So today we went to this poet's house... her name is Luisiana Naranjo. She turned her grandparents house into a Bed and Breakfast and lives in the house in the back. The bed and breakfast was absolutely adorable and decorated very well. The "living room" had records posted up on one of the walls and then another wall had a different type of wallpaper with pictures of famous people such as Marilyn Monroe. We began our visit with a talk from a famous author, Daniel Gallegos. He talked to us about the history of literature in Costa Rica and discussed the influence of certain writers. It was a very interesting topic and he ended the session with a little bit about himself. It was great in that he at first was going to be a lawyer because it was just a better choice as a career, but in the end he realized being happy is better than just becoming something for the money. That is why he eventually became a writer. Daniel told us to just become what we want to be deep down, because otherwise we wont truly be happy.
After eating lunch we heard Luisiana Naranjo read a couple of her poems. Even though she could only read them in Spanish it was still amazing. Her facial expressions and the inflections in her voice made the foreign language almost understandable. I thought she was great at reading her poetry and you could just see and hear the passion. I loved it. I did not mind listening to her read in Spanish. Unfortunately she was on her way to Monteverde so she could only read a few.
We left Casa Franco and headed for Moravia to shop! It was pretty much a strip of little souvenir shops and I got a couple of cute things. I didn't want to get too many things though because I didn't want to get cheated out of my money and buy jacked-up priced guatemalan made souvenirs.
While waiting for everyone to finish souvenir shopping Patricia called the hotel and asked them to warm up the jacuzzi for us! So when we got back there was a hot jacuzzi waiting for us:) Katy, Cassie, AJ, Geoff, and I went to the bar and got a drink and then got into the jacuzzi! It was a pretty tiny little jacuzzi but we all fit nicely and it was sooo warm and comforting on my back. It was quite amazing. We then decided to get into the pool and try to stand the freezing water... that lasted about 5 minutes and then we all got back into the jacuzzi. Around 5:30 we all decided to go get ready for Tin Jo - the local asian restaurant.
We arrived at Tin Jo and the place was definitely intriguing to say the least. It was an asian restaurant but it had random Native American and South American relics randomly placed. I guess its because we were in Costa Rica? I have noticed that Costa Ricans love to combine their culture with other cultures... in food, decorations, architecture... just everywhere. The restaurant was still beautiful, the decorations just didn't exactly match the food that was being prepared in the back.
As far as how great the food was.. there was absolutely no question. I got this amazing pineapple/coconut shrimp that was a bit spicy with jasmine rice and it was exquisite. It was served in an actual half of a pineapple and had basil leaves in it and was just YUM. The only thing I would have complained about is that I wish there would have been more. Definitely the best meal of the trip. It was weird to in that I would have never thought an asian restaurant in Costa Rica would be the best asian restaurant food I have ever had but it was. Way better than their take on Italian food. I even tried this ginger & lemongrass drink that tasted very gingery... just how I like it. OH AJ and I also shared a salmon sushi roll that was easily at the top of my list for best sushi I have had. The rice had crunchy sesame seeds and maybe some crumbs in it that added a little crunch to every bite. It was a perfect balance.
After a splendid dinner we headed for the Jazz Cafe San Pedro. We were about to see Lucho Calavera y la Canalla perform. We had no idea what treat was in store for us. When the band first started playing I thought everyone was on stage but then this guy in a pink zebra-striped pimp outfit runs on stage with two scantily dressed women. The women get on both sides and dance along to a couple of songs while the lead singer belts out crazy sounds and dances around like a mad man. This is all in VERY good taste. It just got the crowd rowled up more and everybody got more and more loose as they continued on into their set. They would get the audience to sing with them and they even did a shout out to the UGA chicas!! We danced soo much and just had a fantastic time. The band was incredible. I really wish they would come to Athens. We left around midnight and headed home because we had to be up in about 5 hours.
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