Mauricio and Sonambulo

We got up this morning, not in time for breakfast (that would be weird!) but in time to pack ready to meet Mauricio in the nearby park at 12.20. However, we didnt get that far, he was out of university earlier than expected and so came to our hostel to meet us! After friendly introductions he asked if we'd like to get some lunch at a nearby place with some of his friends. We hadnt eaten yet so agreed to this idea and followed him to a little restaurant tucked away down a side street where his friends were already tucking into a local dish called 'chifrijo' which is a mix of rice, beans, pork and tomato in a kind of thin lime soup...it was delicious as was the lemonade we had to go with it. Mau and all his friends spoke very good English and we were soon discussing Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter...they are as geeky as me!! When it was time for them to go back to Uni, Mau helped us load our bags in his tiny Suzuki and took us to his house in a very nice part of town, they have guarded gates and so is also very safe. We were introduced to his mum who is a local primary school teacher as well as a fantastic cook and all round generous, warm-hearted person. After sorting out sleeping arrangements we sat round the kitchen table (the hub of family life) and just talked about all sorts of things for a couple of hours before eating some hotdog type things, except the roll was a fried tortilla, and getting ready to go out. A local band was playing and we went to the larger of the 2 Jazz Cafes in San Jose with another of Mau's friends to see them. The band, called 'Sonambulo' was fantastic, playing an eclectic mix of rock, jazz, salsa, merengue all with a kind of dance/trancey feel! Apparently Marijuana isnt illegal in Costa Rica and most of the people dancing must have been on it as they moved like they were possessed, also quite normal so we were told! We joined in the dancing (though not the crazed kind) until the band finished at about 1am, a very long set of over 3 hours, and headed home to crash for a few hours.