Well I have had some interesting experiences in Costa Rica. A few years ago my brother recommended the book, Blue Zones, so I read it. I really liked it and became sort of obsessed with the idea of pursuing nutritional anthropology. In the middle of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica there is a very prominent Blue Zone. The area has a very large group of centenarians. When I first planned to come to Costa Rica, I made a point of dedicating a couple days to hunting down old people to glean some of their wisdom on how to live a long and healthy life. These couple days basically made the decision that I needed to rent a car because the central peninsula is hard to get to and actually used to be even harder until a large bridge was built. In the book the author discusses how this bridge alone changed the lifestyle for the younger generation and thus has dropped the life expectancy. It allowed fast food and more coke cola to enter the area. As I drove over the bridge I thought to myself, I bet China or some Asian country built this bridge. Yep! Taiwan did! Ha.
I reached the town of Hojancha and parked the car. I approached a stranger and inquired where any centenarians lived. The guy immediately said,"The Castillo family has an old lady. They live over the bridge about 1 km past the soccer field." I drove and didn't find it, so I stopped to ask a farmer and he gave me more specific directions. The problem was that my definition of bridge and theirs is very different. The third person I asked said, "Yea, my neighbor." There were three girls all between 8 and 10 playing in the yard with two elders looking on. I approached and asked if I could ask them some questions. They were very receptive and gave me a chair. I explained that I had read the book and wanted to write an article about living a long life. The man, Jose Calisto Castillo Carrillo, is 88 and his daughter is in her early 60's. His mother is the most famous centenarian in the town at the whopping age of 109. I asked them about her lifestyle. They said she used to eat dinner at 5 pm and get up around 2 am to work in the fields. In their opinion, the key to her diet was that there were no preservatives and all meat was organic and grass fed. They also said that the most important factors behind her longevity are the fact that she is always surrounded by a lot of family and that her faith is so strong. Jose explained that he lived in a nice house because his son is a priest and the church bought it for him. He lives there while his son is evangelizing throughout Central America and Africa. I hesitantly asked if I could meet his mother. He immediately jumped up and put on a fancy shirt and leather shoes. He didn't call to give her warning of course, but we were on our way to meet not only a centenarian, but THE MOST FAMOUS ONE! I had done it and only in a matter of an hour of hunting. As we drove Jose proudly sat in the front seat smiling at all the locals who were very confused why Jose was in a car with a gringa.
We reached the house and there were four relatives sitting outside chatting away the afternoon. The hostess of honor remained inside putting on her best clothes and a very special rosary sent directly to her from the pope. Her name is Francisca Carrillo and she was born November 3rd, 1906. Six months ago she lost her sight and her hearing is very bad. So her granddaughter had to yell in her ear who I was. It became obvious any information I was going to get would come from either Miguel her 75 year old grandson, Jose her 88 year old son, or her 65 year old granddaughter. She asked to feel my hair and then grabbed my head close to her bosom and proceeded to say a blessing. She then asked her granddaughter to get her special ear rings. The granddaughter asked me to sign her book. Page after page after page were filled with the names of all the people who had come to visit. There was a column to write your nationality and the purpose of the visit. Ten days previously two doctors from Portland, OR had visited. The day before a journalist from US News and one from France had visited. The walls were covered with pictures of news crews who had come to document the longevity secrets of this very impressive woman. It was a surreal experience. I had found her. I knew I would, I just didn't expect for it to be that easy. I had thought I would need to drive back the next day. It just goes to show that at least asking is always worth a try and the hospitality of strangers may surprise you.
I reached the town of Hojancha and parked the car. I approached a stranger and inquired where any centenarians lived. The guy immediately said,"The Castillo family has an old lady. They live over the bridge about 1 km past the soccer field." I drove and didn't find it, so I stopped to ask a farmer and he gave me more specific directions. The problem was that my definition of bridge and theirs is very different. The third person I asked said, "Yea, my neighbor." There were three girls all between 8 and 10 playing in the yard with two elders looking on. I approached and asked if I could ask them some questions. They were very receptive and gave me a chair. I explained that I had read the book and wanted to write an article about living a long life. The man, Jose Calisto Castillo Carrillo, is 88 and his daughter is in her early 60's. His mother is the most famous centenarian in the town at the whopping age of 109. I asked them about her lifestyle. They said she used to eat dinner at 5 pm and get up around 2 am to work in the fields. In their opinion, the key to her diet was that there were no preservatives and all meat was organic and grass fed. They also said that the most important factors behind her longevity are the fact that she is always surrounded by a lot of family and that her faith is so strong. Jose explained that he lived in a nice house because his son is a priest and the church bought it for him. He lives there while his son is evangelizing throughout Central America and Africa. I hesitantly asked if I could meet his mother. He immediately jumped up and put on a fancy shirt and leather shoes. He didn't call to give her warning of course, but we were on our way to meet not only a centenarian, but THE MOST FAMOUS ONE! I had done it and only in a matter of an hour of hunting. As we drove Jose proudly sat in the front seat smiling at all the locals who were very confused why Jose was in a car with a gringa.
We reached the house and there were four relatives sitting outside chatting away the afternoon. The hostess of honor remained inside putting on her best clothes and a very special rosary sent directly to her from the pope. Her name is Francisca Carrillo and she was born November 3rd, 1906. Six months ago she lost her sight and her hearing is very bad. So her granddaughter had to yell in her ear who I was. It became obvious any information I was going to get would come from either Miguel her 75 year old grandson, Jose her 88 year old son, or her 65 year old granddaughter. She asked to feel my hair and then grabbed my head close to her bosom and proceeded to say a blessing. She then asked her granddaughter to get her special ear rings. The granddaughter asked me to sign her book. Page after page after page were filled with the names of all the people who had come to visit. There was a column to write your nationality and the purpose of the visit. Ten days previously two doctors from Portland, OR had visited. The day before a journalist from US News and one from France had visited. The walls were covered with pictures of news crews who had come to document the longevity secrets of this very impressive woman. It was a surreal experience. I had found her. I knew I would, I just didn't expect for it to be that easy. I had thought I would need to drive back the next day. It just goes to show that at least asking is always worth a try and the hospitality of strangers may surprise you.
