All big journeys begin with one small step...an old Chinese proverb, right? In my case, it all started with a visit from my friend and neighbor, Kenny. His granddaughter goes horseback riding at our place sometimes, and while she was out on the trails, Kenny told me about his most recent family vacation. His whole family, including kids and grandkids, had gone to Costa Rica. They had a wonderful time swinging through the rainforest on giant cables, visiting gorgeous beaches, viewing volcanoes and all kinds of wildlife including monkeys and toucans. What struck him most he said, was seeing a group of American college age kids camping right on the beach, tents and all, to go surfing. Costa Rican waves are world famous, but the freedom and safety to camp on the beach does not exist in many places in the world any more. Not only is Costa Rica beautiful and safe, but the climate is great, and you can drink the water.
I listened to Kenny's story and was fascinated...but where on earth was Costa Rica? Somewhere south of Mexico....? Unwilling to admit my ignorance, I researched it when I came home and...found it north of Panama, with a red, white, and blue striped flag. Stable economy, no army, foreign investment welcomed, friendly to Americans, lots of protected land and forest reserves, volcanoes, pristine beaches....the more I read, the more I wanted to know. Was all of Central America like this? I looked on the map and found Nicaragua, Panama, Guatamala, Belize, Honduras and el Salvador. Next came a trip to the book store where I picked up guide books to all of Central America and to Mexico too. Many more nights of internet research followed. I was entirely ignorant to this part of the world. I grew up in various parts of Africa, lived in Europe and Japan. I've been married to a guy from Florida for the past 25 years...two grown kids...and, living in Florida, I had never been further south on the American continent than Key West. I knew nothing of Central and South America, but I did love its wonderful gaited horses. They are quickly becoming popular in the United States, and in Europe too. Costa Rica,....that's where we were going on our next family vacation.
It took a little work, but my family is used to Mommy's getting bees in her bonnet, and within a few months my husband, my two kids and I were cruising down the Costa Rican Autopista (Pan American highway) in a rented Gran Vitara vehice. It was a wonderful vacation, and my next job was to convince my husband that we needed to buy some property in Costa Rica. But how could we make a living in this country, and what do we do with the folks? My husband is an only child, and we had been taking care of his parents for years. Being in the horse business, my first thought was to start a stables in Costa Rica similar to the one we had in Florida.
Then something happened to change my mind.
My father in law took a turn for the worse and we were suddenly confronted with the end of life process as it unfolds in the United States. As he was shuttled from hospital to intensive care facility to assisted living facility and back to another hospital again, we were horrified to watch how the system worked. When he finally passed away after many, many months of confusion and loneliness in many different facilities, I made two decisions. This was not going to happen to me....and neither was it going to happen to my mother in law or to anyone else that I loved, if I could help it. The light bulb had clicked on, and I now realized I needed to start an Assisted Living Facility for people facing similar situations to utilize for their loved ones where assistance could be obtained at an affordable price in nice surroundings.
That decided, the next question was: “Where in Costa Rica?” I needed a quiet location, no big city noise and traffic, yet close to the major highway, and easily accessible, less than one hours drive from the airport in San Jose. I needed clean air, pretty views and lots of birds and butterflies, and a cool climate, not too cold so that people who were not very mobile could sit around and enjoy it. To be less than 10 minutes away from good clinics and a hospital was a must, for obvious reasons. The area around San Ramon de Alajuela, which is less than an hour’s drive from the airport in San Jose fit the bill.
I had been corresponding with many real estate agents, brokers, and consultants, and on my third trip down I contacted a real estate consulting firm in Palmares de Alajuela, called Costa Rica Properties run by two retired Americans, Bob Stone and John Tribuzio, who had become Costa Rica residents, (and have since become my very good friends). I was interested in some inexpensive properties on their website at www.costaricahomesandproperty.com, and on my third trip down, they found the perfect property for me only a short distance from San Ramon, and a short time later, a second property adjoining it, which I also purchased. The two properties together made one beautiful piece of land for my Assisted Living Facility.
There are hummingbirds everywhere, one of them guards my front gate and chases away all the other little birds that dare invade his turf……he’s the guard dog of the property, and watching him in action makes me laugh, so I named the property after him: “Casa Colibri”. My neighbors are great, and so friendly. To my delight, the milkman comes right to my door. You don’t know fresh milk until you taste his. There are coffee fields beside me. In front, there are trees, and a magnificent view of the Gulf of Nicoya. I can see the port city of Puntarenas, especially at night when it lights up like a Christmas decoration. I can also see the lights of the ferries as they cross the Gulf to the Nicoya Peninsula. I also see the cruise ships as they dock….an amazing sight as well….and last but not least….both white face and howler monkeys come right up to the property. Toucans come through also, and we even grow our own coffee!
What more could anyone want….Yeah, I know, horses….but I’ll get to that one day. One step at a time…..
Solo Bueno, Nelleke Winn
e-mail address casacolibri92@hotmail.com
Website – www.assistedlivingcostarica.com
