Costa Rica Dentist in La Fortuna
Betty Bensenhaver RN
On the 8th May, I had the good fortune to find myself returning to Costa Rica! I was planning to spend six days with two friends whom I had met on the previous trip there, Ana Abarca, a Costa Rica dentist and David Reuland. The only sights more wonderful than the beautiful mountains around San Jose, were the smiling faces of those two when they greeted me at the airport... We had much to catch up on as we traveled to David's home in Escazu. Ana, to whom I should now refer to as Dra. Abarca (a Costa Rica dentist) had a wonderful the surprise in store for me. She and David had taken on quite a task over the past months. They had built, equipped and opened a dental clinic in La Fortuna.
Ana had finished her studies at Ulacit University, obtaining a master's degree in Oral Surgery under the tutelage of well-known dental surgeon Dr. Jorge Cubero Malavassi. She has received the best training to be a Costa Rica dentist. They were quite excited for me to see the clinic in action. I could not imagine the huge undertaking these two had tackled to set things up for her as a Costa Rica dentist. To oversee the building and planning for a medical treatment facility of any type involves an amazing amount of careful planning and organizing. I had just finished taking part in building one operating room and I had a team of professional medical engineers and architects working with me. That job was extremely difficult. Imagining these two people, who had no experience in this, doing this project on their own, left me with an extreme amount of respect for their courage and resourcefulness. Ana left for La Fortuna on Sunday. The following day. I was having dinner with another good friend and founder of this website, Scott Oliver, on Monday evening, so my plans were to travel to Ana's clinic on Tuesday by bus... alone. I speak almost no Spanish. Thank God the Ticos are such warm and helpful folks! The bus trip was quite an adventure, but perhaps that will be another article! La Fortuna sits at the base of Arenal Volcano. I was lucky to arrive there on a day when no clouds blocked the full view of the volcano. Standing on the street of La Fortuna, I could not help but be impressed by the daunting, dark peak that presided over the town. Arenal is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It was believed to be just a mountain until 1968 when it erupted with quite a bang! Many tourists are drawn to La Fortuna, not just to see an active volcano, but to visit the marvelous hot springs, enjoy Lake Arenal, and take part in horseback and canopy tours. I can speak personally about how wonderful the hot springs are. They alone are worth the trip! The Ticos here in La Fortuna were equally as friendly and helpful as those I'd encountered in San Jose. Everyone was happy to help me find Ana's clinic. When I showed them her business card, they smiled and pointed down the street, just one block from the bus stop, to her sign perched high above the sidewalk. There it was "The Perfect Smile" printed on a background as blue as the Costa Rican sky! As I walked down the passageway to the clinic, I felt my excitement growing. I arrived at a professional, yet inviting waiting room. The receptionist informed me that Dra. Arbarca was with a patient and would finish around noon. She gave me the keys to Ana's apartment and I went there to freshen up and wait.
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