Costa Rica Expat Tours

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My First Experience of Manuel Antonio

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Manuel Antonio from 2001 Until Now

I remember my first experience of Manuel Antonio back in 2001. I was working on a business deal in San Jose and I had some time over the weekend for a quick adventure. So, I asked my Nicaraguan buddy, Yuri, about Manuel Antonio. He told me he could take me there and that I definitely should see it.

So, off we went…

Back then getting to Manuel Antonio was quite a different experience than it is today. There were two one-lane and very rickety bridges you had to cross. The traffic crossing those bridges would back up forever. From time to time, during the rainy season, the bridges would be completely inundated and impassable. Nowadays, there are new two-lane bridges that make the trip much easier and a lot less stressful.

I remember that Quepos, the little fishing village one has to pass through before arriving at Manuel Antonio, gave me the impression of being just that, a dirty little fishing village. It remained that way for years. These days, however, with the ongoing development of Marina Pez Vela making an impact, Quepos has become an attraction in itself. Quepos now offers many accommodation options that are quite nice and more economical that what you will find just on the other side, in Manuel Antonio.

As soon as you get though the busy streets of Quepos and start heading up the hill and then down to the beach, what strikes you is the jungle. Up until that point, I’d seen a lot of green in Costa Rica, but nothing like this. The jungle overwhelms you. It brings you to the full realization that you’re definitely not in Kansas (or, for me, South Carolina) anymore.

Back then Manuel Antonio had already arrived on the scene as one of Costa Rica’s main tourist attractions. However, the development was far less dense than it is today. Nevertheless, there were numerous places to stay. Yuri and I had taken off on an impulse, without booking anything in advance, thinking we’d just wing it once there. It was the weekend and the high tourist season, so place after place was booked solid. We finally arrived at this one small hotel overlooking the ocean. I believe it was called La Roca. It’s still there. The guy at the reception told us they did have one room available, but with only one king-sized bed. Yuri and I had no intention of sleeping together and asked if there was any possibility of adding another bed. The guy looked at us oddly, as if wondering what the hell for? Little did we know that at that time La Roca was a hotel that catered mainly to homosexuals. In fact, Manuel Antonio made a name for itself initially as a get-away for gay people.

These days it’s much more than that, as high rollers, families, romantic couples, young backpackers, and everything in between, make Manuel Antonio a must-see Costa Rica destination. Since that first visit I founded and still operate a vacation package business and perhaps some 80% of our tours included Manuel Antonio as a destination.

Of course, the main attraction is the national park and I will never forget my first experience of it. Since then, I’ve had many others, but that first one was really special. We hired a guide to walk through with us and one of our first nature encounters was a large boa who was in the process of swallowing an almost equally large iguana. That shouldn’t have been surprising as there were iguanas literally everywhere. And the monkeys, my god, the monkey’s. Yuri had told me a little about the park, but nothing prepares you for the intensity of the biodiversity you come face to face with in that place. There’s no wonder that it’s one of Costa Rica natural wonders and its most popular national park. That’s saying a lot when 25% of the entire land area of the country is basically some form of national park.

Since my first experience of Manuel Antonio I’ve had the good fortune of visiting Manuel Antonio countless times. In fact, I live only about an hour away from it in Perez Zeledon. It seems that every time you go there now there’s something new, either a new hotel, restaurant, bar, or club. And then there’s the incredible development of the Marina Pez Vela, which is now one of the most upscale resort locations in the country and it continues to expand.

And yet, even with all that development, Manuel Antonio still manages to make you feel like you’re really in the deep and dark jungle of Costa Rica. That’s because when you’re there, you really are.

Let’s hope things stay that way!

Here’s a photo gallery of one of my early visits…circa 2003, I believe (hotel pictured is La Mansion Inn, one of my favorites)…

Manuel Antonio

The Costa Rica Convenience Concept

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Costa Rica Convenience

The Costa Rica convenience concept is something quite different from what you’ve likely experienced back home, as you will quickly learn after just a few weeks, or months, as a Costa Rica expat. Once the honeymoon period wears off, you’ll soon realize that “you ain’t in Kansas anymore”, especially where convenience is concerned.

Here are just a few inconveniences you will experience on a regular basis in your new home…

1. Frequent power outages – due to storms, rationing or perhaps just because the system had a hiccup.

2. Rain, Rain, and more Rain – Rain will become part of your life in Costa Rica. In fact, if it weren’t for rain, there’d be no Costa Rica, or at least not the lush green one that drew you to consider the Costa Rica expat life.

3. Bad Roads – I watched an old documentary from 1947 the other day. It said Costa Rica has some of the best roads in the world. Really? Not the ones I drive on. Costa Rica’s roads are notoriously bad. Like bad enough to loose teeth filings, or induce labor. But that’s just part of the adventure.

4. The Language Barrier – If you don’t arrive moderately fluent in Spanish, and most don’t, you’ll soon discover that routine things like going to the bank become exercises in humility, patience and empathy for those poor non-English-speaking Mexicans in the U.S. that Donald Trump wants to deport.

5. Intermittent Internet – if you’re like me and do about 95% of your work online, well, having a secure internet connection becomes a very necessary convenience. That’s hard to find in Costa Rica. In fact, it’s downright impossible to find in most places in Costa Rica, especially those remote jungly and beachy places where expats love to congregate.

6. Bugs – I get a kick out of gringos who complain about insects. What do you expect, moron, you made a decision to live in one of the most tropical and bio-diverse locations on earth and you didn’t think that there might be bugs? By the way bio-diversity doesn’t just signify a plethora of those fuzzy and colorful creatures we like to snap photos of…it also means insects…and Costa Rica has about a gazillion different species of them!

7. The Slow Pace of Life – wait a minute, isn’t that supposed to be a positive thing? Well sure, but for most gringos who’re used to that fast track, rat-race sort of lifestyle, adjusting to the slowness of Costa Rica is quite a challenge. In fact, it can be quite a stressful challenge as all that gringo impatience is slowly squeezed out of your system.

7.5. Waiting in Line – closely related to 7. Ticos have perfected the art of waiting in line, perhaps because they get so much practice doing it. Bank lines are a notorious example. I’ve literally seen people pass out in a Costa Rica bank line. The line waiting skills of gringos are not quite so developed, but for the expat, you’ll learn them, soon enough.

8. Lack of Easy Access to Stuff – as gringos, we’re used to being able to find pretty much anything we want fairly quickly. That ain’t happening in most places in Costa Rica. If you live in an urban area like San Jose, perhaps it becomes an easier task, but still just not the same.

9. Lack of Easy Access to Cheap Stuff – and even if you do live in a big city like San Jose and can easily find most anything, you’ll still find that it costs a hell of a lot more than back in the U.S.

10. The Metric System – for those of us who’ve spent most of our life in the U.S., the metric system is, well, just plain weird. Who cares if the rest of the world uses it, we gringos are different, and we don’t. Of course, Costa Rica is on the metric system and they don’t give a hoot how different you are…adapt or suffer the consequences.

Now, none of the above “inconveniences” are insurmountable and neither should the fact that you will experience all of them dissuade you from moving forward with your expat plans.

But it pays to know what you’re getting yourself into.

One of the ways you can plan for them is to think about which onces are most important for you to avoid and try to choose a living arrangement where those particular ones are less likely to be routinely experienced at excruciating levels of patience testing.

For instance, if having good reliable high speed internet and access to shopping on a level that you’re used to having back in the states is important to you, then you probably don’t want to opt for a life in some remote jungle, as alluring and adventurous as that might sound.

Costa Rica has a lot of options, from the remote life in some bio-diverse location to highly cosmopolitan city living in a place where new state-of-the-art malls seem to pop out of the ground like the ever-present lush vegetation.

So, think about what’s most important to you and choose wisely. That’s my best advice concerning the Costa Rica convenience concept, as ridiculous as that might sound to any veteran Costa Rica expat reading these words.

Costa Rica Escape from the Rat Race

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Costa Rica Escape from the Rat Race

I have lived a relatively fast-pace life and now I live a slow one. I prefer the slow one.

A Costa Rica escape from the rat race may not have been the intended result on my first visit back in 2001, but ultimately it did become a “fringe benefit.”

In Costa Rica we have a name for the fact that time just kind of slows down, especially outside of San Jose (which has become increasingly infected with the North American minute-counting mindset).

We call it “tico time.”

Technically it means that being “on time” is to be obnoxiously early. Here 30 minutes late is considered “on time” and only if you are at least 30 minutes (to an hour) behind schedule are you officially “late.”

And it’s those nuances of punctuality here in Costa Rica that can really get us gringo expats steamed to the gills. But on a deeper level it means that ticos just refuse, on general principles, to be in a hurry.

Why be in a hurry? Are we actually trying to race time? The sad fact is that time will always win.

We liken this fast-pace style of living to a “rat race.”

Well, do we really want to be rats….in a race? And a race to where?

Where is this illusive destination that we all run to every day of our lives? And fly into rages when anyone gets in our way. I guess that’s where the concept of road rage originates, doesn’t it?

Hey, you cut me off…on my way to a very unnecessary meeting on customer service with a smile. So, BANG you’re dead!

Here in the southern zone of Costa Rica things are a bit different, to put it mildly. People here just amble about slowly, taking it all in. Heck, it took them about a 100 years to pave the 30 kilometer stretch of Costanera (coastal highway) from Quepos to Dominical.

I can’t imagine myself in a place like New York City, where my daughter lives. When I visit her “they” trample over me….the rats….on their race out of subways, cars, buses and trains, down the streets and escalators, up the elevators and down again, only to repeat the process over and over.

My god, my hands are moving faster and faster just writing about it!!! Holy shit…slow down! Breath deep. Relax…it will all be okay.

Well, I guess I should thank god that those people need a Costa Rica escape from the rat race every once in a while to maintain some semblance of sanity. So, they come to Costa Rica and for a brief moment in time, slow down and take it easy.

And some, like me…stay forever!

Do we really want the only time that we ever slow down and actually enjoy life to be when we’re “on vacation?”

Take the Costa Rica Expat Tour and experience what a Costa Rica escape from the rat race is all about.

Costa Rica Brings Out the Bohemian

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Costa Rica Brings Out the Bohemian

Costa Rica expat living will change you.

It will change your perspective on things. Well, I guess if you come here with a hard-wired attitude of American-style accumulation, the change might seep in more slowly. But, if you stick it out for awhile, oh it’ll seep in, eventually.

You see, Costa Rica brings out the bohemian in us expats.

What does that mean, you ask?

Let me put it this way, let’s say you opt to live anywhere along the coast…and many expats gravitate towards one of Costa Rica’s gorgeous coastlines. Take the Southern Pacific, for instance, in a popular beach community like Playa Dominical.

It won’t take you long to realize that to fit into the expat community there, you might need to change your appearance a bit…no matter your age. You might find yourself doing things you never would’ve even remotely considered back in the button-downed north…like get a tattoo, or two…visible ones…or grow your hair out into one of those middle-aged-man pony tails…or, god forbid, opt for a few piercings.

You’ll certainly want to attend Costa Rica’s version of “burning man”, called the Envision festival. There you might partake in a mind-altering/expanding drug and dance the night away around a bonfire, like some prehistoric savage.

You’ll probably decide to eat organic. You’ll donate time to save the beaches, or the whales, or the turtles, or the jungle, or something you would’ve considered a bleeding heart liberal waste of time as you struggled up north to grab for yourself as large a share of the “american dream” as you could muster.

You’ll get into yoga, meditate and chant your ohms. You’ll shun commercialism and take up some form of art using recycled materials. You’ll put solar panels on your roof and maybe even install wind or water power, because you now suddenly realize that global warming is real and you must take immediate action to save the planet.

If you continue voting and paying taxes in your country of origin, you’ll certainly do so driven by a more liberal ideology than the one you arrived with.

You’ll become multicultural, as you try to blend in with the locals. You’ll decided that the type of fútbol the rest of the world plays isn’t so strange after all.

You’ll struggle to learn Spanish, even though back home you might have muttered under your breath that those Mexicans should learn to speak American.

You’ll become one with nature and with the universe. You’ll firmly decide, consciously or subconsciously, that Ayn Rand is full of shit.

And how do I know all this?

Because it happened to me and I’ve witnessed the same phenomenon in many others.

Don’t be surprised when you go back home to visit that friends and family notice something strange about you.

Because, you are strange.

Like I said, Costa Rica brings out the bohemian…

and now you’re one of “us.”

The Freedom to be Unpretentious

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I can be critical of developed country cultures (without naming names). Are you put off by that?

After all, I am from the U.S. and I guess in many ways I’m the proverbial pot who called the kettle black.

I admit that, being a gringo, I’m often guilty of pretentiousness myself. It’s my way of denying (to the world and to myself) how average and unheroic I really am.

Pretentious is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as…”expressive of affected, unwarranted, or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature.”

My frequent observation of those from the U.S. that try to make the cultural transition to life in Costa Rica, is that their pretentiousness is not so much in trying to be someone they’re not (that’s what they do at home among friends). It’s in trying too hard to convey that they are from a place that is far better off economically and that puts them in a superior position vis a vis the rest of the world.

It’s the attitude of “looking down” or “talking down” to anyone who does not speak, look, dress, smell, or act just like they do.

The truth is that where you were born, or where you went to school, or what you scored on the SAT, your socio-economic position or any number of other such “feathers in your cap” do not make you better than the next person.

They only make your experience of life different.

Whenever I feel I must don my own “feathery cap of pretentiousness,” I believe that’s just me trying to draw attention away from my unlimited human inadequacies.

And we’re all just human.

My experience of Latin America has largely been limited to my time here in Costa Rica and frequent visits to other countries such as Nicaragua, Panama and Colombia.

With noted exceptions, usually from those of the “higher classes,” the society here is decidedly unpretentious. Costa Ricans are quite comfortable being exactly who they are socially, economically, morally and in every other way.

There is not a sense, at least I don’t feel it, of having to “keep up with the Joneses.”

I have to admit that this competitive aspect of U.S. culture keeps me here in Costa Rica*.

In Costa Rica I can be poor and damn proud of it!

Here what you have, materially speaking, is not the measuring stick of what you’re “worth” and that is refreshing.

Is that 100% true in all cases? No and especially not in certain areas of San Jose, where U.S. culture and influence are very strong.

But San Jose is not Costa Rica and by and large outside of the social and business scene of that city, there is a liberating lack of pretentiousness. No one is going to judge you by what kind of car you drive, or job you have, or how big your house is.

They will judge you by how big of a smile you wear and whether you know how to be polite and, especially, based on your humility.

Being unpretentious means having the ability to laugh at yourself. It is to have an awareness of who you are and to be comfortable in being just that person.

In Costa Rica you have the freedom to be unpretentious and just be yourself…as long as you let others do the same.

Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

Proverbs 12:9 (NIV)

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Guide to Costa Rica Booze

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Now here’s a topic that I know pretty darn well!

I realize many of you wonder what to drink on your Costa Rica vacation.

Well, here’s my Costa Rica booze post with your main choices in terms of Costa Rican national brands, as well as a few of my favorite imports from nearby Latin American neighbors…

Beers…

Imperial – hands down the king of Costa Rican beers. You’ll want to buy a t-shirt too. Oh and I should mention, it is traditional down here to drink your beer with ice.

Imperial Silver – this is my favorite beer. It is basically a slightly lighter version of the regular Imperial (loses the after taste that tends to get in the way of my thorough enjoyment of regular Imperial).

Imperial Light – too light (definitely for wimps).

Pilsen – this is a heavier beer than Imperial, both in terms of taste and alcohol content. Some say that real men drink Pilsen, but I don’t know about all that.

Pilsen Frost – Frost is to Pilsen as Silver is to Imperial…slightly lighter version.

Bavaria – I don’t really drink this. It appears to be a darker beer, but usually you see girls drinking it. I believe there is a light and a dark version, but like I said, never touch the stuff.

Rock Ice – a favorite with the females.

Toña – an import from Nicaragua…very good and ranks second on my list to Silver. I only wish they would start importing Victoria, which is my favorite Central American beer (out of all the ones I have tried), but so far still not available outside of Nicaragua.

Hard Stuff…

Centenario – Costa Rica’s national rum. Pretty good, but not nearly as good as the next one on the list.

Flor de Caña – this import from Nicaragua has to be one of the best rums on the planet. I love either the 7 or 12 year versions.

Havana Club – actually this Cuban import also ranks high on the list, but more expensive and really no better than Flor de Caña, so why pay the extra?

Zacapa – I have only tried this once. It is a Guatemalan rum and that one time was delicious. Quite expensive compared to those above, however.

Aquardiente Antioqueño – Colombian firewater from Medellin. If you’re partying with Colombians, your going to be drinking some of this. Better stick with the “tapa azul” (blue cap) as it is lower in sugar content, which means you get drunk a little less quick and the hangover is a lot less severe.  This stuff will creep on you, so be careful (and I do speak from experience!).

Cacique – Costa Rica’s sugar cane distilled white liquor that is guaranteed to make your brain, as well as you liver, hallucinate. Not recommended in more than minuscule quantities.

Cafe Rica – this is a Costa Rican coffee liqueur that is very good with coffee.

Wines…

All of the Casillero del Diablo varieties – I love this Chilean import that comes in reds and whites of all flavors. Really excellent wine and not too expensive.

Chicha – a homemade wine generally made with either fruit or corn (I think)…very popular with indigenous cultures, but go easy, this stuff is stronger than it tastes and the hangover is epic!

There you have it…Costa Rica Guy’s guide to imbibing on your Costa Rica vacation.

And remember to drink responsibly!

Post by CRG

Costa Rica Seasons

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Growing up I always looked forward to the transition between seasons.  It always seemed to bring about a fresh outlook on life.  That things were changing, hopefully for the better.  I guess I’ve always been an eternal optimist, clinging to the idea that the future will be better than the past.

When one thinks of a tropical country like Costa Rica, so close to the equator, what comes to mind generally is a place like Florida where there really is no notable change in the seasons.  But that’s really not the case here.

We have two Costa Rica seasons, summer (or verano) and winter (invierno).  Winter is the longest season and lasts from say mid-May until the mid-November.  During that time we get rain most days.  In dense tropical areas like the deep southern pacific coast it can rain non-stop for days on end.  In the higher elevations, like San Jose, the rains are generally in the afternoons.  In the northern pacific area, the province of Guancaste, the rainy season is more compact and the dry season longer.  On the Caribbean coast the seasons are somewhat inverse to the rest of the country, with dry weather occurring at times of the most severe wetness on the Pacific Coast.

This tiny country is such an amazing study in contrasts, both environmentally and culturally.  It makes living here unique and always adventurous.  The period we are experiencing now in San Jose is the beginning of summer with winds blowing the clouds away for verano to ensue with full force sunshine.  This transition period will last through Christmas. I like this time of the year, especially in San Jose, when the days are fresh and the nights chilly enough for a nice warm coat.

Mornings are crisp and clear and the evening sunsets are extraordinary during this period.  I love it because just like during my Carolina childhood days, this changing of the seasons marks a change in the circumstances of life.

Change is good when viewed from the right, optimistic, perspective.

I love the Costa Rica seasons.  I love the sun and the rain. I embrace the change, the contrasts that make life seem more alive and worth living.

Prostitution in Costa Rica

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How do I really feel about prostitution in Costa Rica?

Well, make no mistake about it, it’s BIG business here.

First of all, I certainly don’t write any of this with even the slightest hint of judgment against anyone who participates, or has ever participated.

I do certainly, however, condemn any form of exploitation of children and applaud the government and all organizations that seek to ferret out and bring to justice anyone who engages in such criminal behaviour.

Here I’m writing specifically about Costa Rican “legal” sex tourism, the kind that transpires every day and night in well known establishments, like the Hotel Del Rey and many others around the country.

Granted, there are no “victims” in this process.

Those girls make a willing decision to engage and I simply don’t buy the argument that it’s their only choice. I believe most hard working Costa Rican single mothers would take strong issue with any argument that these women are compelled to be prostitutes by their circumstances of life.

And on both sides of the equation you have the users and the used.

I’m not going to touch on the religious, or moral, implications of this. For that you can read your bible, or koran, or wherever your faith lies, and come to your own conclusions.

However, this activity does have consequences.

The prostitution “industry” is a black hole for any young lady who would succumb to the allure of “easy” money.

I say “easy” tongue in cheek because that money comes at the very high price of human dignity.

And it’s a black hole from which many never escape.

For the guys, it often comes as a shock that “love” cannot be bought…although many try.

The consequence sometimes being that marriages are ruined and families shattered.

I hate to be a party pooper, but those are the unexpected negative consequences, not to mention the risks of disease, rape, murder, theft, etc., that exist within the whole seedy environment created by the sex trade.

So, there you’ve got Costa Rica Guy’s two cents worth of opinion on prostitution in Costa Rica.

Oh for sure, let the party go on, as it has for thousands of years.

But when it’s over, the hangover always happens. I guess the question is whether the pleasure is worth that pain?

I’ll leave that to individual decision.

Maybe it all comes down to the idea that lives and the bodies they inhabit were created to be cherished, not used.

My advice to the curious, proceed with due caution and at your own risk.

10 Tips for Staying Safe in Costa Rica

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The post today lists 10 “legitimate” risks of Costa Rica travel, along with Costa Rica Guy’s 10 tips for staying safe in Costa Rica…

1. Getting Robbed – keep your sh** with you (or at least within eye site if you’re a fast runner) and if renting a car, don’t leave anything in the car…anywhere…since valuables in a rental car are to a thief in Costa Rica like a bleeding (in the ocean) Peter Benchley is to a Great White Shark…

2. Getting Robbed by a Hooker – don’t pay for sex….

3. Dengue – OFF works!

4. Getting Swept Away by a Landslide – duck, dodge and … dodge…

5. Drowning in the Ocean – don’t swim in it (at least not past knee deep)…

6. Getting Eaten by a Croc – go for the eyes!

7. Catching Food Poisoning – smell first…

8. Drinking Bad Water – don’t go to Mexico either immediately before or after your visit…

9. Getting Arrested – obey the law (at least in public)…

10. Having an Awkward Communication Moment (aka, an “ACM”) – learn to say “can you speak English” in Spanish (WTF?)…

There you have it, Costa Rica Guy’s 10 Tips for staying safe in Costa Rica.

Pura Vida!

The Costa Rica Tica

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Would I ever admit to being such a pig as to have been drawn to this country on account of its women?

Well if I did, I certainly wouldn’t be alone.

But no, for me it wasn’t that….really!  It was “strictly business.”

But what does become apparent after a while, if you’re a man with a pulse, is that there really are a lot of very beautiful women here. And that’s especially true in my current hometown of San Isidro de El General (or Perez Zeledon, as it is usually referred).

There’s just something about the Latina in general, and the tica in particular, that makes them stand out.  Certainly there is no argument about the outward appearance, but there is more to it than that.

Characteristics like attitude and style come into play and, when combined with the outward beauty, make the tica irresistibly attractive.

They are tough and that toughness is also beautiful.  Probably because many live under conditions that the women of the north have not ever experienced.  The “toughness” I speak of is not limited only to being able to weather adverse life conditions, but also in being in control of their emotions…well, most of the time!

Latin women can love like no other, but when the love is turned off, it’s done. I’ve been the victim of that and for a guy who grew up in the States, it can be hard to fully comprehend.

There’s even a song to describe this phenomenon.

But they’re also soft and tender when it counts. It’s their preferred disposition. The toughness comes out as a self-defense mechanism and it is deadly effective.  Best not to trigger it and if you ever do, try to disengage as soon as possible.

I have learned many lessons from Latinas that I have known, a couple that I’ve loved. I’m definitely still in the learning phase.

I write much of the beauty of Costa Rica, seen in the vast green landscapes, dazzling sunsets and majestic mountains.  I would be amiss if not to mention that its people too are beautiful, especially the Costa Rica tica.

The Cost Rica tica personifies the exotic, yet warm and inviting, beauty of Costa Rica. A beauty that is to be admired, cherished (if one is so fortunate) and, certainly, respected.

Here’s a famous Latin song dedicated to all these Mujeres Divinas…

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