First, I will address Launa's comments. I have lived in Costa Rica 8 years. In my opinion, San Jose is no safer or more dangerous than any city in the US. Gee whiz, you have to use common sense.. I have walked in many places late at night and have never had any problems. I only go places that are well light and there are plenty of other people around.
The only people I know, that have had problems here have done 1 or both of the following.
1. They go to some bad area looking for drugs or sex.
2. They get very drunk or wasted and walk the streets. Very easy target for muggers.
Anyway, in my opinion, Costa Rica is very safe, you just need to use common sense.
Now about my adventure.
First, I will just sum up my first time out in public, and then I will give a detailed recap.
Before I went out, I was very nervous and a little scared, but it really turned out to be a non event. Once I was out of the hotel, it just felt so natural, I was not nervous or self conscious at all. Maybe, part of the reason was that it was Halloween. I was not really presenting as a woman, I was a guy in a costume, but in my mind, I was presenting as a woman. Everything went fine. I had fun. No one cared.
For all of you girls that go out in public all the time, you can probably quit reading now, been there done that, just another boring story of going out for first time.
But for any of you that are interested, here is a recap of my first time out. I know I'm giving too much detail, but I like to talk
I arrive in San Jose. I walk over to the area where the gay bars are. It is really not a gay area. It is a regular area with a few gay businesses around. On Calle 11, there were 2 gay bars, Puchos and Bochinche, a couple of blocks apart and there was an OK hotel, Hotel Colonial, within a couple of blocks of the bars. Ideal. I can walk to the bars.
Hotel Colonial is not a gay hotel (gay friendly? I don't know?) As far as I coould tell, there were no gay guests. Before I checked into the hotel, I told the receptionist (in Spanish) that I was going out dressed as a woman and asked it that was all right. I don't think she really understood. I tried to explain, she laughed and said it was OK. I don't think it bothered her, we talked awhile, the original price for the room was $63, but I said cash, she dropped the price to $53. Then I told her I was a Costa Rican resident and she dropped the price to $49. It did not seem to bother her that I was going out en femme, we talked about my hotel, and I gave her my hotel card in case she came to my area.
So, then, I checked out the bars, they don't open until 8 pm.
So at 8:30pm, I do a quick recon of the bars. I don't go in yet, Puchos has a $6 cover and Bochinche has a $20 cover. They look OK, time to get dressed.
While getting dressed, I get a little flustered, I can't get my hair right. (You know how that goes). Then, when I try to tie the mask on it keeps getting tangled in my hair. Also, I can't wear my glasses with the mask, so I know I won't be able to see very well. Everything seemed to be getting complicated. So anyway, I get in kind of a hurry, I forget to put on mascara or my scarf (to hide my ugly neck and extremely large adam's apple)
Time to go. I take a couple of photos, put the camera in my purse, and it is now or never. I open the hotel door and walk out. No one is in the hallway. So far so good. I walked down the stairs to the lobby. The receptionist (a guy) and 2 guests are there. I smile, tell the receptionist I'm in room 22. As I walk out the door, I hear them laugin, but I'm laughing too:D
So, I am now out in the street in a dress. There are people walking by, cars driving by. It's amazing, it felt so normal.
I go to Puchos, pay the $6, enter the bar. I knew a girl who would have called it an "over" bar. Everyone was over 40 and overweightThere were almost no women in the bar, all guys.
I was the only person in drag. But it did not bother me. I felt completely normal. I ordered a beer, chatted with a few guys. I got a few strange looks, but I just smiled.
One guy asked me if I would take his photo, so I asked him to take mine too.
After 1 beer, I left and went to Bochinche. There was a line to get in, almost all guys, a few women, no one older than 25. I was twice as old as anyone else in line. I pay my $20 and go in. Again, I'm the only person in drag, but I felt fine and completely natural. I got a few strange looks, but only from guys. None of the GG's there even gave me s second look. Maybe it's because they know what it's like to be stared at.
So, I have a couple more beers, and I know I will have to pee soon. There is a line for the men's room. I'm thinking, there is no way I'm going into the men's room. I'm not going to pee in a dress in front of all those guys. I'm thinking, maybe I will go by to the hotel, pee and then come back.
There is no line at the ladies room and I see a guy go in and come out. Great, so I go into the ladies room. Lock the door, do my business, take my time, touch up my lipstick. Then I open the door, there is a line of GGs,I am shocked and the GG's are shocked as well. Well, for the rest of the night, I kept using the ladies room, but I did not dawdle. I would wait until there was no line, go in, lock the door, do my business, and get out. No one said anything, so I guess it was OK.
That is about the end of the story. I was getting a little drunk, so I walked back to the hotel around 2 am. Chatted with the receptionist awhile then went to bed. No different than any other night.
These are the first photos of me I have ever posted.
By the way, I'm the tall one
How do I look
I wore the t-shirt under the dress to hide my arms and shoulders. Would a GG where a t-shirt under a dress like this? Does the red belt clash with the red t-shirt?
photoHotel1_c.jpg
This is at Puchos.
photoPuchos2_c.jpg
This is at Bochinche
photoBochinche1_c.jpg
This is sitting in the lobby at 2 am chatting with the receptionist
photoLobby1_c.jpg