Tico Time and off the beaten path (Costa Rica v Greece – Game 6)

Our last game, and last full day, in Recife and so a lot to fit in…
First up, take the metro to the stadium. No significant issue there though the metro station did look like it doubled as a set for a post apocalyptic film. Recife, it a should be noted, was the least prepared of the cities and had had the most vocal of the demonstrations about the government money spent on the cup.

This also meant the metro didn’t quite make the stadium and we had to bus the final bit. However, rather than be railroaded to eat/drink the corporate stadium offerings, our intrepid leader (Dave) took us on a tour of the suburb we were in (much to the chagrin and nonplussed looks of the martials/volunteers) till he found a spot for a beer and a chat. And so we met Jorge and his clientele at Bar Jorge which comes highly recommended, what it lacks in Michelin stars it makes up for in its welcome, service and banter.

This is about as big as it got but that’s all he needed.

Now replete, we headed to our first dry view of the stadium.

Only to discover a first, Tapioca, the best stadium food offering we had seen though we had no time to sample it today. Maybe tapioca sounds strange but it really works. Sweet or savoury. Preparstion: Tapioca flour is liberally placed so it fills a small flat pan with a slight hollow left in it. This is heated till the outside flour binds and the filling of your choice is placed in the hollow so the Tapioca can then be folded in half enclosing the filling. A Tapioca empanada or pasty depending on your heritage. Well worth a try.

Then on to a quick bit of fan spotting. Ticos (Costa Rica fans) in full regalia.

Greeks too, though less flamboyant.

And, best spot of the night, some crazy Japanese lads who were fully into the samurai image.

Footnote on the game. Pretty poor quality with both teams struggling to create anything much. The match burst into life late on with a Costa Rica red card and the Greeks scoring in the last minute to take it to extra time. Inevitably, with the lack of creativity, it went to penalties which gave us drama and the Ticos firing themselves through to play Holland in the quarter finals.
Cue Tico madness with a couple of Brits thrown in for good measure.

So ended another grand day out, excluding the 2 hour trek home 😁

Tchau