Magazine May / June 2019 $3.95 Free for members Published by ARCR Administración S.A. Apdo. 1191-1007 Centro Colón San José, Costa Rica (www.arcr.cr) El Residente FIFTY YEARS AGO IN COSTA RICA Also in this issue: Swan Song Staying Healthy in the Tropics Making Art in Costa Rica Wisdom Gained in a Slow Taxi FREEinside MAP NEW Catastrophic Insurance Plan Available through INS Costa Rica! If you want health insurance coverage in the event of a Sonia Gómez García catastrophe, this might be exactly Licencia número 08-1271 what you’re looking for! (Requires minimum overnight hospital stay.) Bancrédito Seguros Bancrédito Seguros is the new, official ARCR provider for INS insurance. We offer all types of insurance for homes and condos (ask about the Hogar Comprensivo option for condos) and automobiles. Options for automobile insurance deductibles are also available. Our staff is highly trained to give you the best service possible. Call or drop by and see Carlos David Ortiz or Juan Carlos Calero in the Insurance office in the ARCR complex for a quote. We'll find the ideal policy to fit your needs! Available in ARCR's Insurance Office Phone: 2220-0055 or 4052-4052 / email: [email protected] May / June 2019 Contents Editor's Note Across the Board ARCR Board of Directors 4 HELP! El Residente has lost some of its writers and we Fifty Years Ago in Costa Rica need to replace them. If you have ever considered being Steve Johnson 6 a contributor, now is your chance. Have you written Monteverde Moments something about Costa Rica? About your life here? Or Marshall Cobb 11 do you have something else in mind? Send it in! Don’t Day in The Life worry about how professional the writing is; we have an Allen Dickinson 13 excellent staff that will help you make it just like you Wild Side 14 want it to be. Do it now! If you put it off…well, you know that story. On the Grid 16 Ivo Henfling In this issue, if you are a member of the Caja, be sure to From the Embassies read about the changes taking place in the Across the U.S. and U.K. Embassies 22 Board column. Corporation owners should be sure to Legal Update review the information on digital signatures in the Legal Rómulo Pacheco 24 Update column. Other good reading, which can help you Guest Column avoid snake bites, can be found in Wild Side. All-in-all, Gretchen Treuting 26 we hope you enjoy this issue. Design Wise Shelagh Duncan 29 Senior Living in Costa Rica Katya DeLuisa 32 Paradise, We Have a Problem Tony Johnson 34 Club Corner 37 Business Directory 39 Contact Information Check our blog on our Facebook site. Published by: ARCR Administration / www.arcr.net Email: [email protected] Managing Director: Rómulo Pacheco This magazine has been published every two months since 1995 as the Editor-in-Chief: Allen Dickinson official communications media of ARCRAdministration . Our organization Associate Editor: Bob Brashears provides service to thousands of foreigners who have chosen Costa Rica Graphic Design: Eduardo González to reside for short periods or for permanent residence. Advertising graphics: Rubén Chavarría Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Since 1984 we have been offering reliable services, information and Office hours: Av 14, Calle 42, San José, Costa Rica advocacy to Costa Rica’s foreign residents. We have the experience Main office, San José: and ability to help you with your residency application, immigration, (506) 2220-0055, (506) 4052-4052 business and financial management, real estate purchases and rentals, Mailing address: P.O. Box 1191-1007 Centro Colón, San José, Costa Rica property management, insurance, pet importation and much more. Advertising and If you wish to place an ad in El Residente, please contact the Advertising Publicity: [email protected] and Publicity desk in the ARCR Administration Office or at the email Insurance Office: [email protected] address listed in the masthead. Goods & services offered are paid General information: [email protected] advertisements. Neither ARCR Administration nor El Residente research Caja account info: [email protected] the companies and take no responsibility for the quality of such goods Residency info: [email protected] and services. Some articles published in El Residente may have been Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ARCR123 written by non-professionals. El Residente attempts to check all facts ARCR Forums: www.forums.arcr.net included, but takes no responsibility for their accuracy. ARCR Webpage: www.arcr.cr Cover Photo Credit: Golfito circa 1968 by Steve Johnson El Residente 4 Across the Board Notes and News from the Board of Directors CAJA NEWS 1, RATE REDUCTIONS After can be brought into the building. The following extensive negotiations with the Caja, it has been information is taken from their website. determined that some ARCR members (those under 55 years of age) will be receiving a reduction in their Prohibited items: monthly Caja contribution. Those over 55 will not. • Cellular phones There is no need for you to call the office, those • Bags, luggage, backpacks, purses affected will be notified. • Any type of electronic device (including laptops, CAJA NEWS 2, PRESCRIPTIONS Prescriptions cell phones, iPads, iPods, MP3 players, cameras, are generally issued for enough medications to last memory sticks, CDs, smart watches, etc.) the patient 30 days. Some facilities are now printing • Weapons of any kind, explosive materials, tools of prescriptions by computer and the form is taken to any size the pharmacy and filled. When the patient picks up the packet they may find the pharmacy has included a • Drinks, food form for up to 6-months of additional 30-day refills. • Strollers DO NOT LOSE THE FORM, AS WITHOUT IT REFILLS ARE NOT AVAILABLE. This list is not comprehensive and other items may be prohibited at the discretion of the security staff. CAJA NEWS 3, ON-LINE APPOINTMENTS Some Ebais, doctors, and other Caja facilities are now Be advised that the Embassy no longer has a storage scheduling all appointments online. If you encounter facility for any items. Visitors are strongly recommended difficulty entering your Cédula number into the to make alternate arrangements for storage of any of appointment website, contact ARCR for assistance. the above personal effects before arrival. Failure to abide by security requirements can result in significant AFTER LIFE SERVICES Some ARCR members delays or even a missed appointment. Please ensure you are not aware that they can receive a discount on after have a hard copy of your appointment confirmation life services from the Polini Funeral Home chain. Polini alongside any supporting documentation required has multiple locations around the country, under various for your appointment. Only clients with scheduled business names, so inquire directly with your local appointments will be admitted. U.S. citizens with funeral home to determine if they are part of the Polini emergencies are admitted on a case-by-case basis. group, and what discounted rates are available. HEALTH CARE INSURANCE 1 Members who have an international healthcare insurance policy from a U.S. company should be aware that their coverage may be denied if a medical emergency occurs in a country subject to U.S. government sanctions (Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, etc.) HEALTH CARE INSURANCE 2 INS has announced that those persons who are residents of Costa Rica and have a valid, paid-up healthcare insurance policy through INS, and who experience a medical emergency while visiting their home country, will be covered by their INS policy. ARCR Board of Directors: U.S. EMBASSY RESTRICTED ITEMS The From the left, back row, Earl Tomlinson, Allen Dickinson, U.S. Embassy in San José has changed what items Bob Brashears, Terry Renfer , Terry Wise. Front row, Mel Goldberg, Linda Leake, Martha Rollins. To ship from HERE to HERE call SHIP TO COSTA RICA [email protected] Door to door shipping of FULL CONTAINER LOADS or CONSOLIDATED SHIPPING Commercial shipments - Household goods Cars - Boats - Anything Custom Brokers Toll free: 1-866-245-6923 • Phone: (506) 2431-1234 • Fax: (506) 2258-7123 El Residente 6 Fifty Years Ago in Costa Rica by Steve Johnson The woman with the oxcart was Piedades Duarte, head of the community development organization for La Palma-Colorado, standing in front of the Chang Trading Co. in La Cuesta Settling In y first order of business as a Peace Corps was a stallion. Later I discovered he had charged me twice volunteer was to get to know the community. I the going rate. To make a long story short, let’s just say the had been told not to push things too much and mare and I did not get along one bit. to take my time getting acquainted. My job was supposed M For the last couple of years the people of La Cuesta had to be rural community development and agricultural been working on raising funds to build a public water extension, both things about which I had zero experience; system, which was finally completed about four months my college degree in international relations was of after I arrived. It had been a major community effort and absolutely no use. Supervision from San José was lax at I realized they wanted to take a rest after that, but they best, and as was the case with most volunteers, I would continued to hold fund-raisers, which I helped with. have to figure things out for myself. One of those was on a Christmas Eve, a community What might I do? There was a community organization dance in La Palma, which was held out in the jungle at in La Palma and Colorado, two villages deep in the a bar called El Guay.