Thursday, June 4, 2015

Dental Dilemma



Since my exploration in Ecuador, I have kept my heart, ears and eyes open for the best place to serve and get me closer to THE tropical island location of my visions.

After months of planting thousands of seeds worldwide, the Universe gave me a unique clue in a manner I totally wasn’t expecting. A shattered tooth was the form of that puzzle piece – bottom back right. Promptly I contacted a dear friend who’d been a Dental Angel to me in the past only to find that she didn’t practice currently. I reached out to an amazing DMD in Encino CA who had gently and expertly done endodontic treatments for me maybe 15-20 years ago. Dr. Thomas Jovicich kindly evaluated my situation to give me an idea of what I needed to get done. I began looking for work-exchange situations in David, Panama and near Uvita,
Costa Rica so I could get my dental work done there as it is 1/4-1/3 of the price in the US. Weeks after the shattering event, while flossing my teeth, a crown popped off – bottom back left. Since I hadn’t found anything that clearly showed me the green light yet, I  sent inquiries to 3 dental practices in the States. I was comfortable considering the dentist in Panama as I’d been to him before and, along with being gentle and speaking English, he did a great job. Uvita is near Ojochal, Costa Rica where my 2 beautiful lots are that I am offering for sale. I thought perhaps, if I was in the area, I might make some connection that could help that process. Weeks went by and the communication with both the Panama and Costa Rica dental offices went south. The 3 US practices never got back to me at all. Again, I don’t get upset by these things but see them as signs – that’s not where I’m supposed to go. Since I felt a little urgency with the teeth after a number of weeks, I investigated an opportunity heretofore pushed aside. I’ll tell the story as this is a great example how things weave their way in my life.

Anyone who uses email is familiar with junk messages. Ironically, I got a message trying to sell me property in Costa Rica. I responded, “I don’t know how I got on your mailing list but please remove me……Unless, you truly believe this is a fabulous time to buy in Costa Rica as I have 2 lots to sell.” Amazingly enough, Jason Haney responded and asked me to tell him more about my properties. After some communication back and forth, he agreed to pass on my info to people for whom it may be appropriate. On top of that, he invited me to dinner if I found myself in Costa Rica. Later, when I was looking through all the potential information I had for dental prospects, I emailed Jason to see if he had any suggestions. He highly recommended CostaRica Dental Team as he knew the owner, the practice and even worked a number of years at the connecting lab. I really didn’t investigate it right away as it was in San Jose. If I was going to be somewhere for an extended time period, San Jose definitely wasn’t the place I wanted to be. 
As the weeks and the pressure to get my teeth cared for increased, I called the practice and was amazed at the prices…..significantly lower that even the other places in Costa Rica and Panama. Ok, a sign. Next step, I contacted my lovely friend, Lisa, who I’d visited 6 years ago when I was in Costa Rica after my “failed” move to Panama. You can read about that in my earlier posts. Lisa is a Travel Consultant with Costa Rican Vacations living in La Garita.

 She graciously agreed to host me while I got my dental work done in San Jose. This would require bus and taxi travel both to and from the dentist but that fact that I would be with her made it equal my next sign. Finally, I’d decided to investigate airlines and had all sorts of parameters necessary in my mind. The travel planets had to line up a particular way to show me, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I should book the trip. Everything lined up and I ended up in the chair of the Costa Rica Dental Team. The place was comfortable enough, everyone I’d met so far was friendly and the lab was on the premises. After the extensive preliminary exam, it was determined I needed way more work than I initially realized. After a cleaning, my first day was done and I contemplated how I could get all the work done. The second day went well as Alejandra was very solicitous, caring and has small hands. Day 3 brought a night and day difference as I encountered “the specialist”. That traumatic day quickly brought an end to any additional treatments I may have been considering. In the meantime, I’d finally been able to get in touch with the real estate agent Jason. We agreed to meet for lunch at Denny’s. It wasn’t quite going to be a nice dinner but I’d be able to get there fairly easily considering I’d need to take bus and taxi to do so. The morning of our lunch, I was greeted by a text from him informing me his wife just let him know of a family event that day and hoped we could reschedule. I was looking forward to meeting with him in hopes that it might help in moving my property in a little more timely manner. I left him a message acknowledging his and have not heard from him since. 

Another interesting situation involves folks in the Osa Peninsula area – where my two lots are. Communication previous to the trip indicated a level of enthusiasm to get together with me. When I had the opportunity to actually travel there, that level of enthusiasm mysteriously diminished. If it was just one, I wouldn’t have thought much of it, but all of them? Another sign, I was not to make the extra effort to visit there. Thanks to some leads from a few friends, I was able to contact an agent in the area that seems genuinely interested and I feel really wants to assist. I also created a facebook page to show people the beauty of the property in hopes of finding the perfect new owner(s). Got some nice attention and a few inquiries via that avenue. The Ocean View Lot is almost an acre and the Creek Lot a little over half an acre. A 10 minute drive from there and you are at the beach! If you are…or know anyone who is a good candidate for some Pura Vida land, please email me for more information.

When I travel to different places, there is always a reason I think I am going that prompts me in that direction. More often than not, it isn’t actually the real reason I am being guided there. As the title of one of my previous blog posts indicates, if I’d have known what awaited me here, I definitely wouldn’t have come. However, I’m not privy to the hows and whys of the Divine but always have an intense absolute knowing in the NOW moment that I am in the right place at the right time. Maybe that whole thing with Jason was to get me to re-connect with dear Lisa and her 6 precious pups.





Maybe it was to have the peace, quiet and personal space to make the myriad of connections I was able to make. The possibilities are infinite!

Those who know me a little more closely will know the significance of this picture.....