Driftwood: Part VIII

That night, Nick decided he wanted some pizza again and he got a ride to The Pizza Shop.  This driver didn’t seem to want to talk so they rode in silence.  Just before arriving at The Pizza Shop, Nick noticed an open air restaurant.  On a whim, he asked the driver to stop.  The driver seemed confused and Nick stated that he changed his mind.  The cab pulled to the curb, Nick looked at the meter and handed him several coins and a couple bills.  He was happy to get rid of the extra weight of the loose change. 

Nick walked up to the restaurant and perused food that was on a couple of the plates sitting in front of customers.  He wasn’t impressed with what he saw so he decided to walk around for other options in the area.  Some restaurants were quite nice and pricey.  He didn’t want pricey.  He wanted something with typical Costa Rican food.  He happened upon a place called Soda Rustico Jaco.  A patron sitting at a table by the entrance glanced up at him from the newspaper he was reading and said to Nick, “Come on in and give it a chance.  The food here is great.  I come here all the time.” 

“Thank you.  Mind if I sit with you?”

“Sure, have a seat.  I’m Mark.  Is this your first time to Costa Rica?”

“Yes, it is.  I’m Nick.”  Nick extended his hand and Mark shook it. 

“For four or five bucks you’ll be stuffed and the food is good.  Just go up and tell them what you want.”

“What do you recommend?”

“Carne en salsa y cerdo.”  That’s pork in a sauce.  It comes with plantains, rice and beans.” 

“Everything here comes with rice and beans.”

Nick got the carne en salsa y cerdo and a drink and sat with Mark who put his newspaper away.  Nick tasted the food on his plate and closed his eyes for a moment savoring the flavor.  It was very good.  Nick asked, “Where ya from?”

“Colorado, Boulder.  You?”

“Chicago area.  There certainly are a lot of Americans down here, aren’t there?”

“Of course, there are.  The locals are all Central Americans aren’t they?  That’s what I was told when we first moved here a few years ago.” 

Nick considered that statement for a moment and remarked, “I never thought of that before.  I suppose the South Americans consider themselves Americans too, huh?  We don’t have a corner on the market, I guess.”

Mark snickered, “No we don’t.  I guess it makes sense though.  This is Central America so they are Americans.  They are good people so I guess we can let them in.” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Nick chuckled. 

Nick learned Mark retired 2 years ago and moved to Jaco to live.  He and his wife had a condo on the outskirts of town.  They lived off their retirement simply but comfortably.  They paid a lady to clean a couple days per week and he and his wife enjoyed themselves immensely.  They took trips to various parts of Costa Rica and also visited both Panama and Nicaragua.  There were a large number of US citizens that have retired and moved to Costa Rica. 

The two of them continued with light hearted conversation when Mark turned serious and lowered his voice and said, “If you are thinking about moving down here I think it is a good idea, obviously.  Still, you gotta be careful.  Most people here are honest and hard working but there are some bad apples.  Did you notice some new housing developments on the road here?  You came from San Jose, right?”  Nick nodded.  “Not all of these places are legit.  There are some people that just built these fancy entrances and put up signs in order to lure rich Americans, there I go again, into spending their hard earned money on a plot of land that doesn’t even exist.  They have these big, elaborate schemes with maps showing the plots of land and even floor plans.  Sometimes, they don’t even own the land they put the entrance on let alone what’s behind it.  But it shows how smart they are since they advertise and everything.”

“Wow, thanks.”

“Hey why don’t you meet me and my wife here tomorrow for breakfast?  She loves meeting people.  You here with your wife or someone?”

“No, my wife died a few months ago.  There’s no one right now.”

“Aw, I’m sorry.  My condolences.  Well, whenever you’re ready, she loves to fix people up.” 

Nick smiled, “Thanks but I think I’m gonna wait a while.  Breakfast sounds good though.  What time?”

“Great!  Pat will love you.  Let’s meet at 8:00.  Do you need a ride?  Where are you staying?” 

“I don’t want to put you out.”

“Are you kidding?  We live for this.  I’m a people person but Pat more so.”

Nick mentioned the hotel and Mark said it was on the way for them.  Nick said he planned to look for some souvenirs and Mark guided him to some shops and the two parted ways. 

Nick liked Mark.  Something deep down in his soul told him Mark was a good person and he looked forward to spending some time with the two of them.