www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Paying a guy no bigger then me 1000 colones to walk you a block is a bit much.

If you really want a bodyguard, I read an ad at the airport. 4 guys, fully armed, for 70$ an hour!

Perhaps I just have a good relationship with some of the outside DR guys, but I can assure you none of them would let some whack job hack at me with a machette.

I have used the shoe shine guy ( I believe that his name is Jose) many times when I stayed at the Morazon Apartments. He would walk with me through the park and I would gladly pay him 1000 col.

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NON ILLEGITIMI CARBORUNDUM

DG

Whats funny if these guys were willing to work they could have a vey lucrative business doing this. I rather pay a good guy a couple of bucks to walk with me than deal with some of the ass hole taxi ripp off guys. a good tico that likes to walk with a big machete could make cien per night easy doing this. Well I could be wrong?

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

No because after midnite it's the same old scam trying to find a cab not charging 2000.. OTOH, you could pay a bodyguard to walk you to Chelles and catch a cab to the Presidente from there.. yeah, that's the ticket.

Enough already... I'll walk you poosies back to the prez for free.

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"With foxes, we must play the fox." ~ Thomas Fuller

I've been dying to get one of those tasers. I'd just love to stun one and put the boot to him a couple dozen times. Turns me on just thinking about it.

Always remember a good run is better than a bad stand! Col. Custer. I travel solo and Id pay the 2 bucks just to have someone to talk to on the way and practice my espanol. Raw

The DR security guards just got an order in! One of the guys was chasing another round with it haha.

But between Balmoral, the DR, and Presidente, and even Horseshoe and New York bar, wouldnt it be very practical to just hire 2 guys to walk around the block all night? Dont even tell the government your doing it, just pay them to be casual looking security guards.

Sure, eventually the thugs would figure out that their undercover, but at least the area will be practically risk free.

Theirs just to much money walking that street at any given time. Its stupid for business's not to protect it. What if I was walking up to one of the 3 casinos on Ave 1, and say I had 200-300$ on me. If I was robbed, thats 300$ that they basically lost in business.

Why wouldnt they do something, if they knew the area had such a bad problem?

Yes, I hire Jose all the time.... I feel a lot safer than George Bush in Pakistan. All of those pests just won't come near you.

He is a nice guy. Give him a few colones and buy him a slice of pizza.

This subject has been discussed at length. Here's why private security won't happen.

1. Businesses can have security guards on their premises, but local laws prohibit private security guards from doing anything off the property of their employer.

2. the municipality doesn't have enough $$$ to hire extra cops. Right now, two police officers patrol an eight square block area.

3. Private attempts to pay the city for extra cops would be viewd as graft, which it would be.

Don't expect any of these hotels, bars, casinos or cigar vendors to put up cash for security. it's not just the cash, it's the law.

My suggestions:

Travel with a wingman. Or six. Take cabs when you can. A $4.00 ripoff cab ride is cheaper than the $600.00 lost by our fellow member at machete-point. By the way, for those of you who don't have VIP access, the muggers actually attempted to slice him.

It is illegal to carry most weapons in San Jose without a permit, just like in the U.S.A. Pepper spray may be the exception. I don't know who to ask about this.

A friend of mine, a tico living in Rohrmisor (spelling?) is licensed to carry concealed. The gun permit required classes and a pretty hefty fee by C.R. standards. Permits to carry guns are not available to tourists. The same tico told me that while many carry knives, there is a blade length limit and automatic (switchblade) knives are legal to sell but illegal to carry. Any local residents (VB, ID, Mente', LV Steve) please comment on the legalities, if you have accurate information.

In the macho culture of C. and S. America, the strongest defense could very well be a good offense. Disemboweling a mugger in front of witnesses could send a very strong message: "Soy gringo. Don't tread on me." (The preceding paragraph was meant to be sarcastic and is not intended to be a recommendation. YMMV. As always, give the nice mugger all your money, try not to pisss yourself and thank your lucky stars and/or Circus if you survive the encounter).

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

I know all that has been posted but does anyone know if it is accurate?

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

Irish Drifter,

Actually, I was hoping that someone with easier access to the workings of San Jose city government could verify what has been posted here before.


It seems reasonable to presume that since the Gulch business owners are aware of crime and the threat it could pose to their livelihood, something would have by now been done to increase security for the tourists that feed them. Maybe not.

Also, I fear that now that a $600.00 score has been made, the local criminal element will go into overdrive.

Maybe you could put on a uniform? You seem to enjoy keeping folks honest.

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

In CR the giving of propina is accepted...Hell, last trip I gave a bank manager a bottle of JW Black and a box of chocolate for his wife "for doing his job" kind of. I have given side money to police and many other things that would not be appropriate in the states.
I bet the businesses could give to the area's police "benevolent" fund to have a consistent prescence in the area.

The shoe shine guy idea is good to a point. I personally would not want him to escort me only because is something did happen and he was hurt ( I would feel responsible) it could be very bad.

Come on I paid a guy 1000C to protect me with his life. He could make good money doing it but might not last too long because sooner or later some is going to cross the line. I would rather take matters into my own hands and pay my own consequences.

I have become very stubborn with thieves and my last attempted robbery I wasn't going to have it. Yes I got poked in the arm by a blade but I was fed up with the idea that some little punk though he was going to have an easy score.

Now in that situation if I had someone with me I would be more likely to give up everything, because I feel responsible for that person and if they were hurt because of my actions I would be responsible.

I CAN SAY FOR SURE THAT PEPPER SPRAY IS SOLD OVER THE COUNTER AND YOU DO NOT NEED A PERMIT TO CARRY IT IN COSTA RICA. I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE ABOUT MACE.
LVSTEVE

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Just an old horney, fat gambler.