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Costa Rica Trip February 15-28 (Christian
Foundation for Children & Aging) February 15 (Sunday) - Lv. Juneau, 2:21pm … Ar. Seattle, 5:58pm. I joined the Alaska Airlines “Boardroom”, killing most of my waiting time until leaving Seattle, at 1:55pm on American. February 16 (Monday) - Ar. Dallas/Ft.Worth, 5:30am … Lv. 10:00am … Ar. San Jose (CR), 2:06pm. First Class Frequent Flyer miles all the way. I bought a fat collection of stories at a nice book store in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport, which lasted me until I got back to Seattle. Dr. Tom Davis met me at the airport. Although we hadn’t seen each other for 23 years, we recognized each other right away … and picked-up where we left off. The CFCA 15 passenger van took us immediately to San Ramon, where the chiropractic team was hard at work (students: Barry, Kirsten, Justin & Amy; doctor Tom & his wife, Eve; CFCA translators Elly & Wendy; (Cuban-trained) medical doctor, Javier, American expatriate volunteers Dee & George Vaughan, CFCA director Minor & his assistant Fabian, and a host of volunteer promotoras. The place was packed; and Dr. Tom Davis joined the team. I sat in the waiting room & listened & watched. The students and doctors who came for short stays were all from Northwestern Health Sciences University in Minnesota. Dr. Tom & his wife, Barb, had been supporting a CFCA child for years. Upon retiring from the teaching faculty, he made contact with the Costa Rica CFCA office, and eventually found himself doing semi-annual stints of free chiropractic clinics for the foundation (in 2004, it was February & October). CFCA is an outfit out of Kansas City, KS, which matches-up sponsors with needy children & adults around the world. The San Ramon clinic was in a barrio community hall. A series of curtains separated the “work” area from the “reception” area. Promotores in the large kitchen supplied coffee, lunch, and other goodies. When the day was done, we carried the equipment to a nearby house, where it was stored until our return on Wednesday. San Ramon is a little more than a 2-hour drive from (home) Santa Lucia. The “Ticos” (a name they call themselves) were dropped-off at appropriate places. George & Dee drove back to their mountain-side cedar home above Barva; and the faculty volunteers went back to their hotel. At Santa Lucia, Dr. Tom & I, and the four students stayed in a nice home at the edge of town. Santa Lucia is a small suburb of Heredia. It sits up in the foothills of the central highlands between coastal mountain ranges. It’s about a 20-minute walk (uphill) from Heredia … a short bus ride. Of course, the van picked us up, and delivered us to the door. Our landlady had 3 apartments at the rear of the house: two with bedroom, living room,/kitchen, bath, and laundry room (one upstairs, one down); and one with only bedroom, kitchen & bath. A hallway extended from the front gate to the apartments. On the wall of the hallway was a large bird cage housing a couple of dozen parakeets, who began to chirp long before the crack of dawn … although they did sleep the rest of the night. The windows of the two larger apartments looked out on a “going back to nature” coffee plantation; and the manicured lawn of a developing subdivision could be seen on the other side of that. From the open-air (but covered) laundry room, we could look over rooftops to the nearby Barva volcano. The laundry room was fitted with a deep sink, and a small electric washing machine. A hose ran from the sink to the small washing cylinder. Settings on the machine opened & closed the drain, or set it for automatic opening after the wash cycle is done. When the wash is done, you take your things out and hand-ring them, repeating the wash process (without soap) for a rinse. Once more ringing them out, you place your things in a second cylinder for a more thorough spin … and you hang them up to dry. As there were often high winds at night (and sometimes in the day), and occasional showers (although Spring is the “Dry” season), you don’t string the clothes out on the line, unless you can monitor the weather changes. The bathroom was small, but had shower, sink & toilet. The shower water regulator was a lever, which you learned to operate very carefully. A very slight twist gave hot water (limited supply). Anything more than that was cool - cold. To reset the hot water flow, you had to turn it off and start over. Being as all apartments seemed to be on the same system, it behooved Dr. Tom & me to get up early for showers. As the students were not generally early risers, this was no problem. We hung up the bath towels in the laundry room to dry. In residential Costa Rica, most plumbing is not built to process toilet paper; so a bucket is provided next to the commode, for used toilet paper … which is emptied daily. I’m not quite sure how often the city garbage truck came by. We deposited out kitchen & bathroom contributions with the landlady before leaving for the day. Dr. Tom had the bedroom; though he generously shared closet & shelf space with me there. I used the fold-out bed in the living room couch. The living room was separated from the kitchen by waist-high cabinets with countertop & a full-size refrigerator. It took a few minutes to find the spots without bars on my fold-out bed; and it was quite comfortable. The landlady came in every other day to change the linens … and putter around the kitchen. A multi-channeled TV set, a rocking chair, a fold-up camp chair, a bar stool, and some shelves filled out the living room. It was warm & comfortable & compact. We kept abreast of the news on CNN & other channels. I commandeered some floor space in front of the room-divider for my bags. The kitchen had a counter extended along the far wall. It had a large sink, a two-burner propane stove, and storage space under the counter, and in a wall cabinet. An outside back door led to the laundry room. The cabinets were adequately stocked with cooking utensils & dishes. Water in the cities is very compatible with the digestive bugs in the American anatomy. We did, however, use a one-glass filter, to take the chlorine out. The promotoras fed us nice lunches, on clinic days. A few times we ate out. The rest of the time, we did light healthy breakfast & light healthy suppers at home. Dr. Tom & I talked about the people & places we had known in Juneau … hours & hours. I think we were good company for each other. On days when there was no clinic, we walked or took the bus to Heredia; and sometimes to San Jose. It’s about an hour between the two cities. Bus service is frequent, and the fare is cheap; but the highway road infrastructure is “pre-freeway” … the 5-hour evening rush hour could be very slow. National law demands that, if there is an automobile accident, the vehicles must stay where they landed until police & insurance cameraman arrive … which may be a few hours. Traffic just manages to go around them; or find alternate routes. If no traffic is coming while you are waiting for the bus, look to see if there is a vehicle accident somewhere, and check out the most likely alternate route. That never happened to us between cities; but it did present something of a challenge a couple of times in the cities. The local money (colones) was worth 422 to a dollar. Coins take care of amounts less than 1000. Bills are 1000 colones & up. Souvenirs are not inexpensive. Coffee is inexpensive. A large supermarket just about on the city line between Heredia & Santa Lucia looked like any supermarket of it’s size in the USA … with adequate parking. I think Costa Rica is a 2nd World Country; though it has some 3rd world places (as does Alaska and other USA states). There are many cars on the roads, from all over the world. Even smaller cities like Heredia offer a good variety of goods & services ... including “Taco Bells” and “Hambergerias”. Each little place has its own church, in this 80% Catholic country; and each city has its ornate cathedral (with attached plaza). Because of the torrential rains (mostly in the Fall), gutters between the sidewalks & streets are pretty deep … and it’s not unusual to come across an open manhole. You watch your step when walking, or you pay the price! Internet service was one of the best buys. Dr. Tom belonged to the San Jose Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ACCR) (mostly for English speaking folks). A few times we sat down to their high-speed cable network machines to check email … at about $1 an hour. There were a variety of banks in the cities … most of them with shotgun armed guards outside. In and around the cities, all the homes have heavy bars separating them from the sidewalks. The place where we lived in Santa Lucia had a rolling gate that allowed you to drive your car behind the gate, and a smaller walk-through gate for foot traffic. Stone walls were capped with razor wire; even vacant lots were fenced with barbed wire. There is a problem with burglary. If your car is sitting at the sight of an accident, waiting for the authorities to come, you had better be there … or the burglars will do more damage than the accident did. When walking around the cathedral in San Jose, twice someone tried to pick my knapsack pocket … the second time, they got a notebook that I was using to write down Spanish/English words (no big deal, I had just about memorized the lot). Then I was marked by a pickpocket couple, in the same area. When I stopped (with my back to the wall), they stopped … 3 times. They finally gave-up on me. I am sure I looked very much like an American tourist, with my broad-rimmed white hat (protection from skin cancer, which this previous redhead seems to get with any exposure to sun). After that, when in densely populated places, I kept my passport & wallet in my pants pocket, with my hand on top of it. February 17 (Tuesday) -; Tico Electronics Factory: About 8am, I went across the street from the house, to pray my “Office” in a flower park which had been crafted by our landlady’s husband. It is surprising what he got to grow on a little corner patch of brown volcanic rock: bougainvillea, tall poinsettias, and a variety of other things. About 9am, the factory owner came for us, and a couple of tables, in an extended cab pick-up. He drove us to his factory in an Industrial Free Trade Zone on the western outskirts of San Jose, to set up our clinic. Just 5 of us went this day: Dr. Tom & I, Kirsten & Amy & Elly … four of us shared the back seat (yes it was a bit cramped). The factory employs about 100 people, bending over tables, putting together electronics for airplane engines. The owner was very proud of his connections with “Fortune 500” folks in the USA. He had arranged with Dr. Tom to come & treat whoever would sign-up. ... They gave us a “clean room” on an inside balcony overlooking the work space. The team began with a bible reading in English & Spanish, and a prayer translated by one of the interpreters (normal procedure). I found a place in a corner, where I could study my Spanish, and pray for those who wanted prayers from “Padre Pedro”. Dr. Tom supervised the two students. The first patient was the owner’s wife. She came away from the treatment, relieved of her pain, and witnessing to the team’s effectiveness to any who cared to listen … and some who didn’t. Most of the employees had signed-up; but we were only able to handle about 30 … with a promise to return sometime. At lunch time, the boss took us down the street to an orchid warehouse restaurant. We had a good meal, and then went into the adjoining visqueen covered building to see the plants … nice collection. The van came for us in the late afternoon, and we were home for supper. February 18 (Wednesday) - San Ramon clinic: The van came to pick us up at 8am, and again drove off to the West, through San Jose to San Ramon. We had the full team that were with us on Monday. Everyone took their places, and we put in a full day. It was customary for the promotores to have coffee and some light pastry ready when we arrived. And, about an hour into the morning’s work, they would appear with little plastic containers (about the size of a McDonald’s hamburger box) full of bite-sized pieces of fresh fruit: orange, watermelon, papaya, mango, pineapple, and banana. About one, the reception area was cleared, and tables set for the team to eat a good hot lunch. The last clients were seen a little after 5pm; and the van came to take us & all our equipment (on the roof) back home. February 19 (Thursday) - Free Day - San Jose & Heredia: Dr. Tom & I took a bus to Heredia, and another one to San Jose, to San Juan de Dios Hospital Children’s Section, to meet with the director of the national PAHO program for disadvantaged children. He wanted her to know what the clinic was doing. He was also seeking advice from her, as to how he should proceed to make sure the clinic would not become a political problem for the CFCA. She was very supportive of what he was doing; and encouraged him to contact the Minister of Health (using her name). We did a lot of walking to find the place; and then walked over quite a bit of downtown San Jose, visiting the cathedral, the national theater, and the ARCR to check on our emails. We stopped for a light lunch. On the way home through Heredia, we visited the cathedral and did some downtown banking & shopping, before taking a cab home for dinner. After dinner was our time to talk about Alaska & CFCA, and do some light reading before bed. February 20 (Friday) - Cartago clinic: The van came again about 8am, and we and our equipment headed SE to Cartago. In the community hall here, the promotoras had set-up a series of curtains dividing the place in two, with plenty of space on both sides. Along one wall a few toilet booths formed a “back door” passage between the reception area & the clinic work area. Adjacent to that passage (on the reception side) was a large kitchen where snacks & hot lunch were prepared. It stormed most of the day; and the tin roof made a constant racket as it flapped back & forth in the wind. I had been hesitant to take pictures of the clients in the reception area or the clinic area, until I saw some other members of the team (including Dr. Tom) doing so. I was assured that they didn’t mind; so my own picture record began here … note the blue walls. I found a niche in the corner of the work area, where I continued working on my Spanish, and prayed with the patients that came to me. I didn’t have that many customers, and the Spanish studies were putting me to sleep. I decided I would just pray for students & patients from a distance; and then I would have some idea of what their ailments were if they came for prayer. It seemed that they came in with a variety of ills … only some of which were treatable by chiropractic therapy. Stress and other things are often the underlying cause of bone & muscle misalignment. Besides praying for the same things that the team had been treating, I could also pray for healing of family problems, internal problems like diabetes, and chronic physical & emotional problems. Over the two weeks, I learned a basic vocabulary (with some Latin thrown in … in as much as the older folks celebrated Mass in Latin just as we did, until 40 years ago): “May I pray for you”, “Please”, “Is that good”, “Where does it hurt”, God bless you”, “Good day”, “Good evening”, “Good night”, the Latin/Spanish blessing (which I did with blessed oil), etc. And, it is surprising what you can do with hand signals … and a smile! At the end of the day we were able to store our stuff in an adjoining building (which also served sometimes as a chapel). There was some concern about our legitimacy. When the promotoras went to the local hospital to borrow some patient screens, they were asked what they needed them for. The hospital staff wasn’t too sure about this CFCA clinic. Was it legal? They would send some inspectors by to see what we were doing. We spent the day looking over our shoulders for “inspectors”, to see if they would be shutting us down … and kicking us out of the country. Dr. Tom was long aware of the precarious credentials we had, working through the local CFCA office; and he had started the process of becoming a Costa Rican resident (without giving up his USA citizenship), so that he could be licensed by the Costa Rican government to practice chiropractic medicine … without any possible hassles. Nobody ever came to check us out. But there was a bit of paranoia when 3 cars full of police pulled us over on the way home, to see Julio, the driver’s, papers. The outside of the van was marked indicating “Students on board”, and there was a “Alto” (stop) sign painted on the rear. The van was used for school children, when it was not ferrying us from home to work & back. The police questioned whether the driver was authorized to carry foreigners. Although our driver had all the endorsements to do so, the police removed his license plates, handed him a fist-full of tickets, and a piece of paper stating that he had until 1 am to get the vehicle off the street … and they would see him in traffic court on Monday. Locals say they were probably expecting a pretty good bribe from this van half-full of Yankees (though the other half of the passengers were Ticos). We didn’t give them anything; and we paid the price … no van to take us on a planned Saturday sightseeing trip. At least they didn’t ask for our passports; which was good, considering most of us didn’t have them with us. So, the driver lost a Saturday charter, a Monday CFCA round-trip run, and a couple of school bus runs. Schools run split shifts (morning & afternoon). CSCA hired a lawyer, the tickets were dismissed, and the license plates were back on the van when it came to pick us up on Wednesday morning. The two male students left us in San Jose, to spend the weekend on the Pacific shore. The rest of us got out in Heredia, where we found a classy Italian restaurant to celebrate Dr. Tom Davis’ birthday. As this would be our last gathering with the other Dr. Tom & his wife Eve, they graciously picked up the tab. Nobody wanted to order any dessert; but as we walked from the restaurant, Dr. Tom Davis graciously consented to top it off with a dessert stop before heading home to Santa Lucia for the night. February 21 (Saturday) - Free Day: We had a lazy morning, eventually taking the buses to Heredia and San Jose to see an English puppet show. We met national puppet show promoter, Luis, on the steps of the theater, and enjoyed chatting with him and his daughter (who wants to go to Vancouver BC for school next year). Dr. Tom is a puppeteer, when he is not doing chiropractic. He had carved & strung many marionettes, and has done puppet performances for the last many years in the USA (with a variety of puppet forms, including some gigantic religious ones made of PCB & cloth). Coming to Costa Rica, Tom met Luis, who booked him for a couple of shows when he returns in October, 2004. Today’s performance was “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, performed by a young lady from The States. There was a nice group of adults & children in attendance. She used a variety of hand puppets, marionettes, stick & shadow puppets. It was delightful. After the show, we went back stage to look at her creations. The whole thing folded up into a couple of plastic boxes. Dr. Tom & I left there to do a walking tour of San Jose, stopping for an early light dinner at the famous “Café Mundo”. We were back home fairly early with plenty of time to talk & read. Dr. Tom presented me with a casting of a hand-carved crucifix, which he had designed from a picture of an ancient Celtic model. February 22 (Sunday) - Heredia & Grecia: Dr. Tom & I walked into Heredia, to catch the 10am Mass. Even though Fabien had booked me to concelebrate the Mass in his hometown of Grecia, Tom said that I just couldn’t miss the 10am Mass at Heredia. I’m glad we didn’t. We arrived about 15 minutes early; and the Immaculate Conception Cathedral was already comfortably full. They had handouts with the readings in English for the gringos. The weekly feature attraction was the provincial band, in their place in the right wing of the sanctuary: a full percussion, brass & woodwind band. They begin playing about 30 minutes before Mass with some light classics; and then do the regular Mass music (hymns & responses). For the “Great Amen”, they played a 5-minute “Cant Alleluia el Senior” … which I had learned to sing at international conferences. At the Communion, they played an operatic march which just made your feet want to get up and march down the aisle. The people gave them a standing ovation after Communion. They snuck out the side door before the final song, so that they could set-up in the band kiosk in the plaza outside the church. When the people exited the church, the band was ready to play an afternoon of music from the kiosk: Souza, Strauss, Light Classics, etc. It was wonderful: sunshine, palm trees, children playing, women sitting on their extended blankets selling their homemade wares, hawkers hawking, folks visiting, and music playing. Dr. Tom and I took a cab back to the house, where Fabien picked us up at the house in the early afternoon, and brought us to his home in Grecia to meet his family. After a brief visit, he gathered his musical stuff (guitar, speakers, etc.) a little after 3pm we drove off to the steel-plated Grecia church for Mass. Fabien is the leader of the 4pm Mass music ministry. As they got set-up, I walked around to see the church. I had just about taken it all in, when two bus loads of Yankee tourists arrived to see the church (just long enough for a look … not to stay for Mass). Upon inquiring where they were from, I found myself an instant tour guide. When they asked how long I had been here, I replied: “ten minutes”. Fabien had been a Silesian Brother, before leaving to get married & raise a family. He was well informed on liturgy & correct procedure. He had already cleared my concelebration with the pastor, and faxed a copy of my “celebrate” to the local bishop … so I was perfectly legal. The young curate came in to say the Mass. He didn’t speak but a few words in English … and I didn’t speak but a few in Spanish. But, I assured him (and Fabien) that the Mass is the Mass… is the Mass. I would say what I had to say in a low voice, in English. The young priest went to great lengths to introduce me before the Mass … I don’t know what he said; but they seemed to like it. At the “Sign of Peace” every kid in the place came forward to “give the pax” (Pax Christo) to the pastor … and to me. I caught-on quickly, and was doing fine until one bright lad came along and said: “How are you?” I fumbled a bit, changed gears, and assured him that I was fine … and how was he? I helped distribute the host with a Latin/Spanish version of “Corpus Christi”. Just before the Final Blessing, the priest asked if there was anyone in the congregation who could interpret English. A young woman from New Jersey came forward, and translated my brief remarks and greetings from Alaska & CFCA. It was a good experience for me, and them (I think). After the Mass, Fabien & his wife (a wonderful singer in the choir) drove us back to her parents’ place, to pick up the children … and head off for some supper. After a brief stop in a gift shop, where Dr. Tom was able to buy a fancy locally made chair for his wife (Marriage Anniversary), we settled into a small seafood mom & pop restaurant. I was introduced to “cas” (a local fruit, which makes a delicious drink). I had a tasty fish fillet dish; and everyone seemed happy with the food. There were two kinds of sauce on the tables: “chili” (very hot), and “English” (worstershire). After that, Fabien drove us back to Santa Lucia - a full day. February 23 (Monday) - Cartago: Because of our troubles with the Cartago police on Friday, we had a new driver & van this morning. We pretty-much repeated the ministry of Friday in the barrio community center. This evening Dr. Tom & I went to the airport with a CFCA staff member, to meet another faculty member from NW University, who would join the team for the week. She wanted to see what was happening, and was available to help-out as a massage therapist. She also did a bit of “healing touch” therapy. She stayed in the same hotel where the other Dr. Tom & his wife, Eve, had stayed the previous week. They had gone back to The States on Saturday night. February 24 (Tuesday) - Santa Lucia & San Jose: A little after 8am, Dr. Tom & I were out walking around the neighborhood (which is literally on the edge of the town). At the far end of our neighboring coffee plantation was the Museo de Cultura Popular (Museum of popular culture). It features an old plantation farm house & outbuildings; and a modern exhibit hall. We walked around the other way, and arrived at the other entrance to the museum just as the curator was arriving (about 8:30am). Her assistant gave us the grand tour. The exhibit hall contained some local masks that caught Dr. Tom’s attention. He had been here the previous week, when an open house was held. Children donned the masks for a short performance. A man on the staff opened the building for us, and enthusiastically explained about the masks (not ancient artifacts), and other things. The home was owned by a former president … as was a another museum house in downtown Heredia. We also checked-out the property in the subdivision behind our house. Then we were off on the buses to meet Elly’s parents on the outskirts of San Jose. We had lunch at a nice place on a small plaza near the national theater. A crowd gathered on the other end of the plaza to listen & dance to a marimba band. We drifted over that way after lunch, and watched until Elly came along to lead us to her parents’ home. Elly had taken quite a shine to Dr. Tom, valuing his wisdom, and adopting him as a secondary father figure. Elly’s folks live in a quiet neighborhood, uphill from the bus stop. It was important for them to meet Dr. Tom; and be assured that when Elly accompanied a CFCA patient to a prosthesis manufacturer in Minnesota for a prosthetic leg, she would be in good hands. They showed us around their home, and fed us some goodies before we left. Elly accompanied us further up & over the hill, to a large supermarket, where we were to meet a CFCA patient. He was late in coming (traffic); but finally arrived just as we were giving- up on him. We put his wheelchair in the trunk of the cab, and drove with him to a people with disabilities political action committee meeting. It was a small group: two blind women, two guys in wheelchairs, two lawyers (one of whom had a muscular control problem) … and me & Tom. They wanted Tom to know what they were trying to do; and they wanted to know what CFCA was doing. How could one group help the other? We brainstormed about how they might proceed. They represented a national coalition of groups with similar concerns … though I got the impression that this was the only group spearheading systemic changes with the powers of San Jose & national government. When I suggested working through their own National Council of Catholic Bishops, they informed me that very few churches in the country were wheelchair accessible … and they were not aware of any Catholic Churches that had “sign” available. I retorted that they would be headed in the right direction, if they could get a bishop to champion their cause. Dr. Tom had several suggestions. There were some disability accessibility statues on the books; but there didn’t seem to be much happening. Their challenge is much as it was in the USA 50 years ago. After the meeting, we got buses to San Jose and the airport, to pick up another NW University teacher, who came to see the operation. We shared a cab to her Heredia hotel, and then continued on in the cab back to Santa Lucia … late arrival. February 25 (Ash Wednesday) - Alajuela clinic: Our CFCA van & pick-up truck were at our door at 8am, and we were off to the NW to do a clinic in Alajuela at a parish hall (pictures with pink walls). The routine was pretty much the same as at San Ramon & Cartago. After getting our equipment settled-in, Dr. Tom & I were driven to the Alajuela cathedral square to pick up Elizabeth, who would join the team for the day to do some massage therapy. Before returning to the work site, we took a quick tour of the church & the adjacent Lourdes-type healing water shrine. Dr. Tom had done his homework; and was assured that we could get ashes at the parish church at noon. A little after noon, the priest sent for us. Four of us went over to the church. Two local women were also there. The priest blessed a pot of ashes, and then distributed them (in abundance) to the four Yankees … and that was it. Returning to the hall, I noticed that only one or two had ashes on their foreheads. Maybe it’s not a custom in Costa Rica (though it is an 80% Catholic country). The clinic day went well. There were numerous buildings. The main parish hall (where the kitchen & bathrooms were located) was used as a reception area; an adjoining auxiliary hall was used for the clinic. We were able to leave our things in the building until we would return on Friday. February 26 (Thursday) - Free Day - San Jose: This morning the van brought us to the CFCA San Jose office. I was scheduled to celebrate a Mass for them in their conference room. Besides the paid & volunteer staff, a bunch of promotoras were there from different places … about 50 altogether. Fabien had his guitar; and a couple of women joined him to provide music ministry. Wendy read the scriptures in Spanish, and did the translating for me. After my sermon, Dr. Tom spoke from his heart about his involvement in the program … it was very touching. Wendy translated for him, too. When the Mass was finished, Minor (program direction) and Fabien (his assistant) had nice things to say about the work of the chiropractic team. That was followed by kind words from many of the promotoras. Again, Wendy translated. In conclusion, promotoras & some staff members presented the team (including me) with Costa Rican plaques (mounted painted scenes on feathers) … much appreciated. While lunch was prepared, small groups met to discuss the various CFCA ministries. After lunch, Dr. Tom & I caught a bus back to San Jose for another email check, and some souvenir shopping. In Heredia, we picked-up some groceries and headed home to Santa Lucia. That evening, Puppet Promoter, Luis, was our guest for dinner. Conversation before dinner was about his grandfather coming from Italy to help build the Costa Rica RR. It transported bananas to the Caribbean shore. The only railroad left in the country today is a tourist train that runs daily(?} from San Jose to the Pacific ocean beaches. One can see many miles of overgrown tracks in the central highlands suburbs. Inside and outside of the cities, buses provide frequent public transportation. Chinese laborers had originally been imported to do the job; but they were much more vulnerable to the tropical diseases (especially malaria) than the Europeans. According to Luis, the CRRR people promised the Italians a round-trip ticket, and lots of pasta & vino. All they got was the one-way ticket … but many stayed on, and prospered. Luis also talked about his own involvement in show business. After dinner, Maurice and Dr. Tom got down to serious talk about puppets. I cleaned-up the dishes, and learned a lot about the whole thing by listening to their conversation. February 27 (Friday) - Alajuela clinic: We were in the van by 8am, and on the way back to the parish hall at Alajuela. Today we were joined by another NW University teacher, who taught acupuncture. As my corner for ministry was right next to a few patients that she dealt with, I had an opportunity to watch how it worked … and ask her questions while the clients patiently waited with their needles sticking out. After the needles are applied, they usually let them lie for 30-45 minutes, to open up the energy channels. It was all very fascinating to me. I had never seen it done before. We concluded our clinic shortly after noon, and got everything set to go before lunch was served. Following lunch, the local promotoras put on a fiesta to honor us. A group of dancers dressed in traditional costume did a couple of numbers. Then a disk jockey with two gigantic speakers & a pile of CDs, kept the fiesta going for another 2 hours. Dr. Tom & I found it very hard on the ears. He says they have only two settings on their amplifiers: Off & Loud! I think that, if I spoke Spanish fluently, I still would not be able to understand what was being sung. Twice I got up, and walked around the neighborhood … only to find that they were still at it when I got back. The promotoras, and paid & volunteer staff enjoyed it, though. Finally, our van and pick-up truck came. When we started processing across the dance floor, carrying our equipment to the vehicles, the party broke up. Just before we left, we were presented with a variety of small souvenir items, by different staff people & promotoras with whom we had worked in the clinics. Dr. Tom & I went with the pick-up truck full of the chiropractic clinic equipment to the Barva hillside home (near San Jose de la Montana) of George & Dee. They have a spacious log home at the end of the road, on the side of Barva volcano. The yard is surrounded by evergreen forests. The only iron bars are on the entrance to the driveway. The living room picture windows command a wonderful view of the Alajuela valley & San Jose airport … the airport can be seen, but not heard. We stored the clinic equipment there, until it will be needed again in October. Minor drove us home, where I continued to get my bags together for a late-night departure. At 8:30pm Minor came for us in his pick-up. He parked right outside the Departure facilities, and I left my bags in the truck while we waited for a team from St. Anselm College (Manchester, NH). Eleven students (9 girls & 2 boys) were coming to dig some cisterns near Limon … Spring Break alternative. By the time they all cleared customs, it was almost 10:30pm. Just before the CFCA van took them away, I prayed with them for the Lord’s blessing on their Costa Rican ministry. February 28 (Saturday) - Return to Juneau: I paid my departure tax, checked-in, and had plenty of time to read before my 2am American flight left for Miami. Again, my itinerary was all Frequent Flyer redemption 1st Class. The Miami to Dallas/Ft. Worth section was fancy 1st Class … your own cubicle, with seat that made into a complete bed, with full-size pillow, private viewing video, and all the trimmings. It took me a half hour to figure out what all the buttons did. I never did figure out where the earphone plug was … not that I had time for it. I really wanted to try the bed. Too bad the flight was only 2.5 hours. There was practically no lay-over time in Dallas/Ft. Worth, but I had a 6-hour stop in Seattle. It was nice to have my “Boardroom” pass, so I could put my feet up, say my prayers, and make some notes for a sermon in the Cathedral on Sunday. I even got it written out, on a quiet table in the N concourse. The flight to Juneau was uneventful, arriving on time a little after 9pm. I stayed at the Cathedral rectory with Fr. Anastasius two nights, took-in the priests’ retreat with Fr. Richard Keolker at the Shrine of St. Therese, and saw Mel Gibson’s “Passion” movie. March 5th (the following Friday): I finally returned to Sitka on the 11pm flight … and it was on time. Now I’m home for almost 4 weeks. That’s something of a record in my recent retirement travel schedule! The End Fr. Peter Gorges, Sitka, Alaska |
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