Journal

Thursday, 6 March, 2003

Pizza Ninja

We got up around 8 and got our bill including food and beer and it came out to $69.  We didn’t have enough cash to pay it.  We thought there was a bank on the island but there was not so it was going to be a problem.  Then we asked the owners, Duwal and Alicia, if we could pay part of it with colones and they said that would work.

While we were waiting to go to go to Moyogalpa, Alicia was telling the legend of “Chico Largo” to a Spanish photographer who was a guest.  I’m not really sure but I think he was a ghost who scared off 50 Sandinistas.  Here you can find a more detailed description.  We got a ride back to town with Duwal and looked around town before boarding the ferry.  It’s a pretty town and the people are friendly.  There were some nice little paintings for $20 and I considered buying one but decided to save my money.

We got on the ferry and were able to use the tickets that we bought on Tuesday.  It was a much smoother ride than the smaller boat.  When we reached San Jorge, a kid asked us if we wanted a taxi.  We said we would take the bus and he said there were no buses that day.  I looked up the road and saw a bus that said “San Jorge - Rivas” on it so I thought he might not be telling me the truth.  Another taxi driver hit us up and we kept saying no until he finally got down to 10 córdobas.  He picked up several other people along the way and we were kind of cramped in the back.  He dropped us off at the TicaBus office and we went in to get tickets, but they were sold out for the morning bus.  Luckily it seemed that all the international bus lines had their offices there and we ended up getting seats on a 6:30 Central Line bus.  First, though, we had to get to a bank so we could pay for the tickets.  Time was kind of tight to get the tickets before the place closed, so after we started walking we decided to get a ride in a bicycle taxi.  Theses are 3-wheeled (2 in front, 1 in back) cycles with a teenaged boy pedaling in the back and a bench seat for 2 people in the front.  We got our money and our tickets and then went looking for a hotel.

A guy that was hanging around the bus office said he had rooms across the street.  We went to look and they were kind of gross and smelled like cleanser (Pine-Sol or something) so we took a walk around to look for something else.  We found one place called The Nicarao for $45 a night.  Way out of our range.  We were getting hungry so we stopped at a chicken place and the waiter suggested a hotel down the street.  They only had room for 1 person left, so we finally located Pension Lidia right near the bus stop, which several people had recommended.  We had passed by it before without realizing because the sign can only be seen from a distance.

Lidia is a sweet old lady who watches religious programs on TV all day.  She started watching before we got up the next day at 5:30.  The people there were all friendly and not pushy and desperate like the guy who showed us the hotel across the street from the bus office.

One thing we noticed while walking around in Rivas is that the taxis, instead of waiting for you to hail them, will honk and ask you if you need a taxi, sometimes even suggesting a destination.  One reason for this, I realized later, is that they try to get several people going to the same place, as our taxi from San Jorge to Rivas did.

Once we checked in to Pension Lidia, Alaine took a nap while I showered and went to look for postcards.  They don’t have too many postcards in Rivas and even if a store has them, you have to ask because they keep them behind the counter.  I did find a couple that were OK but never ended up getting stamps for them so I will have to mail them from Costa Rica.  After Alaine was up we looked around some more for postcards and found some halfway decent ones for her.

We went and had a drink at a little bar a couple blocks from the hotel.  They also didn’t know what tonic water is and didn’t know Cuba Libre either.  I told her how to make a Cuba Libre but she put too much lime in.  They had slot machines there that took 1 córdoba coins so we got ten coins from the bartender and played.  After Alaine finished her 5 I was up to 20, which I then lost.

We decided on pizza for dinner so we went to “Pizza Hot”.  It was cheap and good.  While we were eating a scary street guy with some kind of war paint on his face started talking to us.  The waitress came over and told him to go away.  He wouldn’t so then one of the guys working there came and fought with him.  It wasn’t serious fighting but the pizza guy did kick the street guy once.  While there we also talked to an American with a German accent and a Frenchman who were sitting at a nearby table drinking beer.  The American was very negative and kept talking about crime in Costa Rica, where he also lives.  The Frenchman was much more fun, but didn’t speak English very well.  Both of them were sixty-ish.  It was getting late by that time, but I wanted to get a bottle of Flor de Caña to take home since I didn’t expect the Duty Frees to be open early in the morning.  We found a 1.75 liter bottle of 5 year old Black Label for 144 cordobas (less than $10) but then we realized that we had left most of our money in the hotel room.  We debated going back for it because Alaine was a little scared walking at night, but Lidia had said it was safe on that street.  We got our bottle and then went to bed.  It was not a good night’s sleep because the concrete building had been absorbing heat all day and our one little window opening into the courtyard didn’t provide much fresh air.

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