The City Break

Pavones was about as country as it gets; trucks kicking up dust, fireflies flashing green in the orange dusk, iguanas scampering down from the trees and darting into holes in the ground. It was staying here that I realized: with three weeks gone by, this particular brand of country had become my reality. I woke up expecting clear skies, quiet and humidity.

So landing in San Jose was a bit of culture shock. We reached our hotel after dark on xmas eve, and, like most of the city, it had a weathered, bars-on-the-window vibe. Would have been fine, except that somewhere in the street, somebody was blasting a long, loud, all holiday mix of music, along with some even louder fireworks. This went on til about midnight, and began again promptly at 7. Apparently they do xmas down here louder than at home.

After breakfast the next day, Roy hopped in a cab for the airport, and I switchced over to a hostel that featured wifi and a pool table. Once the holiday passed, there wasn't much to interest me in San Jose. I checked out the Jazz Club, recommended to me by an american/tica couple met in Dominical, and it was actually very cool; it would have been cool even in LA or NYC. Nice decor, mellow clientele, and at 9PM a couple of guys sitting around the place step up on stage and start playing music. In this case it was three guys: a pianist, a drummer and a bassist playing a lovely 5-string number. After a couple of songs, the bass player, who'd seemed to be the leader of the trio, stepped off the stage, and a different guy stood up, picked up a different five string bass, and played another great groove. After him, a third bassist followed, and I looked around uncomfortably, worried that I might be called on stage next.

Next, I asked a cabbie to tgake me to calle de amargura (street of sorrow), which is a local scene of bars and clubs. it's basically a seedy alley where fistfights and other unsavory ac ts might be witnessed, and i spent about twenty minutes in one crowded club, where guys stood around menacingly, socping girls and pissing on the bathroom floor. The next day, i took off for tamarindo. And to think I thought I was a city boy.