To my surprise, as I was writing this article, I realized that it was five years ago this month that I started the blog. Color me surprised. I don’t know that I would’ve ever considered that I would’ve still been writing this blog five years later. I enjoyed that there is no doubt. And I just want to say that I greatly appreciate the people that follow and read this. I can’t thank you enough. I just hope you continue to find this interesting to read. That being said, let me get on with this post.

You can’t make this stuff up category

1.      Some young Italians getting tattoos of QR codes for C19 health checks – that are only good for 6 months

2.      Foreign banks now asking not only are you an American, but have you ever been an American?

3.      Hospitals in Philippines asking people to agree their loved ones died of COVID so that they can get extra allowance from the government for COVID related deaths. Gee I wonder what that will do to the statistical data?

4.      Philippines – in the early days of COVID enacted regulations that two people riding on a motorcycle needed to have the passenger hold a plastic shield up between them to prevent the spread of COVID – While they are both wearing helmets anyway 😊

On the road again …

Costa Rica

-         Traffic in San José not great

-         Drivers pretty rude

-         Roads narrow

-         Restaurants expensive

-         Food – not that great considering

-         Great weather and very nice areas of the town to live in - so incredibly GREEN

-         Nice malls

-         Red taxis exorbitantly expensive – and they don’t roam – You have to find a stand ; Use Uber instead

-         Medical care seems costly unless you have local insurance

-         Restaurants and hotels seem to add 23% to all bills for tax and service.

I think the last few weeks in the U.S. really exhausted me. And I’m tired. Tired of traveling? Maybe. I see these nice places and people and I’m totally disconnected from it all. I was too tired to go to the coast in Costa Rica for sure.

Been working out pretty regularly … but as usual, trying to stay away from sugar has been difficult.

Found a restaurant called Búlali at the Avenida Escazu Mall … wonderful. The only really good restaurant I’ve found in San José. The pictures in the gallery above are from there.

But it really has hit home with me, that when in a new country, you need an introduction into a group. Almost impossible to just break in and meet people (unless you are an extrovert like my friend Mark). It is one of the reasons I think I will be alone for quite a while more.

Having said that, I have met some really nice people here. And this morning at my bed and breakfast I had a wide ranging conversation with a very nice Catalan couple from France and a Costa Rican writer. All in Spanish. I survived. I was able to contribute and could understand about 60%+ of the conversation so I’m counting it a success 😊.

And via my tour guide and his friend, I met a Costa Rican lawyer who specializes in immigration issues. I may not immigrate but what an incredibly nice lady to talk to. I really enjoyed our lunch. And the day after I met her, she was at my favorite restaurant Búlali when I came for breakfast. Met her husband and 2 boys as well. So cool to see her again. She recognized me and I saw her do a double take at me but I dismissed it. Partially because of the mask she was wearing and as well, my head space was such that I didn’t think I would know anyone here. As trivial as it may seem that kind of made my day.

I’m feeling more energetic and talking with people has helped.

At the SJO airport waiting for flight to Panamá. Lounge is a little down market. First time I’ve ever seen a for pay menu in a business class lounge. Ridiculous. I’m tired again. Anxiety a little but not as bad as when I was in LAX. Wonder what is causing that? I suspect it may be the frequency of travel and going to totally brand new places. Although that never used to be an issue with me.

Panamá City

Warm and tropical. But high-rise city. Kind of a cross between Hong Kong and Singapore. Apparently the local geology is basalt and incredibly stable. A little gritty in flavor. I did take a tour to go and see the canal. It was worth it. What an incredible feat of engineering it was, especially considering it was done around 1914. I didn’t know this of course, but the French apparently tried to construct the canal for 20 years and failed and then sold the rights to the Americans who, by using a different engineering model (the same as they apparently used on the Erie Canal), were able to complete it in about 10 years. And interestingly enough, the canal was only returned to Panama recently, and until then America was only paying $1 million a year in rent, whereas the income that the Panamanian government is getting from the canal is approximately $1.3 billion a year. Can anybody say rabid colonialism?

Panamá is the first country that I have been in that was dollarized. They do have a local currency, the Balboa. However, as far as I can see, other than a few coins, nobody uses it. Everything is denominated in US dollars. Car prices appear to be reasonable. So do housing prices, although I haven’t done serious research into that. However, even though it was a brief visit, I could see spending a few months a year there.

So, as I finish this blog post, quite late, I’m settled in at my AIRBNB in Medellin, Colombia. I was anxious to a certain extent coming back to Columbia. I had heard that it was quite troubled here. However, after a couple of days back in Medellin, I feel quite comfortable. I think I can say I feel more comfortable here than Costa Rica or Panamá. So, I’m here for another four weeks before going back to Las Vegas. My goals, such as they are, are to really go to town on my Spanish, work out like a crazed weasel, and see, once again, if I can reduce my addiction to the devil’s white powder … sugar, that is, for those of you whose minds may have gone elsewhere with that 😊.

 Not sure why the Café Noir has ‘God bless America’ in neon inside but still a very nice restaurant. The view is from my Air BnB window.