www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I've been mongering in Mexico, Central Amercia, and Colombian for 15 years now and my all time best bargain was in 1999 while visiting a friend in Chalchupa El Salvador. Just outside of Chalchuapa there is a little village that has a mini zona roja that consists of about 5 bars. I wandered into one and immediately noticed a beautiful young thing sitting alone. We chatted for a few minutes in spanish and I ended up with her for 30 minutes, a cold beer, and the room for $3.75USD.

When I first started my trips to CR I usually paid $12 per night for the room, including desayuno. The infamous Park Hotel was the hot spot for local talent and you could have your choice of chicas for 5K colones. Lesser beauties were 2K to 4K.

Right now, Colombia is like the old CR. In Bogota one can find a massage parlor and get two 18 y.o. chicas for about $25 for the hour. Best of all, the colombianas are so easy that 90% of the time I don't have to pay at all. Friendly people and a great country.

El Gamin
CR bound the 22nd of July

El Gamin wrote:



El Gamin, it would have been a help had you given a date for your initial foray int CR so we could get an idea of what 5K was in $. For me it was 1992. Use to stay at the Presidente but do not remember the room rate. Whatever it was, desayuno was not included and the News Cafe did not exist.

Use to go to the Park Hotel in the afternoon (thats was BB, before Bill) and the hotel was owned by 2 gringos from Florida. There was a restaurant in the Park at that time. The talent level was not bad and if you did not see anything that attracted you there always were a bunch of gringos around to swap stories with. The Park was great in those days.

Happy Hour was at Bella Donna next to the Costa Rica Inn (both gone now and the ground is parking for the Colonial. The Del Ray was not open yet (still being converted from an apartment building). The night spots were the old New York Bar, Happy Days & Key Largo. Happy Days was the best for chica hunting. Price was $25.00 (3500 colones) at that time.
NY bar girls were same price and Key Largo girls asked for $100.00 but usually you could get them for $35 or 40. Almost all the chicas were Tica.

Could reminisce about the old times a lot more but just wanted to give a snap shot view to understand why my vote .

Hell yes, a lot

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

My first trip to costa rica was in 1984. The exchange rate was about 80 colones to the dollar. However you could get a beer some places for 20 colones if you didnt keep the bottle. They had these giant 1 colone coins .50 and .25 coins as well as 5 colone bills your pockets would be absolutly bulging heh

There was plenty of rooms you could get for under 10 dollars in Jaco and the only disco around back then was Foxys. but as far as women and stuff like that i think its much better now. however I do miss camping out on Hermosa beach and actuly feeling safe.

Everytime we went to surf Playa Negra up in Guanacaste there was no one out and we used to joke about buying it becuase it was just an empty cow pasture with an almost impassable dirt road. I really wish we would have done so, becuase now someone owns it. The road get graded all the time and theres several hotels and houses. Right on a world class reef break

Surfdog

Do you think the current administration in the white house has anything to do in the decline of the economics of mongering?

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YO Coqui:
Geezzz, You can't be serious with that question !! This admistration or the the ones prior to it do not yield a clue as to any effect on south of the border mongering.......or mongering in the US for that matter. You probably have that mixed up with global warming......which many "brilliant" activists out there know is responsible for changing the whore economy and inflation of prices world over. NTM, is respondible for every other dramatic change in this world except for my inability to get laid.........okay, I'm open to that even. Hope you don't mind a little funning.

FELLOWS, the dramatic changes in mongering along with cultural changes are a result of, supply & demand, cell phones and......the INTERNET. The colone inflation as well as thousands more gringos going amok. Communication has it's advans and disadvans. The prey know more about you than ever before. We also advertise our strategy and hunt in packs more whereas before it was the lone wolf.

Yea, Ding Dong, the facilities and culture in SJ of the early 90's were backward compaired to today but you should have seen it 10 or 20 years prior. Fellows, it's just a matter of your personal time warp into this world of mongering. Some of us have just about warped out but it is all revelent to when you came on the scene.

GAWD......and someone thinks the Bush administration initialized this. Government schools ring true again......and ol curcos ar 1 of doze.
BEAM ME UP SCOTTY.

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Damn if I'm going to repeat this shit again. I need a drink.
I've been drinking vodka every day for 45 years and I have certainly never found it to be habit forming.

Circus raised a lot of good points and he should know since he's probably been doing this as long as anybody. The internet has been an enormous factor in the explosive growth of gringos heading to CR and other places. Unfortunately most of those guys are AT BEST half-educated. Maybe they've just seen the Bendricks website, or maybe they're just seen some pics that were e-mailed by a buddy or posted on some webpage. They go down to CR, hang out mostly in the BM, and readily pay the $100/hr asking price thinking it a bargain compared to what they pay in the US, never giving a second thought to how much that really represents in CR.

Ironically, in some ways regular media coverage has also played an integral part in a sort of self-reinforcing snow ball kinda way. The growth may have existed first but then the media moves in to cover it as a tittilating ratings generating story. The media coverage may be presented in an outraged isn't this terrible that old perverted american guys are going to places like this and taking advantage of poor young girls sort of way and many gringas and morally upright (uptight?) churchgoers may be outraged when they see it, but just as many of the guys that see it (including hypocritical churchgoers and the husbands of those gringas) and decide to make the trip themselves.

Does this all represent a decline in CR as a monger destination? In some ways yes and in other ways no. Personally, I think the overall effect has been negative, but thats just me. Its really more complicated than that. Sure prices have gone up and in some places and ways service quality has gone down. But the growth in gringos thronging to this country has also meant that chicas from all over latin america have also come here and it has become a sort of action central for this type of activity. There are far more chicas to choose from and of far more varied nationalities. Another positive improvement is the availability of clean safe upscale MP's like NF and ZB which did not even exist a few years ago. On the flip side, many of the HDR/BM/KL girls are more hardened in their attitudes and less flexible or realistic in their pricing, but one can still go further afield to places less well known by overpaying newbies and get quality service at an affordable price.

Ultimately monger destinations come and go in terms of fashionability, popularity, economics, attitudes of local governments towards P4P, general tourism factors like security, infrastructure, etc. The landscape is constantly shifting. The guys that are on the cutting edge of that wave will always rue the changes as new guys catch on and move in. But such changes are inevitable. We can partially console ourselves that we still have our "secret" places where prices are still cheap and service is still good, but eventually the word may get out on those places too, potentially spoiling them. If CR continues to head in the direction it is, it may become the victim of its own sucess and we will have cooked the golden goose. Prices will climb to the point that it is not worth it for the seasoned vet and they will have to find the next CR. And as that place grows in popularity, the chicas will probably follow.

What Coqui is talking about is a larger more ominous issue. In addition to comparative conditions changing BETWEEN destinations, conditions change that affect the practicality of international mongering IN GENERAL. One of those factors is the pressure that the Bush Administration and its Conservative Christian backers are placing on our hobby ACROSS THE GLOBE. Recently Brazil basically told them to go Phuck themselves and said "the heck with your bribe 'aid' money, we'll do what we want when it comes to adult prostitution". Most other countries have succumbed much more to the pressure. There are other factors too, including the decline in the value of the dollar and the rise in the cost of airfares that is mostly a result in the rise of fuel prices.

Guys;
Compared to Circus, Gamlin and Ding Dong, I'm a rookie - my first ever trip was in '95 and the Del Rey was the hot spot. New York bar was still next to the Marazan and Happy Days was around the corner. Didn't even belong to the old site (it may not have even existed), so I didn't have any information to go on.
Used to stay at Hemmingway and Grand Hotel Costa Rica and heard about the Park (Bill was there) and wondered over that way - used to find one or two acceptables for 10K colones and was always pleased with the enthusiasm and not feeling rushed.
Del Rey girls were definatly on a higher plane and the charge was 45.00 to 60.00 depending on negotiating skills - even went with a couple of them to Hotel Aisia for a session. No ZB or NF back then - used to go to Krissis (spelling) which was acceptable but pricy. Arte Suana was in full swing and used to have fun there for about 12K - not to mention Eden.

I was one of the 28% who voted a little and after writing this and reminissing, maybe I should have said a lot. Changes occurr everywhere but after reading the orignal post, I am seriously considering doing Bogata on one of my required 90 day salidas out of the country - 25.00 sounds great!

LVSteve

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Just an old horney, fat gambler.

I recall that in the mid 90's when I started coming to CR that the price at A&S was 6K colones, which was about $35. It always stayed at about $35, but kept going up in colones.

There are things I liked better when I first came to CR, but I still like it. I'm less comfortable walking around at all hours now, which is the biggest negative. I liked A&S, BBC and Taipan, but I like NF and ZB too. I'll have to try some of the places in Paseo Colon next trip. This site has been a big help finding out about new places.

First trip 1994. I voted "yes." Comparisons:

Things WERE comparatively less expensive. Now, many things (if you don't look around) are US prices.

Far fewer Gringos. The "cat is out of the bag." And she ain't coming back. Eventually CR will be Cancun w/o beaches.

Higher concentration of Ticas. Now it's Heinz 57 variety. Something of everything. Obviously, I like other cultures but those ladies who are in CR are usually hard core.

CR was a mystery and adventure every trip. Now, certain things have grown old and repetitive. And, with the advent of a message board that gives almost instantaneous reports nothing is left to adventure/mystery. Don't get me wrong..I'm on the board several times daily. But, my original intent was venturing into something unknown. Guess it's time for a trip to Colombia.

I actually feel safer now than I did my first few trips. Primarily because I did get robbed my first trip and never have had any incident since. Knowing the language and the lay of the land helps. Also, back in mid 90's, even late 90's, the streets were FILLED with prostitutes and chapollines (sic). However, even vets like DG can get too comfy and be caught off guard.

I used to love the beer until I realized that it was just a novelty and average at best.

But, the great equalizing factor, no matter what negative things I say is this: I love banging hot latina women. And for that, I will probably never quit coming.

dapanz1

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Paradise= Sitting outside the Bodega in Panama City about 1 am. Drinking cool Balboas with cool friends and blazin' hot Colombianas. I want to be there..RIGHT NOW!

you mean the "good old days" aren't right now?

BINGO, the web has caused as many problems in CR and RIO as it has solved.

I know for a fact I wouldn't be hobbying in S Fla if not for the web.

I'd venture to guess 90% of CRT'rs have never dated a streetwalker or booked a blind Yellow Pages escort agency date, I sure as hell didn't.

Guys travelling for sex in the past were probably more daring since so much was unknown when you hit the San Jose airport. With world sex sites you know your hotel, restaurants, mongering spots etc before you arrive.

Well Circus i mean the current administration and its trades with foreing countries, the US mentality and technology creeping into poorer countries and the fall of the dollar with the war and the administrations foreing relations.

I thought this would affect mongering quite a bit.

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Longing for "the good old days" of our favorite locales seems to me a universal human trait, and while I haven't been to CR (my first trip is booked) I want to share what I do know:

Like the CR of yore, people here also speak of the halcyon days of Vegas--e.g. the room and food deals that are now largely gone since the corporations took over (after the feds sacked the mob in the early Eighties). Yes, two-dollar, choice New York steak dinners and fifty-cent Heinekens from the bar were GREAT (available downtown, circa 1981).

But while Vegas has grown worse in some ways, when speaking of the old days, we often forget about the ways in which Vegas is now better. The Hotels are better and offer more attractions besides gambling, and the valley has many more things to see and do now, having become a major metropolitan area. There's more "stuff" here now.

Could a similar argument be made for CR .

RingoG

RINGO;
AS A FORMER RESIDENT OF LAS VEGAS AND A CURRENT RESIDENT OF SAN JOSE, CR, I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT THERE IS NO COMPARISON BETWEEN VEGAS AND CR. NONE WHAT SO EVER. YOU WILL SEE WHEN YOU ARRIVE WHAT I MEAN.
LVSTEVE

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Just an old horney, fat gambler.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine