Happy New Year, and Healthcare in Costa Rica

A big thank you to my clients and friends for the lovely notes and emails you sent to me during the holidays. They helped me get into the holiday spirit and now I'm looking forward to a prosperous and exciting 2009.

The New Year here in Costa Rica signifies the start of our Summer. Having lived here for five years, I'm beginning to get used to the patterns of the seasons, so Summer in January seems right. Also, I can begin to dry out after the long rainy season.

In late November, my friend Ann and I made appointments to visit a private hospital in a suburb of San Jose. The hospital is called Hospital CIMA. It is my "go to" hospital when I need something more than my local doctor, i.e., an MRI.

Hospital CIMA offers several packages of healthcare checkups, and it was one of these packages that took Ann and me to CIMA this time. The package that we chose is CIMA's "women's comprehensive checkup", and it consisted of the following:

• Traditional mammogram
  

• Ultrasonic mammogram
  

• Ultrasonic pelvic exam


• Pap smear


• Fecal check


• Full bloodwork


• Bone-density scan


• Consultation with a Nutritionist


• Consultation and physical checkup with a General Practitioner


• Breakfast

I cannot imagine what the above tests would cost in the U.S. or Canada out-of-pocket, but here they cost each of us a bit less than $400. And the care and equipment at CIMA are exceptional. And--surprise--they gave us the full results to keep, including the ultrasound images, the full bloodwork results, and the bone-density scan images.

The good news is that I am in excellent health. Even my cholesterol. So---what are we waiting for?? We all know what that means, right?? FOOD!! CHEESE!! MEAT!! COOKING!! Let's go!!

Last night I prepared fresh Corvina filets with a garlic-lime-cilantro-butter sauce. I served them with steamed Jasmine rice and steamed broccoli with French viniagrette. Tonight I'm making a chicken stir-fry, and tomorrow night will be Dijon-pork chops, eggplant (capponata), and oven-roasted potatoes. I have already shopped for and prepared most of these items so that our weeknight meals will be easy and non time-consuming. Oh, and I found some perfect cauliflower in the market this week, so I will be making "popcorn cauliflower", too.

During the holidays here at Lake Arenal, we have lots of Holiday Open Houses, much like in the U.S. and Canada. It's always fun to plan and prepare the hors d'ouevres that I take to the various events. A hit this year was my goat cheese/ricotta/caviar "cheesecake". Que rico. And very easy to make.

To celebrate the holidays with my two incredibly talented and hard-working assistants, Raquel and Laura Emilia, I treated them to lunch at the newly opened 5 Corners Grill. We had a wonderful lunch and then exchanged gifts. Here are some photos of the event:

Can you believe that tiny Laura Emilia ate EVERY bite of that huge panini? She also had a fruit smoothie, AND a chocolate sundae for dessert!

This afternoon Alex and I treated ourselves to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe y Macadamia at Rio Piedras. I love what the owner, Marcos, does with the presentation, and the food is always fresh and delicious. Alex started today with a mango/yogurt smoothie:



Next, Alex ordered the tilapia sandwich:



And I ordered my perennial favorite, the tilapia salad:



And the tilapia salad was served with three different homemade dressings:



Que r-rr-rico, and check back soon!

Kind regards always,

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
www.arenalbuyersrealty.com
www.lakearenal.blogspot.com
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
011-506-2-695-4511