Health and Money Issues in Costa Rica
Well, Costa Rica so far has been full of interesting developments. First of all, we found out a few days ago that Matt’s “inflamed kidney”, according to the first doctor he went to see, is in fact hepatitis. We found this out after leaving San Jose thinking that the doctor was right and Matt would feel better very soon. We went to a place on the Carribean coast called Cahuita, which is a tiny little town that doesn’t even have a bank or pharmacy, let alone a hospital of any kind. As I mentioned in my last post, I have been having some money problems. My ATM card expired at the end of February and on the last day that I was able to get money out of the ATM, the machine in Brazil, didn’t give me my money but charged my account (I’ve disputed the charge…we’ll see what happens.) Therefore, I have been without ANY money whatsoever for the past couple weeks. My parents sent my new card to the main post office in San Jose, but as I mentioned before, it never arrived. Having already borrowed way too much money from Matt, I had to have my parents wire me some money, but of course with my luck, not even that worked out! The Western Union office in San Jose didn’t have any money both times I went on two different days (have you ever heard of a money wiring service not having money?) So, since we already had tickets to Cahuita, where there is no Western Union office, poor sick Matt and broke Chaska went to Cahuita anyway.
Soon after arriving, Matt felt worse than ever. He got the worst pain in his stomach and just felt awful. He decided he could make it through the night, but we decided that he should probably come to Limon with me the next morning. Limon is the biggest town on the Carribean coast and, according to the internet, was where the nearest Western Union was and also where the nearest hospital was. We got up really early in the morning and took the horrible, hot, bumpy bus ride to Limon with Matt just feeling terrible. I was able to finally get my money from Western Union, but the hospital visit was not so easy and painless. We arrived at the hospital before 10 in the morning and didn’t leave until after 10 at night. After various tests and even an ultra sound to check out his liver, it was established that he in fact did have hepatitis…most likely hepatitis A. He probably got it form something he ate or drank within the last month and a half, we have no way of knowing exactly what or where. There is no treatment for hepatitis, just rest and time. They gave him an IV for several hours because he was dehydrated and prescribed him some pills to treat some of his symptoms like nausea, but that’s all they could really do. There is a pretty good chance that I could have hepatitis too because it can be passed from person to person, but so far I haven’t shown any of the symptoms (I’m REALLY hoping it stays that way!)
So, after finding out that Matt has hepatitis, he had some serious decisions to make. Many people said he should go home, but the truth is it doesn’t matter where he is as long as he rests, and making the arrangements to go home would be far more stressful and tiresome for him than just resting here. We left Cahuita the day after the hospital for a town just a half hour away called Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and he mostly just stayed in bed all day. After two nights there, we headed back to San Jose, where I had to do some more things about my money issues and where we had to decide what to do about Matt. He decided that the best thing to do would be to check into a hotel and rest for the rest of the time we have in Costa Rica. So, that’s what he’s doing now. He’s in San Jose lying in bed and watching cable television while I travel on my own for this week we have left here. I’m now in a place called Monte Verde, which is in the central highlands and has amazing cloud forrests surrounding it. I went hiking in one of the reserves yesterday and it was absolutely beautiful. Outside of San Jose, Costa Rica is incredibly beautiful…it’s just amazing how beautiful. However, I feel like its beauty is somewhat spoiled by the amount of tourists. It is beautiful though, and despite the money and illness issues, I’m enjoying my time here. Here are just a few photos of the Carribean Coast and of Monte Verde.
This is a photo in Cahuita. The weather was pretty cloudy and rainy while we were there, but it was really a really cute town. The Carribean coast is so different from the rest of Costa Rica. It’s more like what I imagine Jamaica to be like. There are a lof of people from African decsent. and they speak a Carribean style English or a Creole dialect that is imposible to understand. Lots of rastafarians with dreads and lots of reggae music being played!
This is in the national reserve in Cahuita. It’s a forrest right on the beach with dense trees and bushes just full of animals. I took a walk through it on my own the morning of the day we left Cahuita, while Matt rested at the hostel.
Monkeys!!! This is the first time I’ve seen moneys in the wild, and they made me so happy. Swinging from the branches, throwing the remains of the fruit they were eating at me, just having a great time being monkeys.
Just a couple other photos taken in the reserve. It was just absoluely beautiful.
This is in Puerto Viejo, the town we went to after Cahuita. Puerto Viejo is a little bit bigger than Cahuita, but it also is really small and cute with a big rastafarian vibe.
This is Salsa Brava, the best surf break in Puerto Viejo. As you can see, it wasn’t breaking very big this day, but there were still lots of surfers out every day we were there.
This is here in Monte Verde yesterday when I went to the Santa Elena Cloud Forrest Reserve. It was amazing…so green, lush, and beautiful. I didn’t see any animals except for a few bugs and birds, but I was completely alone on my three hour walk through the forrest and it was a really cool feeling to be in the middle of a forrest like this.
Well, that’s it for now. Needless to say, this part of our trip has been a little different than the rest…having to deal with hospitals, illness, money problems, and what not. As my dad said to me though, just some more stories to add to the hundreds we already have from this trip so far. I’m heading over to the Pacific coast today and will be over there until Thursday. Then I’ll return to San Jose and see how Matt’s doing. We will fly to Guatamala on Friday and if Matt’s feeling well enough, we’ll continue as planned. Otherwise, we’ll see what we do. I’ll keep you updated. I hope you’re all doing really well. I can’t believe I have just a month left of this trip!
Tags: Travel
Administrator