www.CostaRicaTicas.com

You guys are playing my tune...I have been a closet monger since my very first trip to Amsterdam... (OK, I paid for a BJ at 22, right out of college, but I was so shit scared that the fuzz would come any second, that I hardly enjoyed it, and vowed never to do it again)

Since my first trip to Amsterdam, I have "shared" my hobby with only my 2 closest friends *AFTER* I found out that they were freaks like me...

I could NEVER share this with any of my "married" or "single" friends... they would give me such a bad rep...

So, I'm glad that this great group of guys exists... AND I THANK GOD, ALLAH, OR WHOMEVER IS RESPONSIBLE, THAT CR EXISTS...

It is summer here in Vancouver , so the weather is fine for two weeks.

I was always able to justify a winter trip to CR but as I sold out my business here and for the time being I am unemployed, I really am thinking of a quick trip before the winter months.

Mia / Stephany " when you come back to Costa Rica "
sounds good to me !

For me Life in Gringaland is sad.
No contact with the gals, I long to embrace the curvey bits.

I am jealous of MG and other members that live a lot closer. I am pondering the $ 3,000 airfare for Aug.

fiedler.

Traylor Park,

Like you, it took a few trips to get over the intense post-C.R. withdrawal syndrom.

I think it's sort of a maturation process. As young boys we're blown away by our first real carnival midway...the lights, sounds, smells, pretty girls, freaky carny people, "valuable" prizes in the joints and the thrill of "death-defying" rides.

When we later return, we notice the litter, the dirt, the stinking garbage, the missing teeth...but we still have fun. I think returning to Costa Rica is kind of like that.

One reason that I have fewer cravings upon returning from each successive trip is that I am starting to see C.R. for what it is. The initial "love at first sight" has seriously passed. Here's an example of how my perceptions changed from first trip to now:

Trip #1: Wow, these ticos are sure friendly. I think they really like me and all Americans.

Trip #2: Wow, these ticos can be friendly. They may not like most gringos, but they like me. Must be my excellent Spanish...

Trip #3: Man, these ticos like our money and nothing else about us. My Spanish sucks.

Trip #4: Some ticos like me for who/what I am, even though I have less money than some other gringos. My Spanish is improving. I still don't fully trust the ticos as a rule, but they're probably not all bad. I just wish they'd all stop trying to rip me off.


Maturation takes time and repeat trips. I find out now that what I'm missing isn't necessarily Costa Rica per se... it's my CRT friends, easy access to on-demand sex and cheap rum, the chance to practice Spanish. I cannot see monkeys nor orchids nor ocean vistas, I've never fished nor surfed, they won't let me on the zip lines and I got my fill of river rafting when I was a Boy Scout. So, if I could find the same comraderie, easy sex and Spanish practice here in S.E. Minnesota, I might never travel.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) Costa Rica is a place where I can get what I want without too much travel or expense. Do I miss it? Sometimes, but then I log on to CRT, get my quick fix, and feel better fast. Will I return to C.R.


What do you think?

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

After my 1st trip in sept 06, i couldn't wait to get back. After my 2nd trip (june 07) i will be returning sept 07 only because i purchased ticket before 2nd trip even started.Do i love it in CR- YES. Do i need to be there 3-5 times a year-NO.I agree with all the posotives and negatives that have been written here. Will i change my mind on the subject-YES Many times.I have a tendency to way overindulge(alcahol and girls) when im in CR. I will try to pace myself in sept(2 girls a day) and see if it makes a difference.

I get the "Tican Blues" some days when I would like to have something new for a couple of hours without any hassles.

I never felt the pressure that some guys feel here about how CR can effect you. Two good reasons for me seem to be I was in my 20s when I first arrived in CR & Gringas where fairly easy at that time at home so CR was fun, different & easy but not a mind blower. Over the last 2 decades many things have changed & I believe are much harder on one’s head at home than they use to be.

I would say that what was better about CR over the USA back then was I could leave the Chicas without them being able to follow me & cause problems. Hassle free sex is the best! This is one thing I hated about many Gringas that I met & went out with is they knew what they wanted & where to find me. I could have slept with far more Gringas but I knew the pain they would be if I did this so it was not worth the headache. They sure laid waste to many of my budds lives! It is nice to be with nice women & have no responsibilities or commitment that hinders you in anyway. Well worth paying for over the Gringa’s tears & havoc they can wreak!

I think CR is a great place to people watch. So many different styles we all have. I see many not very well traveled Gringos think how disgusting & feeble it is for men to have to leave the country to find women to play with. What many people fail to realize is how many quality men simply don’t have to put up with Gringo rules outside verses inside. In other words men can be men with the shackles off & have more freedom to do what pleases them without having to look over their shoulders all the time.

I remember one trip I am playing at the Casino with 3 surgeons in there early 40s, which 2 where very hot guys from what the Chicas where telling me. These guys not only could afford most Gringas but could easily get most Gringas from what I have seen. They where all divorced & sick of the crap they had been thru. They said never again will I be drug around the legal system in Gringolandia. They said too many places to play without all the phucking stings attached. I have to agree! Nice to fly away when you have had enough in either direction. Options are king so why corner yourself anywhere?? So many guys are sad they can’t come home with their chicas easily but really maybe it is a good barrier in many ways?

So many times as the story goes lookout for what you wish for you may get it.

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"Run silent, run deep"
Spunk glazed Chicas are the building blocks of the universe!

Good post Zippy.

Zip must be a carpenter, he hits the nail on the head every time. Hell Zip, I print some of your post and give them to a friend that has been married misserabley for several years. Now his wife has abandon him and left her 2 unruly K*ds with my buddy. The fat nagging wife comes around when he carpayment and other bills are due. She has been a waitress at the same greek pizza joint for 15 years, 2.25 an hour plus tips. about 400 a week and she spends that on useless crap as fast as she makes it. I have lost all respect for this guy. I have tried to convince him to get his passport. I offered not long ago to buy his plane ticket if he would get a passport in 2 months. He didnt get it. Oh well, you can lead whore to knowledge but you cant make them think, Costa rica has had a positive impact on me. I hardly glance at most gringas unless they are really hot. I can get one just as hot for the cost of diner and a movie, its just a plane ride away.

Raw -

Why don't you get your friend a VIP membership to CRT?

I wonder if he'll change his mind after looking at all the great pics in the VIP Gallery.
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"If I lived each day as if it were my last I would have been dead a long time ago." - Traylor Park

I made my first trip over 2.5 years ago. After my first several trips, the withdrawals were horrible. Not extreme depression, but just an extreme longing for a different way of life. I felt my life was at an end in the US and that the only option was to try-out life in CR.

Fast forward to now, I've been living in CR for about a year. Saturday will be my 1 year anniversary, actually living there fulltime. Prior to that, I had made probably about 18 trips. I spent 6 months straight in CR and quickly became bored, tired and frustrated.

In the past 6 months, I've spent more time working in the US, than chilling in CR. My feeling now is that I appreciate both worlds. I like the options and standard of living in the US. I also like the sex options in CR, but despise the thievery.

Here are my lessons learned:

1. CR is not a cure for boredom. Unless, you like drinking all day, sitting in strip bars and gambling, there isn't much else to do.

2. It is very hard to have a steady girlfriend (not a hooker) in CR, but I need one. Otherwise, I'd be a train wreck. She is a pain in the ass, but she keeps me grounded in reality. She is also a great companion, but immature, and I've just learned to deal with it.

3. The locals will never accept you as an equal. They always see you as a gringo who was born with money falling out of his ass.

4. The most despicable people in CR are the drunk obnoxious gringos. They come down and think they are GOD and all knowing and all powerful. The karmaic effect usually catches them by surprise.

5. Hookers are largely a waste of money. I consider it to be an enhanced form of masturbation. Sex with non-working girls is so much better. I need a challenge.

To all you guys who think that moving to CR is an answer to everything, I challenge you to do it. This is the only way I figured it out. Now, when I fly to CR, I'm no longer shaking at the knees and drooling. Its just another flight and my home just happens to be there right now.

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.

Chi.....Good post. After staying in San Jose two months out of the year for the past 4 years......I had figured as much. You confirmed my suspicions.

YMMV
Zebra

Chi-Trekker, this is brilliant. I especially like your comment about prostitution being enhanced masturbation...very well said. Thumbs up

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

Great post.

"Unless, you like drinking all day, sitting in strip bars and gambling, there isn't much else to do."

I do enjoy those activites, admittedly, but only for about four to six days a month. I guess San Jose makes for a nice weekend getaway for me and the wingmen, every other month or so.

I would disagree with this assessment. CR has TONS of things to do that don't involve these activities... I've even partaken in a few, although admittedly not much since I found out about HDR, ZB, Idem, et. al.

I know several people who have moved down there for the lifestyle, and they don't even know about the monger scene... It's better that way, trust me, they'd try to bring an end to it...

Yes, CR is not the answer to every question, yes CR has MORE than it's share of problems, and YES you would be trading problems, but it's an equation that CAN be solved...


As to the "gouge the gringo" attitude, it really is more of a "gouge the foreigner" attitude, which you see throughout the world. In some places to greater degrees than others...

I experienced this first hand in England when living there. I was living with an American girl there, and we were harassed non-stop by the English people, simply because we were "americans", and people constantly tried to get away with things simply because we were "americans"...

So, it's not only CR.

QBF- I agree with you. Plenty more to CR than the gulch. I know guys who go down there to surf, deep sea fishing, etc. But I can do that (well I don't surf) here in South Florida. So when I head to CR, where I know almost no espanol, I elect to engage mostly in vice.
Should I ever go there for a week I am sure I will get outside SJ and see more than ZB, HDR, etc.