Hi gang. RT here.

Well, it's 11:30 and I've accomplished everything I set out to do tonight. So here I am typing again, before I go to sleep and get some real rest.

Just a couple of developments since this afternoon.

First, I took a nap!

I woke up, ate dinner, and walked down to club Idem to see Natalia (maybe it's Nikita). She was there, as were many other very attractive chicas. Remember fellas, all of these girls can be yours for an hour for $41. I nodded her over to the bar, bought her a drink, accepted a kiss and a cuddle, and then, mustering up all the Spanish I had, I asked: Manana, todo noche (tomorrow, all night)? She smiled and said si. I pointed to my watch and said: ocho (eight)? She said no, aquí (she would be here, at the club). I said no aquí (what a great communicator I am) and she said OK, Presidente? What room? I whipped out my business card and wrote everything on the back (room number, time, hotel name). I also showed her my name on the front, just in case. She seemed impressed – I'm not sure if it was with the fact that I was giving her my whole true name or just that I had a business card. Either way, I indicated that I needed to sleep, kissed her and left. We did not discuss money, but who knows if she's gonna show? I don't know what the club rules are about the girls blowing off a night of work.

Not ready to sleep yet, I took a cab back to the Blue Marlin where I proceeded to lose some money at the casino. I also took a walk through the bar area. It seems that 10:30 pm is prime time. Easily more than a hundred girls, 70% too hot to imagine, 20% cute, and 10% ok. You can't go wrong here. There were so many girls, they were literally spilling out of the bar area and into the casino. Feeling virtuous that I was saving myself for Natalia (Nikita?), I rebuffed any and all offers, telling them that I was impervious to their feminine wiles. Luckily, this was beyond their English abilities, so I did not get slapped. I left and headed for the Bikini Bar.

Located directly between the Blue Marlin and the Hotel Presidente, the Bikini Bar is a strip joint. It was early, but there were six or so girls (pretty enough, only one knockout) and the same amount of guys. You go upstairs and sit at the bar, which also doubles as the stage. It looked like a three-song set, clothed, topless and nude. I was immediately hit upon by the stunner of the group. She spoke no English and the music was loud, so I THINK I turned down a 1,000 colonne ($3) lapdance, but I'm not sure, and besides, I was saving myself. There was another lap dance going on, and I suspect that there's a private room thing as well, but again, who knows.

So I left there and came here to type and wind down before I rest up for my big date tomorrow. Maybe I'll get lucky.

Still to come: Tomorrow daytime is my sightseeing tour of San Jose with my camera, as well as a trip to the topless barber shop. Not to mention my hot date tomorrow night with Natalia (Nikita?). And don't forget that Friday is the big lesbian oil show at the Park Hotel bar. Whooo!

RANDOM THOUGHTS 1. Strippers are the same everywhere. I got pounced on, offered a dance (I think), turned it down, and she disappeared. Just like Scarlett’s in Ft. Lauderdale. Language be dammed. 2. I may have found out about all the cops walking around everywhere. According to yet another ex-pat American, all Costa Rican business give their Christmas bonuses between the first and the fifteenth of December. He claims it's some sort of law that every working person gets a one month bonus each December. It's kinda strange, but so are lots of things. He says that's why so many cops – there is much more money on the street than usual. 3. This place pretty much closes down on Christmas eve and day. At least that's what the signs in the strip joints and casinos all say. 4. I LOVE COSTA RICA REASON #1: I have 11,900 colonnes in my pocket right now ($35.52). that's enough to get laid twice, and buy a drink and get three lap dances. 5. I LOVE COSTA RICA REASON #2: You can drink the water here. I keep forgetting I'm not in Mexico 6. I LOVE COSTA RICA REASON #3: $1 per hour internet.