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Before I left LA, I packed some tuna kits...after all, you never can be too safe. Good thing I did!
Time is really (NOT) flying. Looking at my computer, I saw the time was 7:26 am. I thought my computer automatically reset to Costa Rican time....it didn't. I waited another 90 minutes to call Paula 506 8604 7057 when I could have called her at 7:26 am...as it was really 9:26 am.
As I was waiting....I tried to check out a couple of web-sites for new lodging...and perhaps a cell phone (cellphonescr.com). The Hotel Plaza Real Apartment and Suites seemed like a reasonable alternative. I'll ask Paula what she knows about it when I speak with her.
At 9:05 am (by the time on my computer), I called Paula. She told me that she would come right over and straighten things out. Paula appeared about 20 minutes later. She informed me that she found a hotel about 15 minutes on the other side of Maximo Nivel. Although Paula told me that she'd never seen the place in person...she checked out the web-site, and it looked fine. I looked at the posted pictures on the web and thought that it might do for an alternative. According to Paula, the driver would arrive at 1:30 pm to pick me up. He would take me to orientation for 2:00 pm and from there we would head to the new hotel.
Paula gave the orientation...and advised me that Mario (another Maximo team member) would ride with me to my site. I was to report to Maximo at 8:00 am tomorrow (Monday 1/9/12) morning. From there, we would take the bus to Casa de Oracion. Casa de Oracion is at a church.
During the orientation, we took a Spanish proficiency test. This test was no joke. There wasn't a single "donde es...", "hola", "gracias", "cuantos" or any other word I vaguely recognized on the test. I'm sure you'll be surprised to learn that I scored a whopping (GOOSE EGG!).
There were 3 parts to the test. The first part involved reading a story in Spanish and answering questions (all in Spanish) afterwards. The only part of the test that I (think) I answered correctly were "nombre" (name) and "feche" (date) - which I wrote the American way vs the Latin American way. At least they should have given me partial credit.
The second part of the test was listening to two people have a conversation. When their conversation paused, we were supposed to write the answer to the question that was asked during the conversation The only thing I coul do at this point was write down the only Spanish words I know...."hola que tal, bien y tu, mi llamo", etc. I wrote down the words I understood and some phrases until this part of the test was over.
The third and final part of the exam involved me speaking in Spanish. The instructor asked me a question in Spanish and I was to provide the answer. Believe you me, the questions weren't things like, "Que hora es?" I still don't know what she said...every time she paused and look at me expectantly, I said, "que?". That wasn't right - because she thought I was asking her to repeat the question, which she did. Then I got smart and simply answered, "Que lastima!" I don't know what that means either...but I felt very international when I said it.
After the miserable Spanish exam, we took a walking tour around the Maximo offices. If only the neighborhood were as nice as the office. Alas, that was not so. The roads / streets have no signs and they are unpaved; causing mere mortals to walk with their heads down so as not to fall. This of course is not good when safety is a concern...which of course it is.
After the walking tour, the driver came to take me to the hotel where I was to spend the rest of my time. The second hotel was about 15 minutes (by car) from the Maximo office. As such, it was relatively close to "the outlet mall" (more about that later) and down the street from a Mas X Menos (pronounced Mas Por Menos) -- which is a chain owned by Wal-Mart. In essence Mas X Menos is Wal-Mart here. It is the largest and least expensive market in the city according to the locals. Additionally, there are a number of fast food places (called "sodas") around time. A soda is a place where you can get meat, beans, rice, and salad for less than 21,000 colons ($4.00). Back to the hotel called something like Apartametos y Hotel... This place is a dive, spelled with a capital "D". The smell was horrible! It reminded me of old meat. When I was shown to the room that Maximo had reserved, I realized that the smell may have been coming from the room, which is upstairs from the lobby. The bed looked like a homicide recently took place -- and the police removed the 'caution tape' but forgot to take the evidence (bloody blanket) with them. The kitchen had a refrigerator that easily was older than my grandmother...and the stove was even more ancient. I wish I had my wits about me...but I was in such a hurry to get out of that place, I didn't think to snap a picture.
Paula, the driver and I headed to their next choice. According to Paula, she doesn't know anything about the next spot, but she was sure it was better than the one we just left. So off we went.
The third place was definitely note the proverbial charm. There was some sort of animal (I won't say rodent....but....) guarding the room they assigned me to. There was a look in the creatures eyes of "I dare you to to open the door"...Guess what, I didn't take it up on it's dare. I didn't even bother looking back to see where Paula was. At that point I was ready to head back to the good US of A.
Paula said that she knew of a place that her parents stayed when they were in Costa Rica in November. She assured me that even though it was farther away and twice the money, I would be happy. "Sure," I said. After all, if her parents stayed there it must be okay.
Once we arrived at LeBergerac, I must say I was impressed with the interior. It seemed nice, comfortable and clean. Plus it had a restaurant on site, which meant that I wouldn't have to go out in search of a hot meal.
While the property is small (and in a residential area), as are all of the lodgings Maximo provides, the higher price includes free wi-fi, and a free "traditional breakfast".
It's now about 5:30 pm (which is the time the sun sets in Costa Rica). I'm starving. I haven't eater in 24 hours....I'm tired frustrated, and feel dirty. I'm still seeking my joy...and determined to find it.
Low and behold, after a nice shower (it only took the water a minute to warm up), I began heading to the restaurant, when I ran across a number of hidden sanctuaries to relax in. A weary traveler can enjoy watching the sun rise or set in the various spaces complete with benches and tables. (These, I took pictures off -- see Facebook).
After snapping a few pictures of the hotel and amenities, I made it to the restaurant. Here goes nothing...I ordered the house specialty (arroz con pollo) which came with pompas fritas (french fries) as suggested by the combination bartender/waiter.
While waiting for the food to arrive, I had a chance to review the past 24 hours....hmmmm let's see:
1. Missing Cell Phone
2. No Room at the Inn
3. Gunfire or some such noise while I was trying to rest my first night.
4. 3 failed attempts at finding a place to stay while volunteering in Costa Rica.
It can only go up from here.
Ah...here comes some food. Eduardo (the combination waiter/bartender) brought some garlic bread points...that smelled good. I tasted one....Not as good as they smelled - they tasted a bit tinny to me...PASS on this one.
The next sound I heard was that of the beeping of a microwave...I hope it's not my food! Can you imagine eating (Mrs. Stouffers) Costa Rican Food in a (pseudo) French restaurant.
....Still waiting for my food....perhaps tomorrow I'll eat elsewhere and settle for Happy Hour drinks and food instead. Just a thought. At least the food is not microwaved...as I'm sure it would have been done by now. Still waiting...
One thing I noticed about Costa Rica is that they're in no hurry to take down the Christmas decorations. (Tico time???) I spoke with one of the locals about this. They said that since Costa Ricans don't celebrate Thanksgiving...and New Year' is very small. Once 1 Novembre arrives, they began decorating for Christmas. The decorations only come down, when thy begin to look "ratty".
On another note, Costa Rica has a large amount of original art and handicrafts in nearly every building I've visited thus far. While I'm waiting, I'll share another interesting Costa Rican fact; there's a number of English speaking channels (3 or 4) with Spanish sub-titles. Just some mindless observations.
Ah...dinner is served. The arroz con pollo is fair...nothing that I'll order again..but while I'm here, my plan is to try something different every night.
Pura Vida!
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