{"id":12004,"date":"2023-09-28T12:00:18","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T19:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/?p=12004"},"modified":"2023-09-28T13:28:19","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T20:28:19","slug":"a-close-encounter-with-margaritaville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/2023\/09\/28\/a-close-encounter-with-margaritaville\/","title":{"rendered":"A Close Encounter\u00a0with \u2018Margaritaville\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not being a Parrothead, all I knew about the late Jimmy Buffett until a few weeks ago was that he was a popular musician famous for his big 1977 hit, \u201cMargaritaville.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I recently discovered Buffett\u2019s round-about connection to San Pedro, and how I learned about that is another Pedro story.<\/p>\n

It began in 1996 when Buffett took a family vacation through the Caribbean and Central and South America to celebrate his 50th birthday. While on that trip, the Buffetts, during a stop in Costa Rica, found their way to the Pacific Coast resort of Si Como No, owned by San Pedro native Jim Damalas. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That visit turned into several pages in Buffett\u2019s 1998 bestseller chronicling the trip, A Pirate Looks at Fifty<\/i>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I would never have heard of that book if I hadn\u2019t attended last month\u2019s memorial service for Sandy Radmilovich, who I worked with in the late \u201880s at the News-Pilot<\/i>. There, I ran into an old acquaintance, Tony Cordero. The Cordero family grew up next door to the Radmiloviches, and directly across the street was the Damalas home.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The cover of ‘A Pirate Looks at Fifty’ by Jimmy Buffett.<\/p><\/div>\n

This was on Santa Rena Drive in the Rolling Hills Riviera, and I spent much time there as a teenager. Jim was one of my best friends throughout Dodson Junior High, San Pedro High, where he was president of our W\u201869 class, and Harbor College and was one of the groomsmen at my wedding. The Cordero children were much younger than us teens then, but they all knew Jim well. So, when I mentioned to Cordero about being friends with Damalas, he mentioned Si Como No, which he has visited. Today, it is a world-famous resort and wildlife refuge; Damalas was a pioneer in the ecotourism movement.<\/p>\n

Buffett\u2019s book is still in print, so I quickly ordered it. I picked it up at Barnes & Noble and, that night, read how Buffett had heard about Si Como No from a friend\u2019s friend who worked there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was owned by an American who happened to be a big fan of mine,\u201d Buffett wrote. \u201cThe owner, Jim Damalas, was out of town but due back on New Year\u2019s Eve. He had faxed the hotel when he learned we were around and had offered us his house. I like the idea and the owner already\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

On traveling from the airport at Quepos to Si Como No in Manuel Antonio, Buffett wrote: \u201cI spot Jane [Buffett\u2019s wife] and Kino at the desk talking to a tall, middle-aged man with curly dark hair. Jane introduces me to Jim Damalas. I shake his hand and thank him for his hospitality, feeling an instant ease and familiarity. Jim takes care of business first. He tells us that we have our room at the hotel to crash in for the night, and then offers Jane and me a bedroom at his house across the street. We go to take a look.<\/p>\n

\u201cJim\u2019s house is one of the coolest tropical residences I have ever seen. It reminds me of Hugh Kelly\u2019s mountain hideout on Moorea, where I wrote \u2018One Particular Harbour.\u2019 It reminds me of the favorite fictional island home that appeared in my marlin dream. It is like a giant tree house, and it\u2019s very obvious that it had been a labor of love and time. There had been no master plan, architect, or contractor. Yet there couldn\u2019t be a more perfect structure in a more perfect surrounding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, \u201cJim comes over and we chat while he fields a series of interruptions from employees and a mixture of Tico and American hotel guests. He possesses that magic ability to operate calmly in the middle of turmoil, and he switches from Spanish to English as easily as changing a channel on a remote control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffett\u2019s conversation with Damalas, in which Damalas tells the story of how he ended up in Costa Rica, takes up an entire section. The Buffetts celebrated New Year\u2019s Eve at a nearby beach club. \u201cThe next morning,\u201d Buffett writes, \u201cwe have breakfast with Jim, and then he drives us to the airport, where we exchange numbers and E-mail addresses. Quepos is now another place, and Jim Damalas another name to add to my songline.\u201d<\/p>\n

After reading the sections on Damalas, I started the book at Chapter 1, learning what Parrotheads all know: Buffett was not only a gifted music writer but a bestselling author, astute businessman, and licensed pilot with a fleet of planes. Knowing the book was 25 years old and not knowing much else about him, I checked Google to see if he was still alive. He was 76, and there was nothing about him being ill.<\/p>\n

Two days later, I woke up to the news alert that world-famous musician Jimmy Buffett had died. I hope you believe in serendipity, because the very next day, I received a message from Damalas. It turns out he had just contacted Cordero the day before and asked how he could reach me. (I had tried to call him after my wife\u2019s passing but hadn\u2019t heard from him. Now semi-retired, he said he spends a lot of time off the grid.)<\/p>\n

We talked for a long time, but the best part is he already had scheduled a trip to the States, including a stop in San Pedro, which will take place after this column publishes. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stand by for an update on that reunion. As he was for Buffett, Damalas is part of my songline. spt<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not being a Parrothead, all I knew about the late Jimmy Buffett until a few weeks ago was that he was a popular musician famous for his big 1977 hit, \u201cMargaritaville.\u201d\u00a0 I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":12061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Close Encounter\u00a0with \u2018Margaritaville\u2019 - 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