Dave and I have a very healthy sex life (TMI? Sorry!) so we have a budget line item for Viagra. In the U.S. – Virginia, the cost of one little blue pill is absolutely ridiculous. Before I headed to Costa Rica I was charged with bringing back a supply of real Viagra – where the cost is far more reasonable. My search parameters included packaging with holograms, pills stamped with Pfizer on one side and the mg dosage on the other. I was not to even consider any other brand or generics. Since Viagra is available without a prescription, I started making my rounds t0 the local Farmacias. My Spanish being what it is I attempted to convey to the store clerk at the first farmacia my desire to obtain a quantity of Viagra. “Viagra, la centidad por la Pildora? Quiero 8 pastillas.” Ok, you may be saying where did she go wrong? My Spanish teacher would have been so embarrassed by my awful pronunciation! I quickly realized that the clerk who called over three other clerks was not trying to help me, they were laughing at the silly gringo! La Farmacia numero dos – I was reduced to drawing a picture of a semi hard and a hard penis! I think I was actually thrown out of the place by an older woman repeating no as she quickly guided me to the door. WTH!? I was done for the day but I still had more than a week before my flight back to the states…… so I settled for a seat on a bench in the park with some ice cream and did some people watching! My friend Jane mentioned that her friend Jon, the Nurse was coming to town and asked if I would like to join them for lunch. And maybe Jon could help me with my hunt for the elusive blue pills. First I have to preface the rest of this tale by saying Jane and Debbie are probably two of the coolest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. And Jon turned out to be just as cool! During lunch we laughed about everything from Jane’s cat that she really didn’t own; her and the cat were companions – to Debbie attempt to pronounce something on the menu that Jon quickly corrected. The food was great, the restaurant was friendly and quaint and the company fabulous! Since Jon is a Nurse and speaks flawless Spanish I enlisted his help on my hunt. Off to the farmacia up the street the four of us trudged. Once inside Jane and Debbie took a seat as they pushed me to the counter with Jon. Jon quickly found out that not only did they not have any Viagra on hand but they required a prescription. On the way out of the farmaica we decided to visit the farmacia where I drew the pictures. The hunt went downhill once inside this farmacia! While Jon and I were at the counter – Jane and Debbie decided to revisit their childhood – messing with the costume jewelry! While we waited for the clerk to check the available supply, Jane and Debbie were placed in time out and told to zip it. I purchased a 4 pack of Viagra ($40) and was told to come back later for the other pack. Laughing we made our way down the street for ice cream. The fun continued across the street in the park where two young girl sat across from us – unable to decide if we were crazy! What a fantastic afternoon with my very cool friends.
