What does life look like in Costa Rica After Coronavirus
As the country begins lockdown for the Coronavirus in Costa Rica, I would like to say it’s not much different for us. Since we work from home and our daughter attends school online, on normal weeks we can go for days without seeing anyone.
However, it is affecting us more than I thought it would in our everyday lives.
We Live Isolated
We live outside a small village in the Costa Rica jungle called Marbella with a population of about 300 people. Our closest neighbor is about a block away. The beach is less than a mile and the village has a soccer field with a small school, two small mini supers and a couple of small restaurants. It reminds me of a little of Satana Kansas where my dad grew up.
Costa Rica Marbella Beach
Taya and I call the beach down the street our private paradise. It’s a public beach with great surf but very few people. We spend our morning taking the dogs out so we can all get our fresh air and exercises. Some days we can see a couple of surfers off in the distance, but most mornings we never see another person.
We try to buy as much as we can from the local farmers and our mini super stores. Things like dog food, coffee, personal hygiene products, and toilette paper are bought every couple of weeks when we do a trip to town to see friends. So, the social distancing directive has not had a huge impact on our normal daily lives; however, some things have changed.
Please note that those living in more populated areas have seen major changes in their day to day life since the arrival of the Coronavirus in Costa Rica.
Covid-19 This Is Going To Affect Our Health
Costa Rica Beaches Are Closed
Two days ago, Costa Rica closed down all beaches. The police came and put up roadblocks removing access to the beach. The reason for this is that the people from the city who were told not to go to work in order to minimize the spread of the Coronavirus in Costa Rica decided it would be a good time to camp on the beach creating a crowd where we usually have no one in sight. To disperse the crowd and ensure no large gatherings the beaches are closed.
Don’t get me wrong I am not complaining that the beaches are closed, I understand what is going on however, this is a big change in our daily routine and exercise. As I mentioned before, we visit the beach almost daily and our dogs run and play in the water. This gives us a chance to swim in the ocean and walk the beach enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. We definitely get our daily dose of vitamin K.
Eating in Costa Rica
Healthy Meals for a Healthy Lifestyle.
We eat mostly fresh fruits and vegetables and the shelf life is not long. I only had a week of food on hand. We don’t know how long the social distancing directives due to the Coronavirus in Costa Rica will last. I found myself stocking up on more processed foods that we normally don’t eat.
These are foods that I try my best not to buy. Not only are they unhealthy but since we cut them out of our daily diets, we feel so much better.
The government started closing beaches, bars, parks, airline travel and I ask myself what I’m going to need to ride this out. The plan is to self-quarantine at our home for the next three to four weeks. Since all my food is fresh, I need to go to town to stock up on packaged foods like pasta and bread, as well as personal hygiene and toiletry items. The closest place for big shopping is over an hour away.
Shopping Being Prepared
Even though we have two mini supers in town, you never know what they will have in stock. I have to keep in mind what food I will be able to purchase there. And with the current situation, I have to ask myself, “Will they have anything left in a week?”
A mini super is a small shop that can be part of people’s homes, in commercial complexes or small standalone buildings. The further away from tourist areas, the more often they are part of a family’s porch rather than their own entity. As in other countries, you pay for the convenience of the location of these shops, so the prices are considerably higher than the larger mercados (markets). Most of the mini supers have eggs, milk, drinks, liquor, and dry goods (bread, beans, rice, cereal, etc.). You can likely find some cheese and/or baked goods, such as empanadas and sweetbreads made by local families as well.
How long will supplies last
Most of these stores don’t have stock rooms what-you-see-is-what-you-get. The bread truck that stops by my house on Mondays also stocks both the stores, but it didn’t make deliveries today. What is a mini super going to look like in a week as the government continues to close more things and deliveries decrease?
Due to the Coronavirus in Costa Rica, Bars have been forced too close. Restaurants have been permitted to remain open but at limited capacity and delivery or pickup is recommended. Last week liquor sales were suspended until further notice. This is an effort to prevent large gatherings in people’s homes. Fortunately, we were able to pick up a couple of bottles of Cacique so we can make our favorite drink the Naughty Granizado. You can learn to make them here: Ice Cocktail Naughty Granizado Costa Rica Drink
After a long discussion with my husband, we decided to do this trip a week early.
Venturing Out
The government started closing beaches, bars, parks, airline travel and I ask myself what I’m going to need to ride this out. The plan is to self-quarantine at our home for the next three to four weeks. Since all my food is fresh, I need to go to town to stock up on packaged foods like pasta and bread, as well as personal hygiene and toiletry items. The closest place for big shopping is over an hour away.
I was blessed to see a fresh fruit truck on our way to town. I bought extra fruits and froze as much as I could I also borrowed a dehydrator so I can dehydrate fruits.
Once we arrived in town, we were able to shop at the supermarket and purchase the dry goods we needed such as pasta, coffee, and bread. We chose to go to a second store call Maxi Pali that is owned by Walmart to purchase the rest of our goods.
Unlike the stores in the United States, the Coronavirus in Costa Rica has not caused everyone to go hoarding toilet paper. All the products we needed were available and fully stocked.
With our supplies loaded up, we began our one-hour trip back to our remote home in the jungle.
Life Goes On
As I wrap up this blog from the comfort of my porch, I watch a troop of howler monkeys settling down for the evening in the trees across the way. While the sun sets, I listen to the birds singing in the trees and get ready for another relaxing evening. With the exception of my husband and daughter, the only people I saw today were the neighbors as they passed by in their cars and on their motorcycles. I am pretty sure tomorrow will be a lot like today. So, what’s life like with the Coronavirus in Costa Rica? From my porch, it doesn’t look much different.
