I woke up to sunshine pouring into my room and I felt very nervous, but excited. It was our final day in Costa Rica, and I enjoyed my favorite breakfast, which was Café Tico’s traditional gallo pinto with eggs, avocado, and a corn tortilla in Tamarindo. Still, one goal had been left unmet because I hadn’t interviewed anyone who was 100 years old. I had held onto that dream the entire trip, and I woke up with a quiet confidence that something miraculous would unfold.
With no real plan, we decided to return to familiar ground in the heart of Nicoya. We parked in front of the town’s church The Church of San Blas, the same place where my journey had started days before when I attended the Friday night mass. And there, as if it were meant to be, stood Cosme who was the bellringer I met on my very first day. He was in an orange vest, directing traffic for Sunday mass.
Cosme doesn’t speak English, but with translating and a bit of intuition, I explained my mission. He smiled and said the most unexpected thing that his mother was 96 years old and completely healthy. I was stunned. Of all the people I could have met in this town, the first one I connected with was the key to unlocking this story. I thought to myself that life has a funny way of connecting the dots. As Steve Jobs said “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
We called Hernan to meet us in the town center, and together we started walking toward her home just a few blocks away. But suddenly, Cosme stopped. There was a moment of confusion. Hernan gently explained that Cosme drinks, and his mother had forbidden him from visiting her house. He couldn’t go any farther.
Cosme’s hesitation only made me more curious. Who was this strong woman who had drawn such a boundary? I was nervous as we got closer, full of doubts and questions about why I was even doing this. But deep down, I knew I was supposed to be here. I silently asked God to guide me through whatever came next.
And then there she was, Lobelia Pinar Salazar. Sitting on her porch in a rocking chair, wearing a white shirt with pink flowers, brown shorts, and black Toms, her thin silver hair pulled back. She radiated presence and her family gathered around as we began the interview, and I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be.
Lobelia has lived in Nicoya her entire life. She’s proud to be Costa Rican and even prouder to live with her family in her own home. And here’s the part that left me speechless: she has 18 children. Eighteen. “Eighteen kids, and I’m still here,” she said, flexing her arms with a laugh. And the most astonishing part, she had her last child at age 65. She said that she is very strong after having so many children.
She was married at 18, had two children with her first husband, and sixteen more with her second, who passed away ten years ago. Her purpose, she said, has always been her family. Sadly, she has lost three sons, but her love remains fiercely present in every word she speaks.
These days, she wakes up around 10 a.m., though she used to rise at 5 a.m. and exercise with her kids. She described herself as a very strict mother and her rules included no late nights, no disrespect, and if the kids weren’t back by the time she blew her whistle, the doors were closed. There was structure, love, and discipline in her home.
She told me that the secret to a happy family is location, strict rules, and respect. Having her children close by keeps her feeling connected. Setting firm rules gave her children structure. And above all, she raised them to respect her, their father, and each other. “There used to be a lot of respect,” her family said, “but today’s generations are different.”
I asked her about the secret to her long life. Without missing a beat, she said olla de carne, a traditional vegetable and beef soup. She eats vegetables and fruits like bananas and oranges every day, never cooks with oil, and still prepares meals every morning for her family. She believes in eating natural, fresh foods such as corn tortillas, beans, rice, and smoked meats cooked over an open flame. She also believes you should never stay up too late because it is not good for our health.
Lobelia reminded me of a passage in Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, where prisoners being transported between camps were captivated by the beauty of the mountains in Salzburg. That same reverence for nature lives in Lobelia. When I asked what she loved to do most, she said she visits the hotel where her daughter works, lies in a hammock by the beach, and watches the sea turtles arrive. That image has permanently imprinted itself in my mind. I can picture her, resting peacefully, waiting for the turtles, surrounded by the ocean’s breeze.
But Nicoya is changing, she said. There’s more construction now and the nature she once knew is evolving, and there’s some sadness in that. Still, she returns to the beach as often as she can and hopes to live to 100, just four more years, so she can keep going back.
I asked her if anything scares her. She shook her head: “No, no, no.” No stress. No worry. She feels great, she says because she’s not sick and is surrounded by the love of her family.
She described what the secrets are to a happy marriage. She said her husband was a good man. They didn’t fight and he only drank a little bit once in a while. Her secret to a happy family was to love them, take care of them, and make sure the kids respect their parents. There was no violence in her home. Just firm, clear expectations and a lot of love.
Lobelia goes to church every May 5th and spends the whole day there. Faith, family, food, and nature is her her formula to a long, healthy, and happy life.
You can watch our full conversation on YouTube . I truly hope this interview touches you the way it touched me. Meeting Lobelia was one of the most life changing conversations I have ever had and it felt everything lined up perfectly to have the once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from a wonderful and strong woman living in one of the world’s Blue Zones. This conversation about her life was the kind that reminds you how sacred this life is, and how much beauty there is in simplicity, strength, and staying grounded in love.
