A 10-piece slice of heaven

Last night was one of those nights that remind me why I decided to move to Costa Rica.

Heather and I had made reservations for our little group of expats at a place called Jazz Café, which hosts live music four or five nights a week, with acts ranging from salsa and jazz to rock and Caribbean sounds. The place is regularly written up in all the travel books, and we had been meaning to visit basically since we arrived, though we always seemed to find some excuse to stay home. But last night, it was finally time.

Our reservation for eight was for 8:45, show up late and you’re out of luck. Running behind, as usual, this time due to no fault of our own (that’s another story), Heather and I put on our finest-fines, caught the Cedros bus, and got to the front door just in time to pay our $5 cover.

Despite a somewhat underwhelming façade, the interior of the club opens up beautifully once inside, including two separate bars, a small dance floor, a small stage, and ample seating for those in the mood for food and merriment. The soft lighting, eclectic mix of patrons, and an energy that seemed to flow throughout the club made me feel like we could have been anywhere in the world. Heck, I hardly spoke any Spanish at all apart from ordering some cervezas.

But then the music started, the place came alive, the dance floor was packed – and all I could was sit back and drink it in. On stage was a 10-piece salsa band (four trombones, guitar, keyboard, maracas, drums, and two bongo players), and let me tell you, they knew how to bring it.

For the better part of two hours, “Salsa Dura” had the crowd riveted. Each of the four trombonists took turns soloing, and the keyboardist twice came off the bench to provide flute riffs that put Ron Burgundy to shame. And throughout it all, it was obvious that no matter how much fun the crowd was having, the group was probably having more.

As I left last night, after the final, outstanding encore, I was bit smoky and, yes, a bit tipsy, but I was also most certainly happy. Happy that we had finally made it to Jazz Café. And happy that I’ve moved to Costa Rica.

End of 2006 Recap

A belated feliz año nuevo to everyone out there! I hope you all enjoyed your time away from work and were able to spend some time with your family, celebrating whatever it is you celebrate this time of year.

I’ve been so many places and seen so many different sights in the past two weeks that relating them all in this space would be as much a waste of your time as it would be mine. Instead, here’s a short list of highlights (and lowlights) from the holiday season 2006.

Highlight: Touring around the mountains in the central valley, visiting churches built hundreds of years ago, and eating lunch at a hard-to-reach restaurant with our first Costa Rican family.

Lowlight: Getting stuck on said tour when the clutch on our car decided to stop working for about 30 minutes. Oh, and getting sick after eating at the hard-to-reach restaurant.

Highlight: Playing basketball for the first time in months with the former assistant coach of the Costa Rican men’s basketball team.

Lowlight: Getting my ass kicked by said coach.

Highlight: Staying up til midnight on Christmas Eve and exchanging presents with the family.

Lowlight: My gift: playing cards and a collectable spoon.

Highlight: Coming home to San José on Christmas day and talking with my family.

Lowlight: Not being able to share the day with them in person.

Highlight: Learning some very useful words on our five-hour trip to Guanacaste and during our trips to the numerous beaches in the area.

Lowlight: Finding out that the verb “to fart” has no Spanish equivalent. Instead of saying “I farted,” you have to say something roughly equivalent to “I released a fart.” That’s quite a linguistic shortcoming if you ask me.

Highlight: Going to three different beaches, all of them beautiful, during our stay in Guanacaste.

Lowlight: Getting sunburned on while spending New Year’s Eve at Playa Hermosa.

Highlight: Counting down to midnight on New Year’s Eve in Spanish, with our new family.

Lowlight: Doing so without Heather. She picked up a little stomach bug (if stomach bugs can ever be described as “little”) and was sleeping well before we hit 2007.
Lowlight: Getting up at 4:30 in the morning on New Year’s Day to catch the 5 a.m. bus back to San José. (Lowerlight: Heather vomiting during said ride.)

Highlight: Finally returning home, catching up on calls, emails, and work, and sleeping in my own bed.

Sometimes, the best part of the vacation is coming home!