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    The Golden Gringo Chronicles: Part 1
    The Golden Gringo Chronicles: Part 1
    The Golden Gringo Chronicles: Part 1
    Ebook79 pages1 hour

    The Golden Gringo Chronicles: Part 1

    By Bob Normand

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    About this ebook

    This is a true story of a gringo in his sixties who visited Costa Rica eight times over five years, felt very comfortable visiting the country and decided to retire there at the age of 65. Our hero’s name is Dudley Bodoh and his resemblance to the author is significant.
    The story explains the reasoning process behind Dudley’s decision to move to Costa Rica and why he decided to take up residence on the south central pacific coast in a small town called Quepos that is contiguous with a well-known resort area called Manuel Antonio. His love for the beach and the wildness that is the Costa Rican jungle, as well as the friendliness of the natives leads him to choose this particular part of a beautiful country. He analyzes his living situation in Florida and concludes that leaving behind all he’d known for ten years would be emotionally difficult but easily accomplished physically.
    In a rush of enthusiasm, our hero decides to drive to his adopted country but runs into many obstacles that challenge his unbridled and unrealistic expectations. Problems mount further for Dudley when a new friend and expected travel companion who was fluent in Spanish, surprises our hero by announcing a few days before departure that he can’t go for legal reasons! Undaunted by this reversal, Dudley decides to drive to Costa Rica alone but encounters a fresh set of problems, some of which he created himself, that turn him back from the Mexican border.
    Dudley then spends a whole weekend in Brownsville, Texas ruminating about his trip and the problems he is facing. He receives some unexpected wisdom from a chance encounter with a young lady on the beach at South Padre Island. And, after meeting some experienced Central America travelers (legal and illegal) in a Brownsville restaurant Dudley decides to reverse his decision to drive to Costa Rica, return to Sarasota and come up with a Plan B. Within two weeks he is able to sell his car and reduce his belongings to a couple of suitcases. The he accompanies three ladies on a trip by air to Costa Rica that he had planned months before, using an airline ticket he had planned to abandon.
    Once there our hero took up residence sharing an apartment with an acquaintance he had met on a previous trip. Within a short time, that deal fell through and Dudley had to find a living place of his own. With help from friends and a great deal of good luck, he quickly found a place in downtown Quepos that would turn out to be his living abode for years to come.
    Dudley spent the next few weeks trying to establish bank accounts, learning the ropes when it comes to where to go to buy anything and getting used to limited facilities in a small town in a developing country. He learned some things will have to wait until his residency was more formal, at least with the government.
    But our hero still looked forward to melding into the community and enjoying his retirement without incident.
    Maybe, amigo.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBob Normand
    Release dateJan 26, 2014
    ISBN9781311577436
    The Golden Gringo Chronicles: Part 1
    Author

    Bob Normand

    Currently retired and living in Quepos, Costa Rica, Mr.Normand currently writes a monthly newsletter called the Golden Gringo Chronicles about being an ex-pat living in one of the most beautiful countriies in the world.Professional background: Mr. Normand has served as principal management consultant to more than 100 businesses ranging from $500,000 to $50,000,000 in annual sales and has owned and operated several small businesses of his own in diverse industries. Mr. Normand’s small business philosophy is premised on the belief that small business management skills can be developed by busy entrepreneurs using readily available information, tools and procedures not found in business schools or formal degree programs. His direct industrial experience as an executive includes chemicals, plastics, computer systems, office furniture, financial services, banking and small business management consulting.Academic: B.S. University of Massachusetts, M.S. Villanova University, MBA Program Ohio University. Past Adjunct Professor of Small Business Management, Northampton Community College. Author: Entreprenewal!,The Six Step Recovery Program for Small Business.

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      Book preview

      The Golden Gringo Chronicles - Bob Normand

      The Golden Gringo Chronicles

      &

      Rudimentary Guide to Retirement in Costa Rica

      True Stories from a U.S. Ex-Patriot

      Living in Latin America

      Novel in Three Parts

      This is Part One – Leaving the Homeland

      By Bob Normand

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2014 Bob Normand. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return toSmashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      The trilogy:

      Part 1: Leaving the Homeland

      Part 2: Surviving in Costa Rica, the Early Years

      Part 3: Becoming Tico, Maybe

      Contents

      Synopsis – Part One

      Chapter One – Decision Time

      Chapter Two – Preparing for the Exodus

      Chapter Three – Driving to Costa Rica

      Chapter Four – Plan B

      Chapter Five – Costa Rica or Bust

      Chapter Six – Settling In

      Chapter Seven – The First Weeks

      Chapter Eight – Am I Tico Yet?

      About the Author

      Other Books by Bob Normand

      Synopsis – Part One

      This is a true story of a gringo in his sixties who visited Costa Rica eight times over five years, felt very comfortable visiting the country and decided to retire there at the age of 65. Our hero’s name is Dudley Bodoh and his resemblance to the author is significant.

      The story explains the reasoning process behind Dudley’s decision to move to Costa Rica and why he decided to take up residence on the south central pacific coast in a small town called Quepos that is contiguous with a well-known resort area called Manuel Antonio. His love for the beach and the wildness that is the Costa Rican jungle, as well as the friendliness of the natives leads him to choose this particular part of a beautiful country. He analyzes his living situation in Florida and concludes that leaving behind all he’d known for ten years would be emotionally difficult but easily accomplished physically.

      In a rush of enthusiasm, our hero decides to drive to his adopted country but runs into many obstacles that challenge his unbridled and unrealistic expectations. Problems mount further for Dudley when a new friend and expected travel companion who was fluent in Spanish, surprises our hero by announcing a few days before departure that he can’t go for legal reasons! Undaunted by this reversal, Dudley decides to drive to Costa Rica alone but encounters a fresh set of problems, some of which he created himself, that turn him back from the Mexican border.

      Dudley then spends a whole weekend in Brownsville, Texas ruminating about his trip and the problems he is facing. He receives some unexpected wisdom from a chance encounter with a young lady on the beach at South Padre Island. And, after meeting some experienced Central America travelers (legal and illegal) in a Brownsville restaurant Dudley decides to reverse his decision to drive to Costa Rica, return to Sarasota and come up with a Plan B. Within two weeks he is able to sell his car and reduce his belongings to a couple of suitcases. The he accompanies three ladies on a trip by air to Costa Rica that he had planned months before, using an airline ticket he had planned to abandon.

      Once there our hero took up residence sharing an apartment with an acquaintance he had met on a previous trip. Within a short time, that deal fell through and Dudley had to find a living place of his own. With help from friends and a great deal of good luck, he quickly found a place in downtown Quepos that would turn out to be his living abode for years to come.

      Dudley spent the next few weeks trying to establish bank accounts, learning the ropes when it comes to where to go to buy anything and getting used to limited facilities in a small town in a developing country. He learned some things will have to wait until his residency was more formal, at least with the government.

      But our hero still looked forward to melding into the community and enjoying his retirement without incident.

      Maybe, amigo.

      Chapter One – Decision Time

      Dudley Bodoh was sitting on a plane that was just leveling off at 41,000 feet after a flawless takeoff from Juan Santamaria Airport, the main airport servicing San José, Costa Rica.

      This had been Dudley’s eighth visit to Costa Rica in five years. He was feeling melancholic about leaving the land of the Ticos. He had this feeling before when he had returned to the U.S. from the previous trip, but this time it was stronger.

      While in Ticoland he had learned that the nickname Tico came from the long-time tradition of Costa Ricans to reduce nouns to a diminutive form. A perro (dog) becomes a perrito or puppy, a gato (cat) a gatito or kitten. He learned that Tico diminutives could be applied to virtually anything; one Tico even called Dudley Dudsito because he had difficulty pronouncing Dudley so he wacked off the last syllable in favor of the diminutive ending. Dudley also learned that these endings are usually thought of as being a more affectionate way of addressing someone.

      Before visiting Costa Rica for the first time in 2003, he had been returning from a business trip in the U.S. one day and sat down next to a gent in the smoking room at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport. After lighting up his cigar, his favorite vice, Dudley casually mentioned to the fellow that he was going to Costa Rica the following week. The dude, about the same age as Dudley, looked at him strangely, leaned forward and quietly said: "Don’t miss the Blue Marlin Bar

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