Availability of Good Services Gives Tranquillity
Since no good book about retiring of living permanently in Costa Rica should exclude the subject of death, I'll cover some aspects of it here. Death is something we must all accept, preferably good naturedly for our greater tranquillity and peace of mind. And the prospects of dying in a foreign country can be just as stressful as anywhere else especially if you have not prepared for it. Of course, many of us are not really ready for it as far as drawing up a will is concerned or planning the distribution of our goods and properties, but it's good to at least keep the thought in the back of our mind and do what is necessary ahead of time for the benefit of our spouse, family members or other beneficiaries.
Today it's almost more expensive to die than to be born. Nevertheless, in Costa Rica funeral and burial services are still much less costly than they are in the United States and in the industrialized European nations. Funeral homes charge different prices for their services according to the number and complexity of their services. Therefore, should you need them, it's advisable to ask for prices and the forms of payment before using them. Several offer cremation services.
Following are a few of the principal funeral homes in the San José Metropolitan area:
Funerales Costarricenses La Auxiliadora, Calle 40 Av.10
Funerales Montesacro at San Pedro de Montes de Oca
Jardines del Recuerdo with branches in Alajuela and Heredia
Funeraria Polini, Calle 14 , Av.8 in front of the Red Cross
Funerari del Magisterio Nacional with branches in 17 other cities.
In and around the city of San José there are several cemeteries. The Cementerio General on Avenida 10 is the oldest with all tombs above the ground in good Spanish fashion. Its carefully mowed lawns, well-trimmed cypress trees and beautiful tombs, many with religious images sculptured in Carrara marble, give it an aura of peace and quiet. This cemetery is really a beautiful garden and definitely a peaceful resting place for all, whether deceased or not. Some persons walk through its grass-lanes merely to feel peace and tranquillity. More than a few foreign tourists visit it as something worth seeing. Today it's very difficult and expensive to find burial space in this cemetery which is operated by the Junta de Protección Social.
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