Costa Rica- 番外話:名產店

我住的飯店跟這幾天去的幾個旅遊景點的Gift Shop不知為何全由Café Britt經營,感覺有點托拉斯. 裡面賣的東西一模一樣, 陳列方式跟價錢也都一樣. 所有商品都以美金標價, 門口一定有一張皮製搖椅如右圖,價錢$210. 裡面一定有好幾筒Britt咖啡供試喝, 各色Britt巧克力供試吃, 還有Costa Rica原木製精品跟陶藝品.我第一次在飯店逛的時候還覺得滿不錯, 逛了幾家之後覺得實在是沒什麼變化. 後來想想我在San Jose downtown 發現的那家土產店好多了，價錢比較便宜（搞不好還可以講價），選擇比較多，東西的精美度也不輸飯店的Gift Shop；真後悔當時只買了一個砧板．

今天到機場一看,gift shop也全是Café Britt，真是太了不起了, Café Britt不知是不是國營，一個賣咖啡起家的變成觀光業的大戶. 看機場裡面每個觀光客人手一袋,想必Café Britt一定賺翻了. 奇怪的是我以為機場裡面應該有個會有個像Starbucks 的Café Britt咖啡店，賣Espresso, Cappuccino, latte 等飲品,結果並沒有．food court裡面全是Burger King, Papa John's Pizza等美式速食, 連個當地的店都沒有. 說到這裡,突然想到來Costa Rica這麼多天還沒看到Starbucks. 看來Starbucks的腳步慢於麥當勞, 還沒進攻本地.
如果有機會再到Costa Rica來,希望能突破這種只看的到賣美國觀光客店面的窘態,找些小店逛逛 :)

Costa Rica- Day 6. Departing and 哥斯大黎加印象

今天是我在哥斯大黎加的最後一天,下午就要坐飛機回舊金山. 早上趁著天氣好,趕快跑到飯店的游泳池游了一番, 然後爬起來攤在池邊的躺椅吃早餐曬太陽. 我們這個飯店實在滿棒的, 從游泳池就看的到附近的山谷,微風吹來,氣溫恰到好處, 啊,真想永遠這樣度假下去.下次能再這樣逍遙享受不知何時.

在哥斯大黎加待了只有短短幾天,但是我滿喜歡這個地方的.首先也許是因為氣候相似, 自然景觀跟台灣很相似, 讓我有很熟悉的感覺. 這裡的人們也跟一般拉丁美裔民族一樣熱情友善. 而且教育水準很高, 義務教育到高中. 我印象很深的是大家好像都很熱愛自己的國家,講起他們的人文, 地理, 動物,或植物都是滔滔不絕, 感覺上每個人都以自己的國家為傲. 真希望我們台灣人也都能打心底以台灣為傲.

哥斯大黎加因為天然景觀物產豐富, 擁有觀光業傲人的本錢. 但是旅遊業能成為全國收入第二來源不是沒有原因的, 這幾天我去的幾個景點硬體建設都相當先進. 像瀑布的步道, 火山溫泉的園區設計,都是又乾淨又安全. 軟體設施也很進步,觀光區的工作人員英文都講的不錯, 而且訓練完善, 資訊完整, 有問有答. 難怪這裡會成為歐美國家的度假盛地.

當然我看到的是非常觀光客的一面, 這次我唯一花到哥幣的機會是在San Jose市區買甜甜圏,其他的地方全都可以刷卡或付美金. 下次要再來哥斯大黎加我會多作一點功課, 目標可能是熱帶雨林或跟加勒比海灘! 這次都在大飯店裡吃西餐, 沒機會吃到當地美食,希望下次試試!

Costa Rica- Day 5, Arenal Volcano and Hot Spring

Since our meeting ended yesterday, most of my colleague left for home today. Only me, who never wanted to give up any travel opportunity, extended my stay for another day. When discussing the many tour options with the travel agent in my hotel, I was totally attracted by the picture of Arenal volcano (pic on the right) . Arenal Volcano is the most active volcano in Costa Rica, I thought it would be a life experience if I get to see it erupt! According to the brochure: "With nightfall, while having dinner, continue to watch the natural fireworks and the red-hot lava as it flows down the slopes.....". Wow, how spectacular! I decided to pick this whole day tour: Arenal Volcano and Tabacon Hot Springs.


If unfortunately I don't see the volcano erupt or it ends up totally covered by the clouds, I can still get soaked in the hot spring resort at the foot of the volcano. See the picture on the left, isn't it tempting? And the travel agent promised me that the possible afternoon thunder storm will not be a issue in here- it would be even better. The reason is that "the hot spring is so hot that it would be nice to get some cold shower pouring in your head". So I chose this tour over tropical rain forest tram tour even it's far away from my hotel.

The tour bus came to pick me up at 9:30 AM. There were totally 13 people in this tour group. 1 couple from Mexico, 1 couple from Texas, 1 couple from Paris, 2 old American ladies, 2 old Spanish gentlemen, and 1 very strangely-mixed couple - an old white guy withhis little Mexican miss. I was the only one who travelled alone. (My girl friend D said she always meet someone when she travelled alone. Why do I never have that kind of romance luck?:P)

Arenal is far away from San Jose- about 3 hrs drive. Like yesterday, we wound up and down in the country road. The country side in Costa Rica is really beautiful, it's green and original. Like that in Taiwan, there are hills scattered in the country, therefore terraced fields are very common. And you see cows and other livestock in the farm. Although it's a long ride, I didn't get bored just to watch the rural scenery. The tour guide is biligual in English and Spanish. He introduced the geography in Costa Rica and tried to sell us the aromatherapy treatment or message in the resort. On the way to Arenal, we made couple stops including a souvenir store and a town for canopy. Canopy is another popular activity (like that in picture on the right) in Costa Rica. Since I have a fear of heights, of course this kind of activity is never in my plan.

After lunch, we arrived in Arenal and went to a vista point that is the best for the Volcano. Luckily, the clouds cleared up for us, so we did see the top tip of the volcano as the pic on the right. But, the volcano isn't erupting. And I didn't see red lava flow. I was kind of disappointed, but you can never predict the nature. And who knows, maybe we will get lucky later in the day. The guide said that the hot spring resort we are going is so close to the volcano that you can feel the trembling of the volcano if it is active.

So we set off to the Tabacon hot spring. Generally I'm not a big fan of hot spring, I get dizzy easily staying in hot water for long, and I don't like the sulfurous smell common in the hot spring of Taiwan. But when I went into this hot spring resort, my jaw dropped. It is spectacular with facilities comprised of thermo-mineral rivers flowing through exotic tropical gardens, forming waterfalls and river pools! I thought there is only one or maybe two of the thermal pool from the brochure, but no, there are actually 7 pools of them, including a cold water swimming pool and a wet bar, scattered in beautifully landscaped gardens. The whole place is steaming with the vapor from the hot spring. But there is no smell at all. It did creat a feeling of real oasis that you want to wander around all day.

The hot springs are 97% rain-based and 3% magma-based. The temperature ranged from 27º C to 42º C. I stepped into the waterfall one first, enjoyed the hot water tapping on my shoulder and head, and then I soaked into a 40º C pool. After a while, I felt hot and had to get out of the pool to take a rest. Now I understand what the travel agent meant by raining is even better in the hot spring. But how "lucky" I was- it's not raining at that time. I strolled around in the gardens with my towel, and jumped into a pool whenever I felt like it, then got out of the pool whenever I got too red. Then I spotted some people having cold drinks in the hot spring. What a brilliant idea! I went directly to the wet bar to get a smoothie and brought it back with me to the hot spring. Oh, frozen drink in the hot spring!- so like heaven! Now I can stay longer in the hot pool.

After I was tired with the hot spring, I jumped into the cold pool to chill myself down. Then I climbed up to lie in the bench by the pool watching people. I was a little bit tired by the changing water temparature but I was also totally mentally relaxed. This is what is called a vacation! No wonder when I told the secratary in my department that i was going to Costa Rica on a business trip, he said "Business trip my foot!". Haha. Janneh, I udnerstand now you were just so jealous!

Costa Rica- Day 4. La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

我們這次的會議在今天中午結束. 我跟幾個同事下午從飯店包了一台mini van到一小時車程外的La Paz Waterfall garden去. 看旅遊介紹那裡除了瀑布還有蜂鳥,蝴蝶等可以看.司機來接我們的時候已經下起大雨了.我們雖都帶了雨具,還是希望到那裡的時候雨不要下太大, 不然要hiking到瀑布大概很困難 .

從飯店出發進入市區就看到一些小販走在川流不息的車陣中叫賣水果香蕉乾等,一些車還逆向行使,我的美國同事們嘖蹟稱奇,一直說”People are crazy.” 哎呀, 這些美國鄉巴老不知道這世上有很多人討生活很困難嗎? 我們台灣也有在路上賣玉蘭花的歐巴桑. 不久車子轉進鄉間小路. 這時我又有親切的感覺- 鄉間景觀跟台灣鄉下好像! 兩線道的公路,旁邊是種香蕉, 或各種農作物的田, 鐵皮屋四散其中. 遠方山嵐飄動, 現在是雨季,山和田野都是綠油油的一片. 上次我看到這樣的景致, 好像是10年前在南投的鄉下吧.

我們一直跟司機問東問西,這是什麼植物,那田種的是什麼水果.司機非常熱心的介紹costa rica豐富的物產, 聽說香蕉就有10種, 芭蕉有4種…, 經過一個水果攤時司機還下車去跟老板要了兩種我們沒看過的水果給我們試吃. 真是感動啊. 左邊的這張照片是granadilla, 是一種像百香果的水果.

過了一小時候我們終於到了La Paz Waterfalls.這才知道原來這是個高級resort經營的綜合主題公園, 佔地有70 acre, 導覽步道長3.5公里,會經過人工的珍奇異獸館 (蝴蝶館, 青蛙館, 蜂鳥園, ….) ,還有天然的瀑布和森林. 難怪門票要29元美金. 很幸運的這時候竟然沒雨了,同事卡拉愛好賞鳥, 馬上說我們先去看鳥園吧. 於是我們從鳥園開始, Costa Rica雖然是個小國家,但是鳥的種類有894種, 比美國跟加拿大還多,其中最討喜的大概就是鮮艷的大嘴鳥Toucan了吧, Costa Rica有6種大嘴鳥, 雖然牠們不是國鳥, 但所有的禮品店都牠們的圖像, 是觀光客的最愛.

鳥園看完了我們到了號稱全世界最大的蝴蝶館, 有20 種蝴蝶. 這個館作的很不錯, ,蝴蝶在全開放式的空間裡飛來飛去, 我對蝴蝶沒什麼特別的研究, 照了相之後就跑到下一站- 蜂鳥館, 這裡的蜂鳥有24種, 蜂鳥們忙碌的動著翅膀在吃花蜜, 同事康妮說蜂鳥讓她想到哈利波特書裡的魁地奇,像那個金色的帶翅膀的小球(Golden Snitch) 飛的超快,想照相抓都抓不住一個定點, 形容的還真是貼切啊.

接著不知道為何我們在青蛙館待了很長的一段時間, 可能是有人對於看青蛙交配特別有興趣.... Costa Rica有8種有毒青蛙, 大家都知道大自然裡越漂亮的東西越毒,這些毒青蛙也都是色彩鮮艷, 有的紅有的藍,左邊的這張照片是Costa Rica最大的毒青蛙,忘記叫麼名字了,其實很小, 還不到人的一個巴掌大.我覺得大自然給它穿這身花紋衣服實在太神奇了, 配色有夠酷. 青蛙館的員工告訴我們青蛙要吃的好,營養充足的時候才有辦法分泌毒液, 這就像變色龍要營養好的時候顏色才會美一樣,滿有趣的.

到這裡為止整個公園的造景大約都是熱帶植物園式,過了青蛙館後往瀑布的路上就是天然的森林了. 這個公園沿著La Paz River上上下下有大小五個瀑布, 現在是雨季,所以瀑布水勢自然很大, 雖然不能走到瀑布下的水潭,但是可以走到離瀑布非常近的地方摸到水, 幸好這時沒雨, 否則我們一定全身都濕透了. 令人驚奇的是通往瀑布的步道築的非常好, 有的是石板階梯,有的是鐵製的螺旋梯, 在這種多雨的瀑布區地面當然是常年潮濕, 但是一點都不會讓人覺得泥濘難行, 對於來自也是多瀑布觀光區的我, 心想如果我們台灣的瀑布也有這麼好的步道, 一定能提升更多的觀光收入吧.

走完5個瀑布,到步道的盡頭有一個禮品店,我們一行人又在這裡shopping了一番, 然後才坐公園的shuttle回到停車場. 司機先生在那裡等著我們, 是該回去的時候了, 這時又下起毛毛雨,我們不禁慶幸剛剛在公園裡玩時都沒下雨. 回程的路上司機先生又說要帶我們去看一個經常有猴子出没的地方- 但是不保証看的到. 等到我們開到那片森林的時候, 司機放慢車速, 每個人都把眼睛睜大看外面的樹林, 這時近黃昏天色已暗, 要在樹稍上找到猴子其實很困難. 看了半天,有幾個人放了假警報,但是後來証實那都不是猴子. 正當我們快放棄的時候, 卡拉叫了一聲,說看到兩個圓圓黑黑的影子坐在遠處的樹上,司機又倒車回去, 大家定睛一看,果然是猴子! 看起來比台灣獼猴要大一點, 一團黑黑的. 司機說這種猴是Spider monkey, 是costa rica比較大形的猴, 他們顯然在樹上休息,背對著我們一動也不動. 大家看了半天之後終於意猶未盡上車, 離開這片山. 回程的時候司機在車上放了Nora Jones 跟 Coldplay, 仔細一聽才發現其實是西班語的Nora Jones 和 Coldplay翻唱版合輯，實在是很有１０幾年前台灣唱片業也是多翻唱的感覺.

Costa Rica- Day 3, working, boring and raining

I stayed in the meeting room all day today listening to the powerpoint presentations. The thunder storm came early today at 2pm. So I guess I didn't miss much for staying indoor. Our hotel was actually very nice with great food. We've been having nice meals since day 1. Costa Rica is famous for its fruits (like Taiwan again) - papaya, mango and pineapples. And also the famous coffee! The biggest brand is the "Britt". I ended up drinking coffee all day long- to resist from sleeping in the meeting, and actually I could't resist from the good smell of their coffee .

Here are some facts about Costa Rica:
1) As small as the size of West Virginia.
2) The country's first income source is from hi-tech industry (thanks to Intel?), 2nd income source is from tourism.
3) Rich in variety of plants and animals. While the country has only about 0.1% of the world's landmass, it contains 5% of the world's biodiverstiy.
4) Costa Rica has no army!

Tomorrow, we will have some spare time in the afternoon. Hopefully we can get out the hotel and see something fun!

Costa Rica- Day 2, San Jose 逛大街

今天的會議議程主要是由我們的代理商主持,沒什麼我的事,本想進去旁聽,沒想到因為客戶多講西班牙語,會議竟然以西班牙語進行,真是給我這個完全不懂西語的人一個名正言順的理由落跑. 昨天我在飛機上就己經研究過San Jose 的景點, 市中心有一個博物館 Museo del Oro Pre-Columbino (Pre-Columnbian Gold Museum), 展覽本地從史前文化到現代的金飾品. 對於我這個熱愛古蹟的人來說,當然是不可錯過．我在飯店的ATM領了8000元哥幣，聽起來很多錢,想說應該夠用. 問了一下,從飯店到San Jose市中心計程車單程要美金$13. 也搞不清是貴還便宜,反正我一句西班牙話也不會講,看來是沒有什麼自主行動能力.為了安全,就包了飯店計程車請司機接送.

從飯店沿路到市中心的路上,可以感覺到這是一個很有活力的都市. 公車,汽車,還有機車在不寬的兩線或三線道市街上擠來擠去. 路上人也很多, 今天經過的店家招牌都是西班牙文了, 跟昨天機場附近一堆美國店的感覺完全不同.總算有一種到國外的感覺. 司機送我到博物館後,我才發現博物館就在一條熱鬧的商店街上,真是太好了,看博物館還可以逛市集了解本地風土民情. 真是一舉數得, 決定趁午後雷陣雨來前先逛一下街, 等下雨之後再進博物館.

這條商店街很像台北的城中市場或公館, 兩旁都是賣衣服或各種雜貨的各式店家, 也有賣彩劵的小攤, 中間有人擺地攤賣玩具,鞋子, 小吃… 什麼東西都有,正當我拿出相機準備照相的時候, 地攤竟然一個接一個以很迅速的動作捲起攤子跑掉了, 原來是警察來了! 這也太親切了吧, 跟台灣路邊攤躲警察的動作一模一樣. 我猜等一下警察走的時候他們應該又會一一跑出來. 我只好先愣頭愣腦進有店面的店家逛. 看看衣服, 每件都要上千上萬元. 實在搞不清楚到底值多少錢, 店員很熱情的跑來講了一堆西班牙話,我當然是霧沙沙, 我講英文對方又用西班牙話回答, 雞同鴨講一番後我只好出去換別的店．好不容易找到一家顯然是賣觀光客的土產店，店員看我不懂西班文話就換講英文，說看到喜歡的東西她可以打折，真是非常親切的作生意方法. 哥斯大黎加的特產是咖啡和原木製品, 一個漂亮的木頭砧板要１萬元, 我請店員用計算機算給我看,才知道原來大約值$20美元，終於搞清楚這邊的幣值．那我在飯店領了8000元根本不到美金$20, 想到領個不到$20要付一大筆跨行提款手續費,套一句我朋友C君的愛用語, 領那一點$8000元真是莊孝維啊. 這就是不先作好功課就出國的報應.

從特產店出來後逛來逛去,發現路邊有好幾家麵包店，麵包跟糕點都放在玻璃櫃裡面，由店員夾給你．看起來很好吃的樣子，這時約午後３點，正是吃點心的時間，一堆大人小孩還有下課的穿著制服的學生都在排隊買麵包，我也買了一個沾沙糖的甜甜圏，280元．一口咬下, 哇! 又鬆又軟，麵粉的香味撲鼻而來, 不同於美式Dunkin Donuts 或Krispy Kream的又濕又硬,這邊的甜甜圏跟台灣的味道一模一樣. 真是超親切．來到這裡真是太好了．

吃吃走走，我逛回博物館旁的Teatro Nacional (National Theater)，這也是San Jose景點之一，建於1890，是San Jose重要的藝術表演場地, 特色是文藝復興式的建築．Theater旁邊有一個市民廣場- Plaza de la Cultura，一堆人跟鴿子很悠閒坐著，我也坐下來歇個腿,觀察路邊行人. 中南美洲的人因為種族複雜,長相的不同真是幅度很大, 有金髪碧眼的,也有又黑又小的, 坐在這裡看人真是非常有趣.大家都操著西語,感覺上西班牙話是個非常忙碌的語言,音節超多, 同一句話用西語講可能比用英文講要長很多,所以大家講話都很快. 這時候天色變暗，烏雲密布，看起來是快下雨了．等到第一滴雨滴下的時候，我趕快跑進金子博物館內.

金子博物館是一個很棒的地方, 有機會到San Jose的人一定要來. 展覽品的陳設跟展品本身的品質都相當高. 展品從很簡單的耳環到精緻的動物雕刻都有, 我對於500BC的土著文化特別有興趣. 金飾品有些是陪葬品,有些是貴族的家用品(還有修面的工具),也有戰士的盔甲裝飾,或巫師的道具, 還有作工非常細的玩偶. 看這種古董真讓我覺得很神奇,想到幾千年前的人就有這麼精緻的手工藝,然後這些東西又在土裡埋幾千年完整保存,有一天突然被挖出來,就覺很感動.

博物館逛完時間也差不多了,司機準時來接我. 5點多又是塞車時間,司機走另一條路回飯店, 經過一條狹小的道路, 看起來像是個舊社區, 有一個像傳統市場的地方,肉販把肉掛在架上,蔬果攤把蔬果攤在籃子上, 一堆婆婆媽媽在那邊買菜, 好像台灣的傳統菜市場, 這個國家實在是太親切了, 不愧是我們的邦交國啊.

回到飯店已經6點了.同事們說他們一整個下午都在開會聽簡報,真不敢說我偷溜出去玩了一個下午. 啊! 明天我要認真工作,在會議室裡坐一天.

Pictures to follow later....

Costa Rica- Day 1. Arriving.

I spent a whole day in the airports and on the airplanes today. I set off to SFO at 8:30 in the morning. It took me a long wait in Houston for connection. When we finally got to San Jose, the capitol of Costa Rica, it's already almost 10 PM. I couldn't believe that there is only one hour time difference between San Francisco and San Jose after we have flew so far.
The first thing we saw after passing baggage claim were a bunch of car rental companies- Avis, Budget, Hertz.... just like an airport in any of the cities in the US. On the way from the airport to the hotel, there were also a bunch of American fast food restaurant- McDonald's, KFC, Denny's.... And of course the local staff who came to pick us up spoke English. So at the moment when I realized none of me and my collegue has any Costa Rica money in the wallet, I was kind of confused that where we are, in the US or in a foreign country?

The weather is very nice here. Warm and humid, but not like hot and muggy in Taiwan. It' now the raining season. We heard that there is short thunder storm every day in the afternoon at this season. Hopefully it won't be a big issue when we go out.

There is only 5 miles from the airport to our hotel. This hotel has an architecture style that is totally Spanish, looks very nice. Although this trip is for work, I did extend the stay for my own leisure. I haven't been on a real vacation for a long while. This time I'm gonna indugle myself and enjoy this precious vacation on my own.

出國記-我是台灣人,我的護照上找不到台灣兩個字

從我到美國讀書後,這些年來除了美國,台灣跟加拿大以外沒去過別的國家.這次趁著出差之便,總算有機會第一次到"外國"旅行,而且還是我們台灣稀有的邦交國-Costa Rica! 不用辦簽証唷! 滿懷興奮,到處跟朋友吹噓我要去哥斯大黎加之後,這一天終於到來.一早出門去坐飛機. 沒想到還沒出美國,在舊金山機場check in 的時候就被擋下來:
機場人員: "你不是美國人,你要去哥斯大黎加,為什麼沒有哥斯大黎加簽証?"
我: "我是台灣人,到哥斯大黎加30天內不用簽証".
機場人員:"你的護照上說你是中國人- Republic of CHINA".
我: "我是台灣人, 你說的那個中國是People's Republic CHINA".
機場人員:"你的護照上沒說你是台灣人"
我把護照拿過來翻來翻去，上面果然沒有台灣兩字，只能勉強在出生地一欄找到"台北".
我說"你看我是台北出生的"．
機場人員:"我知道，但是這也不代表你的國籍是台灣,你的護照上明明就寫中國"
還真是百口莫辯，解釋半天, 機場人員又對著他的電腦list檢查不知道幾次之後終於放行．
到了哥斯大黎加海關,又來了,海關一看我護照封面"Republic of China", 就說"CHINA? (西班牙發音,聽起來像"支那") . 我趕快搖頭說"Taiwan". 還好畢竟是我們的邦交國,護照掃瞄過後就沒問題了.
能怪誰? 台灣人自己的護照上沒寫台灣兩個字. 只見斗大的CHINA, 誰知道你是哪國人.

我記得曾經有一段時間中華民國護照上有加註TAIWAN兩字. 後來好像又取消了. 我大力支持在護照上加註台灣兩字,這跟所有國家認同議題無關,只為了澄清,我是台灣來的.

The fighting Cholitas

今年舊金山國際影展有一個紀錄短片- The fighting Cholitas。Cholita是在玻利維亞的一群女"摔角手", 這些女生非常酷，每個星期天她們會穿上傳統的印地安服裝，特別是一條色彩鮮豔的多層長襯裙，綁著兩條辮子，戴上一個黑色小禮帽，到摔角場去摔角。通常她們都有藝名，例如”花朵愛人”之類俗又有力的名字，進場時觀眾會給她們高聲歡呼,她們也會像明星般跟粉絲致意, 然後就精神抖擻的上台跟對手較量, 粉絲在旁吶喊加油。看她們摔角娛樂性特別高，看起來好像可以攻擊對手身上任何地方，也可以把對手舉起來摔在地上，然後再壓在倒地的人身上。好像也不怎麼會受傷,觀眾也都很高興，表演成份高於實際打鬥成份。

導演訪問了這些摔角選手，我才知道原來她們都是家庭主婦，大多數來自很窮苦的家庭，有些人都作好幾份工作討生活，摔角除了賺點外快，也是自己喜歡，因為"進入場子的時候就會覺得自己變了一個人"。有人平常害羞內向，可是上場時就發揮自己潛在的狂野本性，英勇的跟對手搏鬥。但是摔角畢竟是危險的運動， 她們的家人大多反對，有些選手還得偷溜出門去接受訓練，然後才去比賽。

這部紀錄片是用喜劇手法拍攝，玻利維亞其實是個很窮的國家，觀眾們看起來都是勞苦大眾，場子也很破，但是大家都一副樂天知命的樣子。也許對觀眾跟選手來說，都是辛苦工作了一週，星期天晚上到摔角場去解放一下。Cholita雖然是表演為主，但是也有失手的時候，看到一個媽媽選手被打到頭破血流，其實滿心疼的，真不知道她回家的時候孩子問她要怎麼回答。

這個世界上四處都有堅強的女性在為自己跟家人奮鬥，有摔角, 有擺地攤,有當老師，也有寫部落格的。GO! Fighting Cholitas! 向所有勇敢的女性致敬！