Liberia, Costa Rica -- night

I'm staying now with los Briceno, a family with which Pito stayed when he was here in Costa Rica about 30 years ago. I just got done having a deep conversation with one of Don Ulpiano's daughters, Cristina. We talked mostly about relationships.

But to re-cap today, I woke at 10am, and went immediately to catch the 10:35am bus to Liberia, which arrived here at about 12 noon. I stopped in the post office to ask for directions to Farmacia Lux, which was my landmark to find los Briceno's house. I got the directions and continued on my way to locate it, which I did quite easily.

But before going to their home, I decided it would not be right to show up with an empty stomach, so I stopped by a restaurant on the town plaza to drink a lemonade and eat a cheeseburger (it was the cheapest thing on the menu).

From there, I found the house by asking several people in the neighborhood. But when I knocked on the door, no one answered. Since I had passed an internet cafe just three blocks away, I decided to kill some time by emailing Pito to let him know I was here, and to email some others as well. After an hour at that, I left to try the house again.

As I arrived, I saw a man getting out of a car in the small driveway behind the gates. I said I was looking for Don Ulpiano Briceno, and replied 'at your service.' I explained that my father had stayed with him thirty years ago. Of course he then recognized me, and he immediately invited me in. We ate lunch and he introduced me to his daughter, Cristina, and her son, Carlitos.

Afterwards, Don Ulpiano went to take a nap, so Cristina, Carlitos, and I went to visit a neighbor, an old friend of Pito's. Her name is Chila and she is over eighty years old, I believe. Cristina and Chila gossiped about community events for the next hour or more. It wasn't until the end of the conversation when we talked about the United States' impending war against Iraq that I became integrally involved.

Then after walking outside and giving Chila a big hug, I walked away with Cristina to the Briceno's home to get ready to go to las fiestas civicas. When we arrived, we got priority seating due to Don Ulpiano's high position (as former director of the province of Guanacaste for ICE: el Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad) in the community. By the way, this priority seating was on a platform above a circular coliseum: el redondel. This is where la corrida de toros was taking place. It was interesting to watch each man riding each bull, and then the great multitude of men running away from and taunting the bull after the man fell off. In a way, I felt bad for the bull. But at least there was no blood, either of bull or of man. All in all, I can say that it was entertaining.

From there, we walked around the grounds to the area of games and rides. Carlitos and I actually did bumper-cars; he was the driver and I was the whip-lashed passenger. Then, Cristina continued to lead me on a tour of the town, showing me the school, the kindergarten, the gym, the library, and the police station (which had been the prison in years past).

We walked on to the Parque Central, where there was a cultural activity going on. There was a large crowd watching a group of young men and women dancing in traditional dress to antique, formal music. The men wore white shirts and pants with blue cloth belts. The women wore beautiful dresses of white exterior and either blue, orange, or red interior; the bottom part of the dress was wide and large, and accentuated any turns or spins made by the girls. The whole performance was really quite amazing and entertaining too, of course.

Afterwards, Cristina took me over to introduce me to the nation's arguably most recognized television personality, the host of 'Buen Dia,' Edgar Silva. We shook hands while I told him that I was enjoying the fiestas of his city. He seemed nice enough, but was being bombarded by many other people, so any further conversation was out of the question, which was just fine with me.

We stayed to watch the beginning of the evening fireworks, but then Cristina began to feel sick so we walked back home. Very soon afterward, another daughter of Don Ulpiano, who also remembered Pito in his days as 'Francisco' came by to see me. Carmen and I conversed for about half an hour before she had to leave. But before leaving, I gave her my and Pito's respective email addresses, and I got hers. Subsequently, I had that conversation with Cristina that I already mentioned.

Now, I am ready for bed. But first I will read another chapter of Lord Jim. I'm nearly finished, with only twenty-six pages remaining. I hope to complete the book tomorrow. Tomorrow, I also look forward to meeting Ronald at the bus station at 4pm. I hope we can then participate in la corrida de los toros in the evening. That would be a very exciting and memorable experience. We'll see what happens.