Day 4: 6/24/18
By design, today was to be a “hotel” day where I relaxed and stayed close. I ventured out to a market about a block away from the hotel and dropped the ball. There is a big difference between “tourist Spanish” and “local Spanish.” The cashier tried to tell me something about my apple… It could have been something like it was two for the price of one or something, but I was clueless. He looked a bit disappointed when I sputtered out “no habla” and pointed at the total cost on the screen when he was through scanning. I guess I was foolish to think that just because I’ve held my own the past few days, I am still not fluent. It is motivation, however, to keep practicing when I get back home!
Adventured out for lunch after a relaxing morning by the pool and the sidewalk system here is really bad compared to what I am used to. It begs the question, do the Ticos walk in the road because of the lack of sidewalks, or are there no sidewalks built because they walk in the road?
The restaurants and shops are not always obviously open. The place I was thinking about going for lunch looked closed so I kept walking until I came to a bridge that crossed the highway. I immediately regretted my decision to cross the bridge when I realized how high I was over traffic, and how narrow it was. Overcoming my fear of heights is not a part of the escaping my comfort zone trip this time. I ended up in a McDonald’s parking lot.
The road system here is quite complex for someone who doesn’t know his way around. I am sure that it is easy for the locals, but there doesn’t appear to be a really good layout of the streets.
I broke down and checked my phone for a map, and discovered that I was very near a music bar so I went there for lunch. The place was completely empty, which led to my second awkward encounter with a local when I tried to ask if they were open. I asked if she spoke English and she said “very little,” so I replied that I also spoke very little Spanish.
I ordered a beer and was finally able to get a food menu. I have noticed that servers tend to leave you alone unless you call for their attention here. I asked for forgiveness for my errors speaking Spanish, and she smiled and said it was fine. After the incident at the market, it felt good to not be a stereotypical American who was not trying to be culturally sensitive. I ordered my food and discovered that I had no idea if there is a word in Spanish for ranch dressing.
I received my food and asked the waitress which cocktail was very good. She said the piña colada so I went for it. It didn’t dawn on me at the time that all the fresh fruit probably translated really well to the drinks. I watched her put about three shots into the drink, then pour herself a shot of the drink after mixing it. She must have decided that it needed more alcohol because she threw two more shots in it and then re-mixed it. Needless to say, it was not the most fun walk over the bridge back to my hotel. It was a good local experience, though, and at least partly made up for the fiasco at the market, or at least that is what I am telling myself…
I came back and took a short nap, although sleep has not been easy for me on this trip. My body has not acclimated to the early rises, and the all-day tours have taken a toll on me. Part of me wants to venture out to another park tomorrow, but the reality is that I am exhausted. I have been spending quite a bit of money at the hotel restaurant each night, and while the food is top notch, I am definitely paying for it! The atmosphere has been amazing though, providing a calm environment to read and write each evening. With the nightly lightning storms, the ambiance is worth the cost.
I am starting to find a familiarity with the night staff at the hotel bar. I don’t want to venture out after dark here, especially since this is my first time out of the country. I had added a day to my trip a while back, and today I was wondering if I should have, considering how I could sit at a pool much of the day reading and writing at home. If I was doing this at home though, I know I would fall back into my same routine, which was the whole purpose of me vacationing here- to escape the norm and branch out. And as much as I love Woodlake, it doesn’t hold a candle to this atmosphere.
Had are more confidence in myself leading up to this vacation, I would have stayed in different parts of the country. I chose to make my home base in San Jose primarily so I could use hotel points. The money I saved on the hotel cost was able to go towards food, drinks, and my two major excursions. One day, I will be able to order whatever I want to eat or drink wherever I am in the world without having to check the cost. That is my ultimate goal.