World Cup Fever Begins.

We had made an appointment today with an estate agent, or Realtor as they are known here, to take photographs of La Casita to advertise it for rental purposes.

She was booked to come between noon and 1pm.

Mid-morning, we got a call from her to say she would not be able to make it today and could we re-schedule for tomorrow instead? Because ...

Well, give her some credit, she was extremely up-front and honest with us: her reason for not being able to attend was ... the World Cup! She was meeting her friends at the Lizard Lounge for a few beers and to watch the match on the Big Screen.

Costa Rica is three hours behind San Paulo! Only the Opening Ceremony was taking place at that time. The football itself wouldn't start for a couple of hours yet, plus La Sele were not even playing in the opening match!

Can you imagine an estate agent in England not making an appointment because the World Cup was about to begin in a few hours?

To be honest we were not that bothered - we were sat in a nearby bar, trying to get internet connection, as well as watching the football coverage. We found it quite funny really. 

As the Tico's say, Pura Vida!

La Sele are through to Brazil 2014

Just a quick post tonight.

La Sele, otherwise known as the Costa Rica national football team, are through to Brazil 2014. 

According to Wikipedia, they are the third most successful team in Central America.

Finally, a bit of Latino spirit is evident in these laid back people! What with defeating the USA on home turf on Friday night, San Jose and the whole of Costa Rica has gone football crazy tonight! Avenida Segundo (2nd Street) is full of partying Ticos, all dancing in the street waving their flags. Cars are maniacally  driving around the city, tooting their horns, flashing their hazard lights (if they have any bulbs in them), waving even more national flags. The city actually looks and sounds alive tonight! Music can be heard drifting through the air from the numerous bars that can be found in the city and people are actually wandering through the usually deserted streets.

Celebrations in La Sele's locker room in Kingston, Jamaica, are being aired continuously on the national television screens. There is also a constant stream of videos of partying Ticos in various towns around the country. What is noticeable from these images however, is that unlike the UK, this nation seems to be celebrating without the aid of beer!! I am sure that the amber nectar will be consumed long into the night tonight, but for the moment, the Ticos are just too excited to stop beeping those car horns!