Living the Life

When we came here in November, one of our concerns was that there was no 911 or 999 emergency service. To offset this, we were told that there were a couple of ways to get over this.
One was to buy or rent in a gated community, apartment building or a condo complex. As we did not want to do that, we would have to go with the second option.
As we were looking to buy a house, we would have to rely on the local guardian, who would have the cell phone of a local policeman who would know how to get in touch with both the ambulance and fire departments.
In Salinas, the fire department is staffed by volunteers and the ambulances are owned by the hospital or clinic they serve. This is a far cry from what we have been used to.
There is a military base clinic and a Red Cross clinic in Salinas; the base charges $15.00 per visit and the Red Cross  charges $4.00 per visit- that was last year.
This year, the base and the Red Cross have not changed their prices, but we do now have a 911 response service.
This last week, there have seen lots of adverts on billboards and on the buses promoting this service. We spoke to our guardian and asked if he would use it, and he said 'yes' but not for the police, since he does not think that the Salinas police are on the system.
Whether they are on the system or not, I do not know at this time, but to have an emergency service is a major move forward for this country.
Evelyn needed to have some meds renewed and was asking around for a doctor recommendation. The other night at dinner with our friends, Randy gave Evelyn the name and number of a doctor they use.
This doctor makes house calls! Evelyn contacted the doctor and he said that he would be by in the morning. He came by and they had a consult for about an hour. He provided a prescription for the meds that Evelyn needed and provided a prescription for a natural medication, also. He told her where to get the meds, and his charge for all of this was $30.00. Pretty reasonable, eh?

Turntable ladder 

Fire house

Volunteer with the quick response vehicle 

Second turntable ladder

Engine MAC

Paramedic and her ambulance

More response vehicles

Off shore rescue vehicle

This is what they used in the past

     
         On Tuesday this week, I started to take zumba classes led by Linda, an American expat who used to be a dancer. Jodie has not been to the classes yet-she does not know what she is missing.  It is fun exercising to this latin music.  We start off slow to warm up, and then we really work up a sweat doing zumba and this country line dance called "boot-scootin' boogie", which is also a lot of fun and we laugh a lot when we miss some steps.  We live only 2 blocks from the class, which is on the second floor of this bar-restaurant called "Sin", which has karioke (sp.) on some Fridays and live bands on some Saturdays. It is a large place on the first floor, with a nice-sized bar and area for eating and a good-sized dance floor, also.  The dance classes are from Tuesday through Saturday from 3:30-5p and we even have 3 fellows that join us besides at least 5 ladies besides Linda. Linda is very good and shouts out the moves to keep us all in step. Just wish there were more people in the class. I can honestly say that after 4 classes this week(I missed Friday), that I am getting better, can move more easily and I definitely feel better.  Riding our bicycles along the Malecon at 8am from one end to the other is also invigorating.  You see many others either jogging, walking, or riding their bicycles also. The other end of the Malecon leads into Chipipe, a lovely area of homes and some high rises with a very calm and quiet beach. The end of the bicycle ride at that end of the Malecon runs right into the Naval base entrance. A fantastic breeze keeps you cool on the bicycle and the salt air is so clean and fresh- it is wonderful!