It is Friday afternoon and I am now finished with my Spanish classes so I’m sitting by the pool. Most of the guests here have left for home or other adventures. The employees are busy cleaning and doing odd jobs of repair around the property. While staying here I have met people from Germany, Tampa, Atlanta, Cuba, and Costa Rica. My stay here hasn’t been all that bad, however, I wouldn’t recommend the Colours Oasis and Resort to any of my friends. The staff is very pleasant and I have greatly enjoyed their assistance in learning Spanish, however, the hotel is a good distance from anything here in San Jose. Thus, one has to take a taxi to get to down town. It’s always very quiet here and I suppose if you want quiet than this is the place to stay. However, I enjoy the energy of the people and enjoy being in the heart of things, so I’m looking forward to my return to Barrio Amon.
The atmosphere here changed considerably when the owner and his Tico (this is what the locals are called) boyfriend arrived last night. James the owner has been nice to me, but he seems a bit off and has been barking orders at the staff most of the day. I suppose that s why so much is being accomplished today around the property. James and his boyfriend were down in Chile on vacation. They live in a small apartment here inside the hotel.
It seems that most of the gay hotels here charge a lot of money per night and I suppose it’s because they know what the Americans and Europeans are used to paying so they charge it here as well. After staying in the hostel, I would like to see a gay hostel here in San Jose or on the beach some where, shucks, why not one here, one on the beach and one near the Volcano Arenal. I think there is a market for low cost gay hotels here.
The people I’ve met here at Colours have all been very nice and it seems they enjoy the quiet of the place, but I’m sure there are others like myself who like the energy of people. I have only been to one gay bar here, La Avispa, but I hear the others are more exciting. I haven’t been much in the mood to go out to the clubs, as I am not interested in sex, so I see no reason to go other than to have a cocktail or play pool. The one night I went to La Avispa I played pool for hours at a cost of $2 per hour. It was such an inexpensive night of pool, even though I played solo.
Yesterday I received a massage from a local masseur and it did help relieve some of the built up stress and assist in relieving the headache. Luis, the masseur was nice, but not like what I was used to in the states. Because I was relaxed I was able to go to sleep earlier than usual and sleep through the night. I hear there is an awesome spa in La Fortuna near the volcano that has mud baths and facials, so at some point I will make my way up there to try it out. I know my skin could use some pampering.
Learning Spanish has been a difficult process for me, however, Jorge (my instructor, not my best friend) has been wonderful at helping me with pronunciations. I know that in time I will be able to speak fluently, however, like my father said, maybe I’ve been pushing myself too hard. Thus, it’s time to learn to live a little and slowly learn the language and not put so much stress upon myself to learn it quickly.
I’ve learned enough Spanish to be able to let a taxi drive know where I want to go, to order food in a restaurant, to find directions, and even how to ask for a date. Don’t laugh; I was able to ask Carlos, a local Tico man at the tender age of 25, out on a date. He agreed to escort me to Q Café near where I am staying in Barrio Amon next Tuesday (Martes). He is the bartender here at Colours and has been helping me learn Spanish every evening. It will be nice to be able to eat dinner with someone and not alone. Last night I enjoyed taking Glenn and Bill from Connecticut out to eat at a local restaurant. I could tell they enjoyed the food as much as I did and their company was greatly enjoyed.
Well, it’s time for my daily nap, so I’ll write more at another time.
