The Golden Gringo Chronicles: Part 3

By Bob Normand

This is Part 3 of a three part series that chronicles the true experience of one U.S. citizen who decided to move to Costa Rica for retirement. Part 3 covers the third, fourth and fifth year of our hero’s residency in Costa Rica (2011-2013).
Part 3 of the story follows our hero, Dudley Bodoh, the Golden Gringo or “GG”, through the trials and tribulations of becoming an ex-pat retiree and permanent resident of Costa Rica. He decides not to get a car and later confirms this as a good decision. After a few months he initiates the process of obtaining official residency but is duped by an unscrupulous intermediary and ends up becoming a “perpetual tourist” for over two years. Eventually he succeeds in this pursuit by doing it himself.
GG discovers an unexpected benefit in writing his monthly newsletter, the Golden Gringo Chronicles. It forced him to learn more about the history, traditions and culture of his adopted land.
He learns that the rich history of Costa Rica; the pre-Columbian native Americans that inhabited the land since recorded time, the 300 years of Spanish occupation starting with Christopher Columbus in 1502 and ending with the overthrow of Spanish hedgemony in 1821, and the modern era from 1821 to the present.
GG would also learn about the legends of Costa Rica and the mystery related to the stone spheres that have been found in southwestern Costa Rica as well as on some islands. He would also learn the existence of a treasure that was very well documented and very real yet never found after a pirate buried it on a Costa Rican island.
In Part 3, GG encounters the tremendous biodiversity and wildlife that is Costa Rica. Thousands of varieties of animals and insects and new species are being discovered all the time. There would be many kinds of bats, birds, bugs, butterflies, crocodiles, frogs, killer fish, leafcutter ants, lizards, monkeys, oxen, sloths and wildcats, as well as plant life more prolific and varied than any he had ever seen including over 3,000 species of orchids.
GG would come to realize a climate totally different from any place he had ever known. While hurricanes don’t happen in Ticoland, some Pacific storms could nevertheless pack a terrific punch. Earthquakes became a new experience for our hero, including finding himself in the middle of the second most powerful earthquake in Costa Rican history, an experience he would never forget.
GG would also have the worst health crisis of his life, congestive heart failure and might have died but for the quick action of a local private doctor. Later, he would join the public health system where he would find the bureaucracy a bit daunting but the medical personnel competent, caring and sensitive.
As GG spent more and more time simply living in Quepos he came to learn and appreciate the fruits and vegetables available to him. Not only were the traditional tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, pineapple and papaya exceptional fresh and tasty but he came across fruits he had never heard of, like cas, mamones, mangosteens, guanabana, acai and many others, some having great health benefit.
All during these early years, GG learned about the Costa Rican psyche and its cultural expression. He came to k now them as a gentle people who very much dislike confrontation. Their gentleness carries over to the way they treat their kids, very loving and very generous. GG also learned that Tico music is filled with romantic images and a strong love for their country.
After five years, the Golden Gringo spent some time doing a quantitative re-evaluation of his move to Costa Rica based on experience. Several places came out cheaper than Costa Rica but none came out better when an objective evaluation of the most important factors to GG were considered.
Though GG would always be grateful for being fortunate enough to be born and grow up in the United States, and would always remain a loyal American, the Golden Gringo had now als

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bob Normand
• Release date: Jun 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311214515

Bob Normand

Currently retired and living in Quepos, Costa Rica, Mr.Normand currently writes a monthly newsletter called the Golden Gringo Chronicles about being an ex-pat living in one of the most beautiful countriies in the world.Professional background: Mr. Normand has served as principal management consultant to more than 100 businesses ranging from $500,000 to $50,000,000 in annual sales and has owned and operated several small businesses of his own in diverse industries. Mr. Normand’s small business philosophy is premised on the belief that small business management skills can be developed by busy entrepreneurs using readily available information, tools and procedures not found in business schools or formal degree programs. His direct industrial experience as an executive includes chemicals, plastics, computer systems, office furniture, financial services, banking and small business management consulting.Academic: B.S. University of Massachusetts, M.S. Villanova University, MBA Program Ohio University. Past Adjunct Professor of Small Business Management, Northampton Community College. Author: Entreprenewal!,The Six Step Recovery Program for Small Business.

Book preview

The Golden Gringo Chronicles

&

Rudimentary Guide to Retiring in Costa Rica

True Stories from a U.S. Ex-Patriot

Living in Latin America

Novel in Three Parts

This is Part 3 – Becoming Tico, Maybe

By Bob Normand

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Bob Normand. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return toSmashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The trilogy:

Part 1: Leaving the Homeland

Part 2: Surviving in Costa Rica – The Early Years

Part 3: Becoming Tico, Maybe

Contents

Synopsis - Part 3

Chapter 1 – Getting to Know Quepos/Manuel Antonio

Chapter 2 - Getting Residency

Chapter 3 - History of Costa Rica

Chapter 4 – Legends of Costa Rica

Chapter 5 – Costa Rica Wildlife

Chapter 6 – Weather and Tremors

Chapter 7 - The Costa Rican Health Care System

Chapter 8 – Costa Rican Agriculture

Chapter 9 - Costa Rican Culture

Chapter 10 – Am I Tico Yet?

About the Author

Other Books by Bob Normand

Synopsis – Part 3

This is Part 3 of a three part series that chronicles the true experience of one U.S. citizen who decided to move to Costa Rica for retirement. Part 3 covers the third, fourth and fifth year of our hero’s residency in Costa Rica (2011-2013).

The series illustrate, by way of an informative and hopefully entertaining personal narrative, the decisions that needed to be made to leave the homeland (Part 1); they demonstrate the problems that crop up in accomplishing the move (Part 1) and they recount the experiences encountered in actually living in the adopted homeland rather than just visiting there (Parts 2 & 3).

Part 3 of the story follows our hero, Dudley Bodoh, the Golden Gringo or GG, through the trials and tribulations of becoming an ex-pat retiree and permanent resident of Costa Rica. Having decided on a three month trial doing without a car, he comes to the conclusion they’re an unnecessary luxury for a retiree in his comfortable situation. After a few months he initiates the process of obtaining official residency but is duped by an unscrupulous intermediary and ends up becoming a perpetual tourist for over two years. Eventually he succeeds in this pursuit and getting the document by doing it himself.

GG’s monthly newsletter, The Golden Gringo Chronicles continued to grow in sophistication and distribution during this period. An unexpected benefit of this writing activity was the need to research his articles which in turn taught GG more about the history, traditions and culture of his adopted land as he encountered and learned the peculiarities of Costa Rica.

He came to learn the rich history of Costa Rica was in three parts; the pre-Columbian native Americans that inhabited the land since recorded time, the 300 years of Spanish occupation starting with Christopher Columbus in 1502 and ending with the overthrow of Spanish government in all the Latin American colonies in 1821, and the modern era which began an extensive series of rather unstable governments but which achieved stability in the mid-1900’s and continues today as one of the more stable democratic governments in the world.

GG would learn about the legends of Costa Rica, some that are whimsical and some that are very romantic. He would also hear of the mystery related to the stone spheres that have been found in southwestern Costa Rica and even on some islands as well as the disappearance of a fabulous treasure that was planted on one Costa Rican island by the Spanish in an attempt to thwart the taking of same by rebels during the revolutionary period. The existence of the treasure was very well documented and very real yet never found again.

In Part 3, GG will encounter more of the tremendous biodiversity and wildlife that is Costa Rica. Costa Rica has thousands of varieties of animals and insects and new species are being discovered all the time. GG would encounter in the wild many kinds of bats, birds, bugs, butterflies, crocodiles, frogs, killer fish, leafcutter ants, lizards, monkeys, oxen, sloths and wildcats. He would learn and see plant life more prolific and varied than any he had ever seen including almost 10% of the 17,000 species of orchids in the world that are present here.

GG would also soon learn that he was living in a climate totally different from any place he had ever known. While he would learn that hurricanes didn’t happen in Ticoland, nevertheless some Pacific storms could pack a terrific punch. And terremotos or earthquakes were a new experience for our hero. Feeling his first tremors was, the kind that cause little damage, he found them exhilarating. But later he would find himself in the middle of the second most powerful earthquake in Costa Rican history, an experience he would never forget.

Not long after taking up residence in Costa Rica, GG would find himself in the middle of the worst health crisis of his life. He developed congestive heart failure and, but for the quick action of a local private doctor, he likely would not have been around to write these chronicles. He came to appreciate the competency, caring and sensitivity of Costa Rican medical personnel. Later, after receiving his residency card and joining the public health system he would find the bureaucracy a bit daunting but the personnel of the same caliber as the private system. Pura Vida!

As GG spent more and more time simply living in Quepos he came to learn and appreciate the fruits and vegetables available to him. He discovered more kinds of fruit in the fresh markets that popped up every weekend than he had ever known existed. Not only were the traditional tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, pineapple and papaya exceptional fresh and tasty but he came across fruits he had never heard of, like cas, mamones, mangosteens, guanabana, acai and many others. Fresh vegetables were also found to be outstanding, some of them reaching phenomenal sizes growing in the rich local soils.

All during these early years, GG was fascinated by the Costa Rican psyche and its cultural expression. He came to understand by observation that Costa Ricans are a gentle people, quick to warm to you and quick to smile. They are a gentle people and very much dislike confrontation. Their gentleness carries over to the way they treat their kinds, very loving and very generous. GG would learn that their music is filled with romantic images and a strong love for their country. Tico cultural history includes numerous legends and stories full of romance images and ranging from where butterflies come from to where a long lost treasure may be hiding.

After more than five years as a resident in Costa Rica, GG spent some time one day thinking about whether or not he had made the right decision about retiring there. He even did a somewhat quantitative comparison of his experience against an international magazine’s rating of the best places to retire. Several places came out cheaper than Costa Rica but none came out better when a subjective evaluation of the most important characteristics to GG was considered.

Though GG would always be grateful for being fortunate enough to be born and grow up in the United States, and would always remain a loyal American, the Golden Gringo had now also become a Tico.

Chapter 1 – Getting to Know Quepos/Manuel Antonio

Our hero, Dudley Bodoh, aka The Golden Gringo or GG, moved to Costa Rica in September, 2008 to take up retirement. He chose to live in the Quepos/Manuel Antonio area, specifically in downtown Quepos, on the South Central Pacific coast, an area he had visited some eight times before moving there and a place where he had always felt comfortable with people and the surroundings.

During the first two years in Costa Rica (see Part 2), GG occupied himself with learning the ropes of where to buy things, where to find services and what to do when you could not find either (usually it meant going to San José to continue looking). Learning the bus system came easily but slowly both for the local and long haul busses. The local busses consisted of connections from Quepos to Manuel Antonio, Parrita, Jacó, Naranjito and Dominical while the longer hauls