CR – March 27, 2011 Day 16

Day 16

Today we decided to go to a huge mall in Heredia, the Mall de Flores. Our mama Tica called a taxi and I’m not kidding, it arrived in less than 5 minutes. This is the third time that this has happened so I’m convinced that this is just the way it is in Heredia. Taxis are everywhere as are local buses. Both are really inexpensive and the service is always great.

The mall was very nice and has all of the typical upscale boutiques shops you’d expect to see. Noticeably missing were the larger US anchor stores like Macys, Lord & Taylor, etc. We stayed at the mall for a few hours then headed home so that we could get ready to go out with Orlando & Sonya. We bought another suitcase to bring home souvenirs. (Chagrined)

We ended up going to the Castillia Country Club again to dance and on the way, we stopped for lunch at a famous restaurant in San Rafael named Matices. As expected, the food was great.

At the country club we made a brief stop by the resident restaurant to pick up some pastries for later then headed to the dance hall.

There was a different band this sunday and they were terrific. There were only three of them but with all of their technical gear, they sounded much larger. The band played a mixture of Salsa, Bolero, Merengue, Cha cha, Tango and Tico Swing.

Now that we’ve learned how to do Tico Swing, we got out on the floor and joined in on the fun during the Tico Swing Sets. Tico Swing to us is like a mixture of Zydeco and East Coast Swing. However, when you see the really good local dancers do Tico Swing, you can definitely see the signature differences.

As I said, the band was great. The name of the band is “Group Exitos.” They were not only good musicians but were also engaging entertainers as well. At one of the groups’ breaks, the drummer walked by our table and we introduced ourselves. Ginger asked if they played Bachata music. To our surprise, the first song of next set was a Bachata. The next surprise was when he announced that a couple from the US had requested a Bachata song and would we please come up and dance Bachata for everyone….Oh Crap!! We we’re only inquiring. Too late, the crowd was already applauding. I’m proud to say we did great. Thanks Salsa Mike, and Enrique.

Sonya told us that the drummer, Rodrigo Blanco Odio, was a well known Costa Rican musician in the sixties and was a member of a large band back then.

During one song, Rodrigo came over and asked my permission to dance with Ginger. I said yes and she graciously accepted. They looked amazing. I have it all on tape.

On the way home, we made several stops to say goodbye to new friends we’d met in Heredia and who we weren’t going to see again before leaving. One of the stops was by Sonya’s mom and dads’ house.

Today was a good day.

Now we need to put in a little time looking at all the spanish we’ve been taught the last two weeks because this coming week promises to be as challenging as the last two. As a result, I’m not likely to post more pictures this week as the posting process definitely takes time and I’ll need all the time I can get this week to study. Once I’m back home, I’ll have time to upload pictures onto our web site where they’ll be a lot easier to see.

NOTE: While we’ve come to love Costa Rica, its’ people, it’s culture and its’ food, we’re beginning to miss Connecticut and can’t wait to see all our friends and family.

hasta a luego…..

Advertisement