Giovanny suggested the restaurant, The Marlin, for lunch, because it has several televisions for viewing the soccer game. We arrived around 12:30 and we found a table that was close to one of the televisions. The pregame shows had already begun and people started filling the restaurant. By 1:30 the restaurant was packed, so we were glad that we had arrived early.
By game time, we had finished our meal and could give our full attention to the game.
Cole, Michael, and Lucy were dressed in soccer shirts of Costa Rica, so they fit in well with the native fans.
Neither of the teams scored in the first half, but it was interesting to watch the employees of the restaurant. When the Costa Rica team was nearing the goal, the waiters and fans would say things like "vaya, vaya" and when the cooks heard that, they would come running from the kitchen to check out the action on the tv screen.
Needless to say, when Greece scored with only a few minutes left in regulation play, the atmosphere was quite subdued. Two overtimes followed.
At this point, there was a lot of nervousness in the air. There was an empty seat at our table facing the tv screen and our waiter would sit in the chair for a few minutes, then leave to check on customers, and then return to watch the game again.
Finally, it was down to penalty kicks. Each score by Costa Rica was accompanied by cheering and celebration in the restaurant. When the player from Greece failed to score, the stage was set. The fifth player on Costa Rica scored and the place exploded with noise as you can see on the video below.
On our walk back to the hotel, we saw more celebrations and dancing in the street.
We saw Giovanny smiling from ear to ear when we reached our hotel. There is no doubt that the Costa Ricans are happy and proud tonight.
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