Chapter 51 - More Lawyers and Banking

   We were told to pony up $1700 American for half the legal and disposition fee.  We will still have to pay more to present documents.  We must get new birth certificates, (no more than one year old) and send them to the  Foreign Affairs department of the government in Canada for verification.  The RCMP statements we got just before we left Canada will have to be sent back to Canada, notarized and sent to another government agency, then back to us. We have to arrange bank accounts to provide an income for Melaney of $2,500 per month for five years.  We have to get a document to prove my pension income.  No wonder it takes about a year to get this settled.

    In the meantime, this coming week, we have to travel to a border country and have our passports stamped as leaving and entering Costa Rica.  It is so corny.  Why should that border crossing make any difference at all?  We wanted to go down to Golfito at the beginning of March to buy a dehumidifier.  Rita is to come with us, as she wants to get a lawn mower.  Thank goodness for that.  This place is starting to look like a mess of all messes.  The grass is too high and there are dropped leaves all over the place.  We were told there would be a gardener here, and I am about ready to hold her to that statement.

     We went into the Banco National in Poas this morning, and presented ourselves at the wicket.  The teller, a very congenial man, recognized us immediately from our last trip there, and made it very easy to get our funds arranged and the money transferred to the Lawyer’s account.  We got our funds for the month for ourselves, and drove into Price Smart in Alajuela to get a load of groceries.  I try to not go there very often, it’s like Costco. One can spend a lot there, and we did.

     A combination of lack of fluid, nothing to eat, and the heat of the day really laid me out, so I let Melaney pick out the groceries.  By the time we arrived at home, the location was cooler, and we were greeted with lots of barks and kisses from Gigi.

     I think we will just have a cold dinner tonight.  I have a bushel of tomatoes, and lots of cukes and lettuce, so it will certainly be a good night for salad.