Doctors, Dentists, and more

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Never a dull moment...last week we made our first visit to a Costa Rican dentist to have our teeth cleaned. They don´t do it the same way as in the States--apparently it´s the same as in Italy. They clean them by using a tiny drill that shoots water between your teeth--kind of like a deep pressure cleaning. It worked fine, but I was soaking wet by the time it was over--but the best part is it was only $16.00 each.
A few days later I ended up with a UTI and had to make a trip to the doctor. It´s so bizarre here. There is never a wait at the doctor´s office. You walk into a clinic and a doctor sees you within a minute. They have labs there also, so they can run tests and get results back immediately. I think one of the reasons the doctor´s offices are so empty is that you don´t need a prescription to get medications. I probably could have just gone to the pharmacy and told them my symptoms and they would have prescribed what I needed. It was $20 to see the doctor and $28 for the antibiotics.
Also last week we were invited to a Tico home for lunch. Irma and Isidoro are friends of our new American friends Steve and Kathleen. Irma and Isidoro grow all their own food and they have both a wood-burning and traditional gas oven and stove and make everything by hand (example, she grinds the corn to make tortillas). Irma is also an artist and Isidoro makes all the frames for her paintings. They also grow herbs and Irma is a local medicine woman of sorts. She is a consultant for all her friends and neighbors. They are amazing people (see photos below). Anyhow, she took Kathleen and I to see a homeopathic doctor on Saturday and he was able to tell everything about our health by looking at our eyes. And he was right on target! He spent about an hour with each of us, gave us some tinctures and vitamins to take and I ended up paying $18.00 for everything!!! It boggles the mind that the supposed greatest country in the world can´t offer reasonably-priced healthcare to its people like they can here, a borderline third-world country.
Christmas eve was spent at our friend´s Andrew and Beth, who own Angel Valley B&B--a beautiful place in Los Angeles Sur, in the hills above San Ramon and on the edge of a cloud forest. You can check out their website at http://www.angelvalleybandb.com/index.htm.
That´s all for now. I didn´t have many new photos so I took some more around town so you could get a better feel for the town we live in.

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Photos

Street scene
Typical street in San Ramon.

Surroundings
San Ramon is surrounded by hills as seen here.

Shop
A shoe repair shop in town.

Another shop
Another shop.

Iglesia
The church in San Ramon

A Tico lunch
At lunch with new friends Kathleen, Irma, Isidoro (Steve took the photo)

Irma
Irma showing one of her delicious cakes.