CR info links may have some value to some here?
http://www.liveincostarica.com/articles ... retirement
http://costarica.craigslist.org/ppp/
http://jacquelinepassey.blogs.com/blog/ ... index.html
Novehttp://www.geocities.com/costaricaadventure/mber 05, 2005
http://www.latindreamgirls.com/
http://www.latinwives.com/search/costa_rica.htm
http://www.hisfault.com/about-me/
Everybody always wants to take me to the brothel
I was supposed to show Chris how to set up a TypePad blog yesterday, but we got a little sidetracked…
I met him downtown at the Hotel Grand at 4:30, where he was having drinks with a bunch of other middle-aged male gringo expats. We chatted for a bit, and the others left in ones and twos until only Chris, Carl (a blog reader -- hi, Carl!), and I were left. They wanted to adjourn to the nearby New York Bar, and I tagged along.
I noticed pretty quickly at the bar that -- other than the waitresses and myself -- all the women present were "working girls". I commented on that, and Chris and Carl said oh, perhaps they should take me on a tour of the brothels sometime and show me "the real Costa Rica." I said, sure, why not tonight? (I'd already been to the Hotel Del Ray, but that is also a hotel, casino, restaurant, and bar -- I hadn't been to any of the more specialized places yet.)
First they took me to the "classy" place, a bar called Idem, where Chris and Carl were greeted warmly by the manager. Chris said that he estimates about 70% of the customers at Idem are Ticos, whereas almost all the customers at the Hotel Del Ray are gringo tourists. The girls were pretty and almost all wearing obscenely short skirts (and that's saying a lot, coming from me). They sat along the wall on a row of chairs, waiting for customers to come in and make their selection. I think there were rooms in the back you could go to with the girls, but I didn't get the full tour.
Then they took me to the "trashy" place, a strip club and bar called Monaco. Again, Chris and Carl were greeted warmly by the manager. They tried to convince me that no, really, they didn't go to these places *that* often!
We watched a couple of girls dance, probably thinking very different things (personally, I was thinking, "How DOES she get her thighs to look like that?!"). I danced myself (on the floor, not the stage!) with Carl when the Pet Shop Boys came on -- it was that kind of evening. Again, I think there were private rooms, but I didn't take a look at them myself.
I didn't really notice a tremendous amount of difference between the "classy" place and the "trashy" place other than the former having a nicer ladies room and the latter being a strip club. But I was a bit drunk by then and my attention to detail impaired.
Over the course of the evening we chatted a bit about the legal prostitution industry in Costa Rica, and general male-female relations. Chris and Carl said many witty things and I took notes so that I could blog about our conversation later, but in the light of day my handwriting is completely indecipherable and I can't remember what it was I'd tried to write down.
I finally got home around 10 PM and crashed. I'm so glad I have such an understanding boyfriend -- Terrence wasn't the least bit angry that I'd been out all evening drinking and brothel-hopping.
Many men seem rather intrigued by my attitude of "WHOO HOO, PROSTITUTION!" I don't understand why it's such a big deal -- it's simply the logical Venn diagram intersection of my attitudes of "WHOO HOO, MONEY!" and "WHOO HOO, SEX!"
Although it's not a profession I would personally choose, I think legal prostitution is a great thing. It's far safer for the women involved than the illegal variety (and prostitution will always exist, regardless of its legality). For many women, it's far more lucrative than their alternative employment options. Also, I think it really helps men to have it available as a sexual outlet. I wish more men would or could take advantage of this option -- maybe it would calm them the hell down, so that they could act normally around other women. (You know who you are!)
October 21, 2005
The Infamous Hotel Del Ray
Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica. One of the most popular locations in San Jose to contract this service is the Hotel Del Ray. My friends Jeff and Yelena visited a few weeks ago while Terrence was in Aruba, and apparently whenever they travel to a new place they make a point of seeing the slums and the red light district -- the places most tourists don't usually go. (They just tell the cab driver that they're sociologists.) So I went with them to the Hotel Del Ray one afternoon, and we entertained ourselves people-watching for a while.
But I really wanted to see it at night, in full swing. So when Terrence wanted to know where I wanted to eat tonight, and I just couldn't face another meal from Denny's (there's not that many options for open restaurants by the time we get around to eating our last meal of the day), I asked him to take me to the restaurant at the Hotel Del Ray.
The cafe/bar inside the main building itself was over-full, so we ended up eating at the Del Ray's other restaurant across the street. Terrence protested that I had taken the seat with the best view (facing the door) and that it was wasted on me. I argued that I enjoyed watching the women come in too.
"I just want their bodies," I said. "I mean... not the same way you want them -- I want to look like them." (So many of them had perfect little flat stomachs!)
After our meal we went across the street, and by then the cafe/bar had cleared out a bit. (For those of you familiar with the layout of the Hotel Del Ray, this isn't the main bar, this is the other eating area near the street that the restaurant is located on the other side of.) We chose a table in the corner, ordered a couple of drinks, and settled in to watch the girls and the customers make their rounds, scoping each other out.
Terrence complained that none of the women were very pretty. He thought our waitress was more attractive than any of the professionals. Then I finally saw one I liked.
Me: "She's attractive."
Terrence: "Where?"
Me: "There." (Nodding towards the black-haired woman strolling by.)
Terrence: "I don't think she's that attractive."
Me: (realizing that aside from the large, obviously fake tits, the "woman" lacked any other feminine features and in fact had extremely narrow hips and walked like a man) "Oh... nevermind... I don't think she's a she."
Terrence: "That's probably why I didn't find her attractive."
Me: "That's probably why I did." (Damn that persistent heterosexuality! It gets you every time.)
What I found most interesting were the facial expressions and body language of the male customers. In many ways it was like observing someone on a first date, except they were more... confident. These men knew they were getting laid tonight, no matter what. Terrence thinks some of their bravado also came from knowing they could check girls out and hit on them without worrying about offending anyone or getting slapped or thrown out.
It was also interesting to observe how the women trolled for customers. Most of the women walked around in pairs or groups, always of the same general level of attractiveness. When they were with one or more other women they seemed more relaxed, and strolled around slowly. But every now and then there would be a solo woman walking around by herself. These women usually walked faster, and looked more anxious. Poor girls. Probably thinking, "Someone picked my friend, I'm here alone now, won't anybody pick me???"
Altogether a very interesting evening. I think I have a new favorite place to people-watch, and a new travel goal for everywhere I visit. (You've corrupted me, Jeff and Yelena!)
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