www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Thanks for the info DGD and the link MiamiHeller!! That's a very good idea and something I will not travel without in the future!

Don't know that he was, just being early 30's and not in the Gulch, quite possibly not, just wanted to invoke some sympathy and respect for him in our group, perhaps the inference was unnecessary...

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Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...

But for the grace of God go I. I rented a house in the Loma Linda barrio of Desamparados a couple years ago to be close to my main squeeze who shared a house near the mall in the center of Desamparados. It used to drive her crazy that I would walk the 10 minutes distance sometimes at night. It seemed okay to me at the time. I was never noticed let alone threatened. I would not do it again after reading this. I don't know anything about the Torremolinos neighborhood but I can easily see how this guy might have just been on a walkabout to explore the area and naive about the dangers. The green hills above Desamparados may have beckoned him for a look-see.

Since, I have upgraded my digs to San Pedro behind guarded gate with a night guard tweeting a whistle as he walks the neighborhood.

Lest anyone think this sort of thing is reserved for gringos, my current squeeze has a 13-year old that a month ago as he left the colegio with 4 friends was held up at gunpoint. The guys stole everything the K*ds had including the shoes on their feet.

CR has become a dangerous place and I'm thinking that anyone staying on here should be armed.

I worked here from 2007 thru 2009 in a relatively safe area of Sabana by the park, an office complex called "Officentro". I ran a call center for internet gambling, had about 20 to 30 young educated English speaking Costa Ricans working for me. Almost all of them had been mugged, had their homes broken into, held up at gunpoint, mostly at night but occasionally in the daytime.

One big MO is two people show up by you suddenly on a motorcycle, one or both jump off to rob you and they then take off.

We had 3 shifts, 6 to 3, 3 to 11, and 11 to 6. Several on the 3 to 11 shift were robbed in the immediate neighborhood when they got off work, headed to the main street to catch a bus or taxi. One lady was accosted in the park, walking to work right before 6 am.

In those days getting a cell phone was a hassle, several robbers demanded the cell phones from their victims and took off, not taking their money !

One of my gringo buddies was walking out of the old NY Bar one night and was held up. I guess he thought he was superman and pushed the guy, got shot in the hand as he fell back (drunk of course) and the robber took off with nothing. I consider him lucky (and stupid).

People laugh at me when I visit here now and run around in the daytime but stick to the hotel at night. I'm not laughing, I've been coming here for 10 years and I know if you are on foot, you are a target.

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Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...

Owner of Freebird told me his bud got jacked with the same MO in broad daylight on a downtown sidestreet, bad, he fought and kind of won--they got nothing--but kind of lost as he sustained a fx cheekbone and hand if I remember right.

My hang, Quepos, now the same way. Dangerous at night over by the seawall where Gringos tend to pass because of Pescadora and Wacky Wanda's bars where there is p4p.

Bunch of crackheads lurking.

I've studied martial arts for years and any decent teacher will tell you to cooperate and don't fight unless attacked. Carry a dummy wallet without credit cards or passport, have a nice amount of money in it so they will feel like they got a good score and want to take off, give it to them, don't provoke them, try to walk away afterwards, don't talk. If you want a fight, get married...

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Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...

You got that right netgem my exwife latina would Phuck up any mugger in argument lol

I too am a survivor of a Latina wife I found in Miami (Cubana). She carried a knife since she was 14 and surprised me with more than a few roundhouse punches over time. She once got into a fistfight with her equally hostile sister and ended up with a black eye. All our female friends gave me dirty looks thinking I did it...

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Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...

UNSUBSTANTIATED HEARSAY ALERT: I was talking to a friend who explained to me where the incident happened, that is, where Torremolinos is in Desampa. Secondly, he said he knew some chicas who lived there, and the story going around there is that the victim went there to purchase some illegal substances and had same on his person along with a fair amount of cash, to Ticos at least.

This is ALL hearsay, and whether you choose to give it any credence is your own choice, naturally. There are any number of other possible explanations but the 'dentist' one stretches my imagination.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis