Auto Mercado is Costa Rica’s high-end market that carries most brand name products from the United States and Canada.

Ever yearn for a turkey, Stove Top Stuffing, Ocean Spray cranberry sauce and a real pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving time? Well the good news is that you can now get all of these products and a whole lot more through the Automercado supermarket chain. They have almost a dozen stores in the greater metropolitan area and three at the beach in Playa Coco, Playa Tamarindo and Playa Herradura near Jacó Beach.

They even offer home delivery by going to their website at www.automercado.co.cr, chosing products on line and then contacting them by phone at 2281-1515 or by E-mail: amdomicilio@automercado.co.cr

Some of the major U.S.brands they stock are Kellogg’s cereals, Chicken of the Sea tuna and salmon, Rubbermaid products, Yoplait and Dannon yogurts, Kraft cheeses, your Aunt Jemima pancake syrup, Fleishman’s margarine, Purina dog and cat food, Lays potato chips, Welch’s Grape Juice, Entermines bakery products, Hershey’s chocolate products, Sara Lee, Lindsey canned olives, a name-brand cottage cheese form the U.S., Haagen Daz ice cream and almost anything else you can think of. One of the only things I cannot find is enchilada sauce. I have friends amd clients bring it from the U.S. when they visit.

The prices for these products are slightly higher than the U.S. but for me it is worthwhile just to have a “slice” of home once in a while.

The Automercado also stocks the highest quality local products. Their vegetable and fruit department is the best in the country. You can get everything from organically grown bananas to alfalfa sprouts and freshly squeezed orange juice and coconut milk.

There are other supermarkets in Costa Rica including Walmart and Pricesmart which is a membership only warehouse store like Costco. We also have weekend farmers markets for cost-conscious retirees where they can save a bundle on fresh fruits and vegetables. For instance, a bag of 6 to ten bell peppers costs around a dollar.

Retirement is a big change for many people because they often find themselves with a lot of spare time on their hands and need to stay busy to avoid boredom. Fortunately, the Costa Rica’s pura vida lifestyle offers retirees hundreds of interesting activities from which to chose. Because of the country’s spring-like weather almost any outdoor sport except for skiing can be practiced year round. Indoor sports like bowling also abound here.

Bowling has long been popular with expats and many Costa Ricans. At one time there were two bowling alleys here but the one in Escazú was turned into a department store a couple of years ago. The good news is that a new bowling alley will open in July of this year.

The $4.5 million Bol Carari will boast 20 lanes, the latest state of the art equipment imported from the United States, a bar, a restaurant, meeting rooms, ample parking and will be the most modern bowling facility in Central America. Besides recreational bowling the facility will host bowling tournaments. It was just announced that the upcoming Central American Bowling Championship will be held there.

In a recent interview Juan José Pinto, who is one of the owners of Bol Cariari, stated “If you think people are proud of our new national stadium, bowling lovers will flip out over our new bowling facility.”

Gymnasiums are flourishing in Costa Rica. This means that Baby Boomer retirees and others can easily find a place to work out in the Central Valley. That way they can stay in shape and enjoy a healthier lifestyle while living here.

Costa Rica’s largest gyms recently embarked on a program of expansion. Gold’s Gym, MultiSpa, 360 and George Angulo have spent a combined total of almost $10 million to expand their facilities.

Gold’s Gym will open branches in three new locations: Curridabatt to the east of San José, Escazú to the west and in Costa Rica’s southern city of Pérez Zeledón. This represents a total investment of more than $3 million for the U.S.- based company. Their new facility in Curridabatt will be about 2000 square meters in size, have a large weight room, restaurant, steam bath, jacuzzi, a multipurpose room and a parking lot for 140 vehicles.

MultiSpa operates the oldest chain of gymnasiums in Costa Rica. Currently they have five locations and plan to open two more. One north of San José and another to the south of the city.

The George Angulo chain plans to open two new locations this year. One in Moravia northeast of San José and another in Montes de Oca to the east of the city. Presently they have six locations.

Finally, The 360 chain plans to invest $500,000 in a gym at the Terramall shopping center just to the east of San José.

Besides the large chains I just mentioned there are scores of private gyms located all over the country where you can work on staying fit. For example, the Cariari Country Club, west of San José and near the airport, has a good gym. I have many American friends who use the facility frequently. The Cariari also boasts an Olympic-size swimming pool which is ideal for lap swimming.

Recently, chiropractic medicine was legalized as a separate profession in Costa Rica with the formation of Colegio de Profesionales en Quiropractica de Costa Rica – a regulatory body that oversees this alternative form of medical treatment.

As you probably know Chiropractic medicine is a form of non-traditonal healing that emphasizes diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially the spine, under the hypothesis that these disorders affect general health via the nervous system. Many studies of treatments used by chiropractors have been conducted, with conflicting results. Though some Chiropractors claim a variety of benefits, existing research only supports the effectiveness of manual therapy for the treatment of low back pain, neck pain, some forms of headache and some extremity joint conditions.

One the people who is planning to take my upcoming Central Valley retirement tour asked me to make an appointment with a local chiropractor in advance of her trip. She works in Afghanistan and there are no chiropractors there. She tells me that she is in need of her yearly “tune up.”

Fortunately, I am in good health so I haven’t needed to see a chiropractor. So, I contacted a friend who at one time or another has visited most of the chiropractors in in Costa Rica and asked him for a recommendation. He gave me a list of the doctors and I selected one and scheduled a couple of appointments for my client. I will let you know the results of her visit in a future blog.

Here is a list of chiropractors who are members of the new Colegio de Profesionales en Quiropractica de Costa Rica, Many of them speak English.:

Yolanda Camacho Kortman – Vida Quiropractica de Costa Rica
Tel: 2443-3276 /
E-mail: vidakort@racsa.co.cr

David Chien
Tel: 2291-0850 / 2231-1668

Sashe Ellison and his wife Alejandra Rodriquez
Tel: 2231-6719 or 2446-3457

Daniel Frankson
Tel: 2225-8765

Victor Gil Chang Medico Cirujano
Tel: 2221- 4321 / 2256-5456

Dr. Karl Lind
TeL: 2237-4268)

Dr. Jim McLellan
Tel: 2282-3998.

SHAHIN RAVERY
Tel: 2-22-3152 / 8376-3779 / 2223-3030-
E-mail: ShahinRavery@yahoo.com

Juan Carlos Pozo
Tel: 8389-6611 / 2592-5855

Dianne Rowley-Jennings
Tel: 2266-0123
E-mail: healthNow@gmail.com

As almost everyone knows that Costa Rica produces some of the best quality coffee in the world. All you have to do is go to any gourmet coffee shop in the U.S. and you will notice they sell Costa Rican coffee. If you choose to retire or just live in Costa Rica you can purchase the same quality coffee at a lower price. For example, you may purchase freshly ground coffee at several of the establishments in and around San Jose’s Central Market. Café Brit, which is one of Costa Rica’s premier gourmet coffees, is sold everywhere.

You will also be pleased to know that more and more Starbuck’s –style coffee shops are springing up all around country, especially in the Central Valley. In fact, a Guatemalan coffee house chain, Café Barista, just announced its incursion into the local gourmet coffee market. The company plans to set up coffee shops in El Salvador, Costa Rica and then Panama. Café Barista currently operates 17 locations in Guatemala, with more in the plans for the short and medium term.

While Café Barista ventures into Costa Rica, Starbuck’s plans are still on hold. They have registered their name here but to date there has been no official announcement when they will enter Costa Rican market. For now, Starbucks only has a presence in El Salvador and Guatemala. However, it is only a matter of time before they set up shop here.