Normally, Spacialle Novak’s life is extremely busy overseeing The Gardens Hotel and helping with the increasingly popular restaurant El Local in addition to her family’s business making delicious chocolates and coffee. However, COVID-19 is changing things and in this Nosara Podcast episode she shares how she is undergoing this massive transition both professionally and personally.
Things are adjusting quickly with the Coronavirus updates for Costa Rica and people in Nosara are wondering what this means. In this article I’ll cover the most recent border updates, provide a link to the Q&A Paradise Medical Center discussion, give a link to Dr. Alejandro’s Nosara Podcast now updated with Spanish subtitles, release the 2nd weekly installment of ‘What people are saying on the street’ then end with a direct message from me.
Part 1 – On Monday afternoon President Carlos Alvarado announced Costa Rica will close its borders to foreigners and non-residents starting at Wednesday, March 18th at 11:59pm. He also announced Costa Rica is declaring a state of emergency in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Starting immediately, citizens and residents who arrive into Costa Rica will be subjected to a mandatory 14 day quarantine. These restrictions are expected to be in place at least until April 12 at 11:59pm.
In addition, bars and nightclubs have been ordered to close and restaurants are only permitted to operate at 50% capacity. You can follow the updates and guidelines at the Ministerio de Salud website.
Part 2 – It is important you take all medical advice from a trained professional. For example, Paradise Medical Center doctors are trained professionals and they completed a Question and Answer session specifically for Nosara this past Friday the 13th. They are recording another Nosara Podcast as well to help with further updates which will be available later this week. In case you missed Friday’s Q&A, you can review it here:
Recently posted on FB of Paradise Medical
*Update: Initial Dr. Alejandro video Nosara Podcast con subtítulos:
Part 3 – The third part of this article is solely for informational purposes and I cant say this strongly enough: Take your medical advice from trusted medical sources. The following interviews (including subtitles/con subtítulos) are intended to help show what people ‘on the street’ in and around town feel about the issue as of Friday the 13th.
I have to admit Ceviche Arepa’s song about Coronavirus does seem to be both good advice and high quality entertainment 🙂 I am grateful to people for sharing their opinions and especially the Doctora from the pharmacy. However, please remember the majority of these are simply to reflect the views of people in Nosara… They are not medical advice. Arepa’s is funny though and in these serious times it is nice to have some humor.
***To everyone confused by the ‘Word on the street’ part of the article: Medical professionals are telling me they WANT TO KNOW what people are thinking and saying. Therefore, I will continue to report what people on the street are saying and am happy to debate anyone who doesn’t feel this is relevant information. We are not representing these statements to be medical advice… It is just someone’s opinion. Please refer to the medical professionals for advice.
Part 4 of this article is an opinion piece directly from me. I seldom offer my opinions directly, but am starting to change this policy. Here’s my thoughts on this matter as of March 16th, 2020:
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
The Coronavirus situation is quickly evolving and it is my opinion preventive measures over the coming weeks may help Nosara clear a massive hurdle. My opinion is it is a good idea to cancel group outings, Semana Santa festivities, and of course follow all of the guidelines provided by Costa Rica’s medical professionals.
For those who are physically or financially unable to work from home please know you are not alone. Many of us rely on the income from March and April to survive. It is extremely frustrating to hear people say ‘just work from home’ or ‘take a vacation’ when you do not have the money to do this. However, this is an extenuating circumstance so we need to do the best we can to limit exposure. If Nosara can avoid an outbreak, our businesses and lifestyles will come back far better positioned than if we do suffer an outbreak. If you have to work or go out then you have to work or go out… Don’t feel guilty and do not be bothered by typical Nosara gossip. Simply do your best to limit exposure and know we are all in this together. It’s better to go through challenging financial times without an outbreak than the devastating financial times we may face if there is an outbreak.
FYI to all: I’m going to continue reporting what the medical professionals are saying, attempting to document what the general populace seems to be thinking, and in general promoting communication. Each new week is proving different than the last in some ways and I suspect this will be the case for the foreseeable future.
Best wishes to all and just remember: If there’s ever a place to be stuck for a while, I’d put Costa Rica at the top of the list.
La versión corta de este podcast tiene subtítulos en español disponibles.
Growth brings pain but pleasure all at the same time. As you will hear in this podcast, Diego Cruz knows this well.
Diego is an entrepreneur from San Jose who made Nosara his home 11 years ago. He claims to suffer from a self described affliction called ‘little guy syndrome’ and believes you reap what you sow while describing karma as a motivating force in his overall, highly pleasant demeanor.
In years past, Diego used to be fiery and argue frequently. He still does sometimes, but now as a business owner and constant local at main break Guiones he’s decidedly more generous with smiles and wave-sharing capacity.
In this podcast Diego explains how this happened and why. He candidly explains how both Guiones Brew Co. and his restaurant Olivia’s came about as well and it is an interesting story.
As you will hear, he states living in Guiones has changed him from a boy into a man and he is forever grateful for his current life and surroundings. However, it was not always this way.
Check out the podcast and give his businesses a try. He’s a good man and I’m happy to call him a friend!
In this episode, Rich sits down with Del Mar Academy founders Haley Macmillan-Ord and Jessica Sheffield to discuss updates with Del Mar Academy and their side of the story with opening and operating a school deep in the jungle.
Short version (14 minutes):
Full version (55 minutes):
Most people understand opening and operating any kind of school is not easy.
Opening a school deep in the jungle in a small town hours away from major civilization (via sometimes horrendous roads), zero supplies, very few students, plus so much more… Well that is even harder.
But this is exactly what the Del Mar Academy founders did back in 2007.
People new to Nosara might not be aware of what Nosara was like just a short decade or so ago… Nosara used to be a tiny little town with very challenging access, almost zero publicity, no private schools, very limited medical care, and overall was an extremely challenging place for expats to live if they had kids.
However, Nosara of today is becoming a popular, well-heeled tourist town mentioned by major publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Outside Magazine, CNN, FOX, and so many others… There are doctors, dentists, chiropractors, the supermarkets are improving, there is a wide variety of restaurants and there is a chance the main road will finally be paved.
But it was not always this way. Del Mar Academy helped bring Nosara to the forefront of options for families looking for a spot in Latin America which is a big factor why Nosara is filled with families and nature preserves instead of nightclubs and condo developments.
The success of Del Mar Academy is now helping other private schools to open and operate, plus Del Mar Academy helps the local public schools a great deal, as well as providing scholarships to local Tico’s. Now that Del Mar Academy is a foundation their goal is to drastically increase their funding so they can provide more scholarships and increase environmental awareness not in Nosara but throughout the world.
Ryan is living a life of adventure few humans understand. His phone steadily beeps with items small and sometimes very big he needs to deal with. He has 2 small children and a warrior of a wife dealing with her own health challenges… ‘So how does he do it?’ one may ask.
Listen to this podcast and learn more about Ryan Bombard’s life as well as how Nosara really works:
This is no surprise and is not anything new. In fact, pretty much all of Costa Rica, Latin America and most every tourist town in the world has some sort of crime problem. In the Nosara area our most alarming trend is the house break-ins. They seem to be increasing in frequency and it is downright impressive how the thieves are very seldom caught in the act.
But there is a solution.
Please check out this quick discussion I had with Andrew Saxton to hear for yourself what one street in Guiones did to take action and prevent robberies.
This is about 6 minutes and I’d appreciate if you share it with anyone who owns property in, lives in, or visits Nosara.
Most of our crime is preventable and it is time for the people of Nosara to cooperate and begin to implement these strategies. Please dial into the guidance of the Nosara Security Association and join in the upcoming webinars working to unite all of the areas for strategies like the one in this video. It works and it is time to take action.
Jessica Sheffield is on the short list as one of the ‘Saints of Nosara’ as I like to say. She is an extremely hard worker and dedicated to making the world a better place while leading by example. Jessica doesn’t tolerate laziness and encourages everyone to get involved with what matters most in their communities. There are countless projects she serves with such as President of Nosara Recicla for about a decade (she is currently the vice president), a founder of Del Mar Academy, and way too many more to mention.
Her newest project, The Guardians of Nature, is what she deems as her ‘passion project’ and her goals for it are highly aggressive. This time she is not just aiming only to help Nosara and the country of Costa Rica… She is trying to change the world. And it is working!
I hope you enjoy this discussion and choose to support Jessica’s vision in becoming a reality. One way of doing so is supporting the upcoming event for Guardians of Nature at Olo Alaia in January. Please come if you can… You won’t regret it.
