The most recent visit to Costa Rica was made during the period from late September to the last week in October, 2004.  Three chiropractors, Thomas Davis (USA), Carolyn Hall (New Zealand), and Kirsten Addison (Canada), and a massage therapist, Kelly Martin (USA) formed the group of professionals.  Four chiropractic students (USA) were part of the group, Rebecca Heidelberger, Garret Rock, Tom Spicer, and Brian Garrity.  La  Clinica traveled to communities that had not yet been served by Santé: Alajuelita, Liberia, San Miguel near Limon, and Tres Rios. 

     During this trip, we saw nearly 400 new patients, and new and returning patients made over 750 visits to the clinics.   As these were all new communities under the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) umbrella and many new patients came for evaluation and treatment.  We were very busy and indeed tired at the end of each day. We worked our usual Monday, Wednesday and Friday the first week in Alajuelita and then traveled to Limon (San Miguel) on Sunday afternoon to begin our second week’s assignment.  We stayed in CFCA housing in San Miguel.  It was hot there and as most volunteers came from cooler climates, we felt the heat.  Our workspace was open air with a corrugated metal roof that acted as an oven during he day.  We all adapted to our three days work and were ready by the last day to return to the cooler climate of the Central Valley.

     All took a break for a few days and returned to work the following Monday in Tres Rios a community southeast of San Jose.  Most days it rained during the afternoon and we usually returned to Santa Lucia on our bus during the rain.  We carried our gear with us to each site, and the new tourist bus that we used was a great benefit with much more space.  We were able to stow things inside out of the rain and not on top in bags as previously.

     The following Sunday we traveled to Liberia in the northwest to serve Monday through Wednesday, returning on Thursday morning.  With our three interpreters traveling with us to each community, we had ample space in our bus.  In all areas the food served to us along with entertainment on the last day was very good.  The love shown us in all instances was beyond measure and our crew did its service very well.  We started each day with a Bible reading and a prayer for guidance.  It was a productive trip with a great group.
 
Thomas Davis, DC
Trip Coordinator