Day One complete

Hello all again. After writing last we went to the bar at Hotel Balmoral, up on the second floor so we could watch the people outside. It´s open air (most things are here, which I love!) so it was a bit chilly. I´m happy I brought warmer clothes :-) The waiters were super super friendly and we got into long discussions about the money here. So, it turns out that some of the money I brought with me from my trip here 2 years ago no longer is in circulation. They thought it was great that I ahve the bills. They each have some expired currency that they keep folded up in their wallets with the date that they have carried it since written on the bill. They are little keepsakes for them. They can also be worth some money. They gave us some great tips on where to go and not to go dancing. After our drink we went back to the room to get ready. I am so happy that the room has super hot water and a hair dryer! Once we were ready we found a taxi and headed over to Centro Commercial EL PUEBLO. ANOTHER FREAKING MAZE!!! What do Costa Ricans have against signs?!?!!?! The place was nearly impossible to navigate so we wandered a little (ps...it was about 7:30 and we were dressed up for dancing! Time goes sooooo slow here) Checked out some of the menus and then settled on LUKAS restaurant for drinks and snacks to pass some time. Again, friendly waiters, this time too friendly. The guy ended telling us he would take us over to a different club, far away from these ones so that we would ahve a better time....YEAH RIGHT! We´re gringas, we´re drinking, but we´re not retarded. Anyways, the nachos we ordered were some of the best things I´ve eaten in my entire life! They were soooo soo sooooo good. Heré´s another thing about costa rica. Everyone runs on turtle time.....slllloooooooowwwwww. I´ve always clashed with Central Americans sense of time. They enjoy life and are never in a hurry. Soooooo it took us almost 45 minutes or more to get the bill. I love that it´s super relaxed, it just takes me a little time to switch from USA Ï´m always in a hurry and it better happen right now¨ mode to ¨i´m enjoying life and the people and things around me, why rush?¨ . Sooooooooo we ended up going to 3 different clubs (Tarrico, Fiesta Latina, and Bongos? I say ¨Bongos¨because that´s where I THOUGHT I was but hen we were leaving we passed by Bongos....maybe there was 2.....maybe I had too much Guaro....) I´ve switched to having an occasional shot of Guaro (the local liquor that could be similar to paint thinner but with a hint of citrus ...) and found that it´s best when paired with a really sour lime.... the lime is so bitter you can barely taste the Guaro....ahhhhhh brings back good memories of Honduras! Maybe later I´ll write about the different clubs and why we only stayed till 11 or 11:30 p.m.....We didn´t do ANY dancing, but, it was cool to watch the Tico´s and compare them to the clubs and how we dance back home.

Got to get ready and start the next adventure. PURA VIDA
Alissa

OK. It´s 7 am not and GORGEOUS outside