I did it.

I crashed the country club and I didn’t get caught. #winning

tennis court in costa rica

That is my friend Ashley over there on the other side of the court, my partner in crime. She traveled about an hour on the bus to my cute mountain town with the intention of playing tennis, so I felt like there was no turning back. We had to get a court. We had to be successful super spies.

As we approached the guard at the entrance to the country club, I wasn’t really sure what to say. We pulled up and I started with the normal Costa Rican pleasantries, hoping things would go my way:

“Buenos días. ¿Comó está?” (Good morning, how are you?)

“Muy bien” he replied. (Very good.)

“Que día muy lindo!” I said. (What a beautiful day!)

“Sí, sí,” he replied, “¿Van por el club?” (Yes yes, Are you going to the club?)

“Sí,” I replied, knowing that I was about to get busted.

“Su nombre por fa,” he asked. (Your name, please)

“Erin,” and then I spelled it out.

“Gracias. Pase por fa” (Thanks, go ahead.)

I shouted gracias as I pulled forward into the parking lot. “That was too easy” I said to Ashley, “We must look like we belong here.”

With our recent success, we weighed options for getting to actually play on the tennis court. Should we sneak around the side of the building and on to the court? Should we go and find the manager and ask permission? Should we walk in like we own the place?

At this point we agreed that most of the successful ventures we have had were a result of doing something and then asking for permission or apologizing for it later. We had to play tennis, even if only for a few minutes. We coached each other in standing up straight and walking with a purpose and then headed towards the main entrance of the club.

“Buenos días!” I happily proclaimed as we walked by all the super buff and official looking people at the entrance. “Buenos días,” they responded as I pointed out the pool and jacuzzi to a wide-eyed Ashley. We then decided to take a stroll to the top observation deck and survey the scene.

You see, we weren’t even sure where the tennis court was, but our success depended on continuing to act like we owned the place.

We spotted the court, it was empty, and then we made our way down there, hoping it would be unlocked. It was. We hit some balls, then played a match. Three hours later, we left without having been bothered. We were unbelievably successful!

Bonus: we met someone with guest passes, so next time we might even be there legitimately… but that isn’t very much fun, is it?