Tales from the Cloud Forest Part V: There And Back Again
Our last three days in Costa Rica were pretty laid back, so I figured I could easily sum them up in one entry. Also I just wanted to write some of the miscellaneous things we learned on the trip.
Our first day after the official tour ended, Tori and I opted to go to Mass. This is something I like to try everytime I'm in another country, especially a Catholic one. On the way there we got an appreciative "Wow wow WOOOOOOW!" shouted from one of the passing cars.
Mass was pretty typical. The only things really different was first off, they had enough priests that one could sit and hear confessions while the other one did Mass. Also....I'm not used to pigeons flying through church. The first time it happened Tori thought "Hey, it's the Holy Spirit!" While I thought "BAT!!!" as in my past experience, if something if flying through church, that's usually what it is.
Afterwards we wandered around outside. We heard somebody making a speech of some sort in a park nearby, so we decided to check it out. Initially we figured it might be some sort of political protest, as they are pretty common in Costa Rica. However as we got closer we saw a whole bunch of mimes hanging around. Then we saw that there was some sort of performance going on with a man talking to another man who was operating a dog puppet. This definitely merited a closer look.
We eventually figured out that we had inadvertantly walked into another church service. The two performers were talking about Jesus. The man with the dog puppet noticed us, and intentionally started translating what his buddy was saying in really bad English.
"Damas y Caballeros!"
"Ladies and Gentleman!"
"Amigos y Amigas!"
"Friends and.....friendas!"
After the puppet show, the mimes did a little performance about coming to Jesus.....although the Jesus actor didn't have any face paint on.
The next day Tori and I decided we wanted to find a book store, and see a movie dubbed in Spanish. We figured we could meet both objectives by going to a local Mall. It turned out to be perfect timing to do this as it rained heavily almost the whole day. There were a few surprises in the Costa Rican mall. Like the sex toy shops....lots of them. Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica so we got a pretty good idea where some of the ladies of the night do their shopping.
We ate lunch at the food court. I continued my tradition of eating at a McDonald's everytime I'm in another country. Then we went to see "The Zookeeper." We rightly figured that the most fun option would be to see a really broad comedy with a very predictable plot. That way it didn't matter if we understood all the words. Also, half the fun is to see what voices they use to dub actors we already know. Kevin James has a very sexy voice in Spanish.....which is entertaining after hearing how he speaks in English.
For dinner, we opted to go to the Food Court one more time. The restaurant we chose is roughly translated as "Food Your Auntie Used To Make." Definitely the best food I've ever had at ANY food court. Probably ranks in my top 10 for sandwiches too.
Tuesday was our last day so Tori and I opted to go to the National Theater. Once more the vacation gods were smiling upon us. It just happened that Tuesdays at noon there are performances. While Tori and I were waiting in line for a ticket, a lady came up to us and asked "Would you like my tickets? I was expecting some friends and they didn't come."
The show was two guys, one with a guitar, one that was more of a storyteller. From what I could glean, the performance was a sort of political satire. So pretty much even if I had understood every word they were saying, I still would have been lost. However, the man doing the storytelling was very animated, and fun to watch. I also got a kick out of watching the audience's reactions.
And now....time for the miscellaneous things I learned. First off, the fun part about having Angela, an Australia travel companion in your group, is you learn some interesting new expressions such as:
Whinging pom - A word they use for British tourists that complain about everything. Both Angela and Allan, our tour guide, thought that British tourists were the worst of the lot. This surprised all of the Americans, as we figured we were number one in that category too.
Budgie smuggler - This is an Australian term for a speedo. Although Angela suggested the...ahem....generously proportioned.....gay couple on the snorkeling excursion were wearing macaw smugglers instead. When we were snorkeling, Tori had a very pleasant view on the way back to the ship, as she was swimming behind one of the macaw smugglers.
Coooooooeey! - Said in the same tone as "Sooey!" for pigs. An Australian way of calling out to each other.
Nest of Toucans - This phrase is a Costa Rican invention we decided to export. Our tour guide Allan once had a friend ask him to take him to a nude beach. The friend didn't realize that it was pretty much a hangout (in more ways than one...) for gay men. They got to the top of a hill, the friend looked down at the beach and remarked "It looks like a nest of toucans!" We decided this would be a great collective noun for a group of gay men. As Costa Rica is a very gay-friendly country, we encountered a lot of nests of toucans.
If it's in plastic, the monkey will think it's food - We did not encounter this first hand, but Allan warned us to be very careful if we were to bring lunch around the part of the Rain Forest that had monkeys in it. Allan said he once saw a monkey steal a Harry Potter book right out of a kid's bag, because it was in a plastic bag.
Pura Vida! - This phrase is used constantly in Costa Rica. One of our guides said it was the local way of saying "Hakuna matata" or "No worries."
Got home safely on Wednesday night. I'm preparing for a whole new set of adventures. :)