We have a good friend, Jon Adler, visiting us from our past hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA.
On his to-do list was to get a local haircut and a straight-edge shave, so today we took him to a barbershop on the SE corner across from the church, which always seems to be packed.
The barber’s chair, and all four plastic chairs for people waiting were taken, half an hour before they closed for lunch, so a little after 1:00, I returned with Jon (my husband, John, went home) and we waited his turn.
Cesar, the barber, greeted us with a big smile. He’s from San Juan del Sur, he told us, is married and has three kids: an 18-year-old son studying Business Administration at the University, and two school-age daughters, 13 and six.
Cesar works from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm, with an hour break for lunch, Monday thru Saturday, and half a day on Sunday until 12:30. Which means he only takes half a day off per week.
He started in the business at a young age too. When he was eight years old, he told us, he’d go to school in the morning and then to the barbershop of the local famous barber to watch him cut hair and give shaves in the afternoon.
When he was a teenager, he became an official student of the barber’s, whose shop was just two blocks down the street from where we stood.
When he was 20, he started working nights as a barber, at various shops, after his day job in an office.
Then three years ago, he got his own shop and became a barber full time.
If clients are too old or in-firmed to make it to his shop, he makes house calls.
Jon got a great haircut and a great straight-edge shave. And while we chatted and Cesar worked, the plastic chairs filled up behind us and newcomers sat waiting their turns on the outside stoop.
Total cost: 170 cordobas ($5.31)
Go ahead guys. Go get yourselves dolled up!
