Gettin Rugged in San Antonio

For my "last" weekend (at least for a while) with my friends in Turrialba, we decided to either go dancing or go camping. Well me, I always like to know... "Why can't we do both?" So what we ended up doing was dancing on Friday night, then leave for our camping trip Saturday through Sunday...in the mountains! How rugged!

Here are some photos taken before we went dancing with my friends Juan, Tammy, and Berto...

We danced salsa, merengue, and bachata and I loved every minute of it! I felt like a local. We went to a bar about a mile away in Turrialba. Although it was only a mile, we drove for safety reasons. The room was separate from the bar and had its own small dance floor, tables to sit and watch the dancers, and a DJ. Here is one of the songs they played that night:
Stand By Me (Bachata Version): Prince Royce
It was something memorable because it was so familiar (and partly in English). I like listening to this kind of music any time of day. I am SO GRATEFUL to have been able to learn. And I can not wait until we go again.

The only problem we encountered, which is something to be cautious and careful of even for locals, are the drunks that hang out outside the bar at the end of the night who claim they "watched your car for you" while you were inside. Although even if they wanted a fight they would be too drunk to swing their arm, these people often bring groups of 4 to 10 or more with them who are more than willing to help out their drunk friend get the money he deserves from you. That's why...you always drive or take a taxi if you are staying out late, never walk alone, and always carry 200 colones with you to give just in case you encounter a situation like that.

On a happier note, I'm going to share with you some pictures from camping. Originally, when Tammy and Juan and Berto asked me if I wanted to go "camping" they meant, "stay-in-a-nice-vacation-house-with-mattresses-and-running-water". However, when I heard "camping", I explained to them what I was envisioning. You know, no cars, no running water, just you and the mosquitos under the stars covered by only a thin piece of polyester. 

Apparently that idea intrigued them because without me even knowing it, our plans were changed and the car was packed with tents, blankets, firewood, and food. We were off to a remote location on the side of a mountain. What easy going and adventurous friends I have!

We picked up some meat in the center of town before we headed out. The meat we cooked on our fire in addition to leftover picadillos. It was quite luxurious.

Our campsite. We came after dark, pitched our tent using the lights of the car and a flashlight, and made dinner...

For dessert we had marshmallows and Costa Rican style s'mores...A Chiky cookie (essentially a chocolate cookie sandwich) and a marshmallow) I may have had 1, 2, or 5...

This is the place whose yard we stayed in. Don't worry, we didn't just pick a random backyard. The land belongs to a relative of Berto's.

This was also Juan's first time camping. He survived!

When we woke up in the morning, this is what we saw...

 Some cows in the distance...and up close!

Real close! When we were making breakfast, one came right up to our tents and curious as George, wanted to sniff out the situation. Possibly look cute enough to be given a little breakfast. I may have given it some bread and kool-aid...It sopped it up like a dog! Who knew! Cows like kool-aid. Only strawberry flavor though.

 This little stinker liked to get his nose rubbed then out of nowhere stick out his tongue to lick you! Anyone else ever get licked by a cow? Whew, well now I have. Great! Now I can cross that one off my bucket list!

This is a great shot of the cow wrapping its tongue around Tammy's wrist...ewww!! It was actually quite hysterical because you expect a "lick" to consist of extension and quick retraction of the tongue, right? Well this time he wrapped its tongue around her and didn't move it for a good minute. It felt like five minutes, but who's counting?

 (I think) This is the view from above Turrialba.  Now we've seen it at night and during the day.