Aug. 13, 2007

Hola Horned Frog Fans!

The TCU Horned Frogs arrived in Costa Rica on Friday evening around 9 p.m. and had supper at Soda Tapia, a diner in downtown San Jose, the capital city with a population of 1.5 million. The Frogs spent the first two nights of the trip at the Hotel Intercontinental Real, a four-star hotel much like those found in the United States.

TCU players spent some time Saturday shopping in the Multiplex, the largest mall in Central America. In August, temperatures are in the upper 70s to low 80s, and afternoon rain showers spring up daily. Some English is spoken, but Spanish remains the primary language.

The Horned Frogs tipped off their first game Saturday night against Saprissa, which is annually one of the top professional teams in Costa Rica. The Saprissa soccer team is the most famous club in Costa Rica, and is both the most loved and most hated organization in the country.

TCU's 22-person traveling party departed for San Andres Island via TACA Airlines on Sunday morning and arrived on the tiny island on Sunday afternoon. No buses are allowed at the airport, so 11 taxi cabs were hailed to take the crew to the hotel, the Decameron Aquarium.

The Decameron Aquarium literally sits on the Caribbean Sea. It is an all-inclusive resort, but rental of a remote control for the television set costs $2 per day. In addition, clocks and Internet are not available in the hotel rooms.

The weather on San Andres, one of Colombia's 36 states, is much hotter and very humid. The gymnasium that TCU played in on Sunday night is aptly nicknamed the Cauldron of the Devil. There is no air conditioning and the court must be mopped each time play is on the other end of the floor. The game was the first ever played by an American team on Colombian soil and was a spectacle for the entire island.

The San Andres Soles is a new Colombian team organized after a nine-year absence. Nearly all of the top players in the Colombian league hail from San Andres Island.

On Monday morning, TCU players and coaches met with the Governor of San Andres, who welcomed the Horned Frogs. He told the team that sports on the island are very important and that he was very happy to have TCU as visitors. He learned the Horned Frog hand sign and was given a TCU Basketball t-shirt.

More updates and player diaries will appear on GoFrogs.com as Internet is available.

Quick Facts on Costa Rica and San Andres Island
• The country of Costa Rica does not name any of its streets and no building has an address. Therefore, houses and businesses are located by describing the surrounding area. (For example, TCU's hotel is located up the hill across from the big mall past all the palm trees.)
• Residents on San Andres Island do not have the right to bear arms.
• San Andres Island has a population of 100,000 and is just 14 square miles.
• The currency in Costa Rica is the Costa Rica Colon (CRC). Currently, $1 U.S. is equal to 516 colones.
• The currency in San Andres is the Colombian Peso. Currently, $1 U.S. is equal to 1765 pesos.