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| We jumped for joy when we came across this Iguana, especially when taking photos without a chain link fence impeding the view. |
“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”
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| One of these cows moos so loud several times a day it’s ear-splitting, which also makes us laugh out loud. |
A few days after our dental appointments on August 21st, while eating a relatively easy to chew casserole-type dinner, I gasped when I felt something metal in my mouth. Much to my surprise, one of my dental crowns fell out from the last tooth on the bottom left.
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| This is an Emu we spotted at Zoo Ave, the aviary we visited in the Central Valley. |
I put it aside until after dinner when I read online about how to handle such an incident. At that point, I remembered I’d initially been packed a small tube of dental glue/adhesive used for these exact types of situations. Over these past years of world travel, we’d never had a reason to use the glue.
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| He posed nicely for us, seemingly unperturbed by our proximity. |
Immediately, I opened our blue medical/dental/supplies suitcase to find the little tube unopened in its original packaging with instructions. Perfect. I brushed my teeth and the crown and attempted to fit in its place, as instructed before placing the glue on the crown. This was to prevent the possibility of putting it in the wrong way while using the glue.
As soon as I attempted to fit it in place, it became so stuck. I couldn’t pull it back out. Humm…I’d read that sometimes you can re-seat a crown without glue, and it will stay, possibly for years to come. I liked that idea. As much as I tugged and pulled, it wouldn’t come out. OK, leave it be, I thought.
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| A face only a mother could love. But for us, we love every creature, finding beauty in their often peculiar appearances. |
It felt as if it was seated correctly, fitting comfortably. Within a few hours, I forgot all about it. Most likely, we assumed, it had been jarred loose during the strong teeth cleaning on the 21st.
Last night, Alas was eating meatloaf, again, an easy to chew item, it fell out once again. This time, I decided to follow the instructions on the package and glue it back in myself. After dinner, I brushed my teeth and cleaned the crown. This time, I’d open the box and poke a pin into the tinfoil opening of the tiny tube when reversing the cap, and using that piercing tool didn’t seem to work.
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| An Emu at rest. |
After poking at it several times, I discovered, much to my dismay, that the glue was completely dried out. It wasn’t surprising it had dried out entirely. After all, I’d had the thing since 2012. At this point, I had two options; one, to re-seat it once again, hoping it would stick or, go to a dentist to get it done professionally.
I had no intention of returning to the dentists in San Jose. It was too far away, hard to find, and required a long wait. We’d try to find an appointment with one of the few dentists here in Atenas. It wasn’t as if I’d need lots of skilled dental work to glue this back on. I could have done it myself if I’d had the proper glue on hand.
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| This chick’s fluffy, molting feathers made us smile as we recalled the Laysan Albatross chicks in Kauai, Hawaii, in 2015. |
The next challenge was to communicate with the Spanish-speaking only receptionist when I called one of the few dentists here in Atenas, one that had more activity in google and no seeming bad reviews, actually no reviews at all.
I looked up the Spanish words for “crown fell out,” which translates to “la corona de cayó” and managed to figure out that I have an appointment today, “hoy,” at 2:00 pm, “dos en puento.” Whew!
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| Another Emu in the natural habitat. |
We sure took the simplicity of our old lives in the USA for granted! Crown falls out? No worries. Call, email, or text the dentist’s office for an easy and quick appointment. When there’s any type of medical or dental issue in a non-English speaking environment, a solution becomes tricky.
Besides, we didn’t have to use the navigation to find our dentist’s office in our old life. We’d been there at least twice a year for cleanings and whatever other miscellaneous procedures we had performed over the years.
At around 10:00 am this morning, we’ll call a taxi to pick us up and take us to Supermercado Coopeatenas to grocery shop. We’d had enough food on hand to last for nine days, and now it’s time to restock. While I shop, at 11:00 am, the Thrifty car rental guy will arrive at the market’s outdoor cafe to drop off our five-day rental car, which we’ll return to the exact location at the same time on Saturday morning.
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| What a large and beautiful hawk. |
At that point, we’ll run the groceries back to the villa, unpack and put it all away while I get a bit of a head start on making tonight’s low-carb lasagne. At 1:30 pm, we’ll head back out for the 2:00 pm dental appointment leaving ourselves ample time to find the clinic and park the car in the congested downtown Atenas area.
We’d hope to go sightseeing today, but we’ll save it for tomorrow, weather permitting, and other days over the remainder of the week based on the timing. So there it is, folks, another minor issue in the lives of these world travelers. But, as many of our readers often say, it’s the trivialities of our daily lives that pique their curiosity as well as the “big” memorable events.
Have a great Monday or Tuesday (depending on where you are in the world)!
Photo from one year ago today, September 4, 2016:
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| The morning view in Bali, as I worked on the post by the cabana by the pool. For more photos, please click here. |