Costa Ricans (Ticos) are LOCO…Day 3

Ok, I love it here but this was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in my life. It was a rodeo but there were no rodeo clowns. The younger fans (teens) and drunk adult men get in the ring and chase the damn bull around! This was no joke. More pics are up of this in the Photos page under Day 3.

That guy in red is just a drunk fan!!!

So today I wanted to head out to the secluded beach called Pez Veela after my morning work.  So after some uploading of newly updated pages for one of our clients I put on the rubber flip-flops and started the trek.  First of all bad move, I got a blister 20 minutes into the walk.  Thanks Dad for giving me those band-aids at the last minute.  Anyway it turns out that Pez Veela was about 4km away…up and over a monster hill.  It took about 30 minutes but it was well worth it.  The views were absolutely incredible and the beach was also amazing.  There were a total of 3 people on the beach where I stayed for about an hour to read in a make-shift chair I built in the sand.

Amazing view of Pez Veela...in the middle of my 4km walk from Ocotal

I then began my trek back to Ocotal.  It took 40 minutes to get back and I made the mistake of forgetting to pack a water bottle.  Oops.  After arriving back in Ocotal I wanted to find this snorkeling spot my neighbor told me about.  Unfortunately I went back at high tide and thought it was super dangerous trying to get out there so I played it safe.

Finally I heard about this rodeo and ventured out there in the dark (about 25 minute walk) to the carnival.  I get there and was amazed.  Nothing like a US carnival but still very cool.  You can see the ferris wheel in Day 2 photos but that thing works!  It also doesn’t look safe but it works.  They had a ton of food out there too so I found what looked to be steak and peppers and asked, “Cuanto cuesta?” and pointed.  He said something and smiled.  I pretended like I knew what he meant and gave him a $10 bill.  He gave me back 3500 colones.  I think its 540 colones to the dollar so it was about $3.75 for the plate piled with so much food it was falling off the sides.  Great deal.  Now I wanted in on this rodeo.

I found the ticket booth and paid 4000 colones ($7.17) to get into the rodeo and get a seat in the stands.  I was thirsty for my first Costa Rican cerveza so I flagged down a beer guy and asked, “Cuanto para una cerveza?”.  Again I had no idea what he said and held out 3000 colones and asked “Mas?”.  He looked at me and said something .  Realizing my understanding of Spanish is miserable, I just whiffed out a  $5 note and said “Gracias” as he gave me my change.  So I enjoyed my beer and played with my camera endlessly trying to get a decent exposure from that distance without using flash.  After about an hour I decided to leave before someone was gored.  I heard from a neighbor that they saw a fan get gored last year.  Then I walked home (and ran when there were no lights).

So all in all another great day.  Tomorrow I will climbing the small mountain behind my condo to get some more landscape photos of the beach.  I will also remember to bring water on this trip.  Adios!