The annual Super Bowl parties are just one of the many activities available for retirees.

If you retire in Costa Rica you can attend a number of Super Bowl parties. The Tico Times newspaper (in English) always lists them. Interest is growing among Costa Ricans and La Nación newspaper (in Spanish) featured a couple of articles on places where Costa Ricans could go to watch the Super Bowl this year.

Every Sunday during the football season my friends and I view football games at the Fiesta Casino near Juan Santamaría International airport. The Super Bowl is no exception and marks the culmination of the season. We make reservations about two months in advance to make sure we don’t get left out of this annual event. This year there were about 30 of us who attended. Our group consisted of Americans, Canadians, Costa Ricans, men and women. I took my son and girlfriend to watch the game. I even ran into couple of former clients from my monthly relocation/retirement tours who had come to take part in the festivities.

The beer flowed and it seemed everyone was munching on something during the game: Buffalo wings, quesadillas, pizza, French fries, ceviche (a raw fish dish), tortilla chips with salsa and a whole lot more.

The game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers was one of the best ever. My friends and I were jumping up and giving each other high fives  every time a spectacular play occurred. Everyone had a fantastic time and cannot wait for the next football season to start.

As you can see from the above there is no reason to be bored or inactive in Costa Rica. The annual Super Bowl parties are just one of the many activities available for retirees.

Costa Ricans have a great sense of humor. When you retire here and learn Spanish you will learn to appreciate how funny the Costa Ricans can be. It seems they are always joking about something. They say that everything here is a vacilón (fun).

Here is an example of Costa Rican humor.

The ticos (Costa Ricans) say that the three most important things in a Costa Rican man’s life are: Beer, women and soccer. Not necessarily in that order.

They also say that the three biggest lies in Costa Rica are:
(1) This is last drink of the night or zarpe (as it is called here).
(2) I’ll pay you the money I owe you tomorrow.
(3) I won’t penetrate you when we have sex.

Here are the most common lies you hear from Gringos who have moved here. If you have resided here for any period of time I am sure you have heard most of them from your fellow countrymen.

(1) I speak fluent Spanish (In reality it takes years to speak the language well)
(2) I have the best lawyer with the best contacts in Costa Rica (every American brags about this to feel important)
(3) I am an expert in real estate (I have heard this one 1000 times)
(4) I am an expert on Costa Rica retirement (This one is getting really old)
(5) It was her first night in the brothel (I must have heard this hundreds of times from naïve males)
(6) I was  a Navy Seal in Vietnam  and war hero ( Believe or not I have heard different versions of this)
(7) I didn’t lose any money with the Brothers (a popular investment with foreigners that went belly-up a few years ago. Most people won’t admit they invested there or they say that they got all of their principal back because they didn’t let their money ride.)

Surely I will add to this list in the not too distant future.

In my past columns I have talk about Costa Rica’s excellent health care system. As you probably Costa Rica has both its “cradle-to-grave” public  health care system and private system available for foreign residents. The country boasts one of the highest longevity rates in the world and many of its doctors have been trained abroad. Best of all medical care is very affordable. Many people retire here for that very reason.

People on my monthly retirement/relocation tours often ask about alternative medicine and  therapies. We have acupuncture, different types of massage therapy, health spas and other alternative treatments.

One of the most recent additions to Costa Rica’s alternative health care field will be the Reserve at Portalon’s partnership with the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. The Chopra Center was recently ranked the #1 Wellness center in the world. Their center will take a holistic approach to health that treats the root issue versus the symptoms. The Chopra Center for Well being brings together the talents of a number of professionals in the conventional, complementary, and alternative medicine fields. They provide  alternative medicine consultations, therapeutic body treatments, health workshops, meditation instruction, hospital program development, and corporate training courses. The emphasis at the Center is on providing guidance to help individuals promote their own longevity, human potential and success, while increasing personal balance, happiness, and fulfillment.

Costa Rica have acupuncture, different types of massage therapy, health spas and other alternative treatments.

The center is based on providing alternative healthcare using the ancient practice of Ayurveda. Ayurveda is a natural and holistic healing system from India , dating back to 5000 BC. Ayurveda attempts to deal with the root cause of the imbalance using several therapies. By using specific herbal supplements, special diet, detoxification therapies, specific yoga exercises and therapies, the body’s imbalances will be treated in multiple ways that help the clients.

The Chopra Center for Wellbeing will be the crown jewel of The Reserve at Portalon. Our center will serve as a platform for world leaders in their respective fields to lead transformative health seminars and workshops. Services for the betterment of the mind and body will be offered and the programs will be changed frequently so as to offer residents the most up-to-date treatments and services.

The Chopra Center for Wellbeing borders a lush primary rain forest reserve. Guest can meditate, stretch, and get massages above flowing water, and in the canopy of a living rain forest. Every facet and aspect of the wellness center will promote the healing process. The wellness center will be located within a 900 acre nature preserve. Chopra Center for Wellbeing is a gateway to enjoy numerous activities, adventures, eco-tours, and extreme sports found uniquely within our development.

The center will also include: Hiking and walking trails,  bird watching trails, mountain Biking trails, meditation Lodges and  English speaking nature guides will be available to help guests explore all the treasures of the rainforest for an educational, thrilling, and unforgettable experience.

Fiesta Casino near Juan Santamaría International Airport in the Pirate’s Bar inside is a good place to watch two or three NFL games every sunday.

I am not a gambler but I do go to the Fiesta Casino near Juan Santamaría International Airport almost every Sunday during football season. A group of my friends and I gather at the Pirate’s Bar inside to watch two or three NFL games. This has become sort of a tradition and we even get together for the Super Bowl there.

Most of the members of our group are retired but some still work. Nathan and Sully are former law enforcement officers from California. Allen used to work for the telephone company in Canada. Ed is a photographer from Colorado. Rudy is a successful real estate investor and salesman in Costa Rica.  The rest of the group share similar backgrounds.

The reason we chose the Fiesta is because of the options. They can air up to six games simultaneously on different televisions sets.   They have two giant screens where they show the best games or the ones  their patron’s request.  They also have specials where you can order an ice-cold beer and get a plate of Buffalo Wings for free. The food is good and there are a lot of dishes from which to choose. Best of all the waitress are friendly and very attractive in their scanty pirate attire. They have to have a good sense of humor to put up with us bunch of rowdy Americans and Canadians.

Actually we use the games as an excuse to socialize and have fun. One of the guys is always telling a joke and making some humorous remark. We probably miss about half of the games because of the playful banter. A few of the people in our group do a little gambling but football is the main attraction.

On Sunday and Monday nights after the games there is live music at the casino and the place heats up in all senses of the word. Some of the best local groups perform and the dance floor fills up with curvaceous  Latin women dancing to the tropical rhythms of the night.

This is just one example of the many activities  to stay busy and happy if you choose to live, retire or work in Costa Rica.