Tamarindo Warnings Or Dangers

After visiting Tamarino last year we were horrified with all the changes since our last visit. Lots of construction and new buildings – mostly 5-6 story luxury condominiums, a pizza hut, subway sandwich, TCBY yogurt and a Burger King! Walking around town requires dodging the trucks hauling construction equipment and choking on their dust clouds. We found that several of the restaurants we liked last year were either out of business or had been replaced with new buildings.

I met a Tica who had been living in Tamarindo for the past three months working in real estate. Even though she was making a lot of money she said she couldn’t take it anymore and had to move back to Escazu. Other locals told me that they can no longer afford to live in the area and don’t know how they will be able to get to work as their rents keep getting raised and they need to move further and further away.

TAMARINDO IS BABYLON

While we only saw one, aligators are present in this area and breed not far from this resort. During our stay we did see one small aligator swimming in the ocean right were we were the day before. They are very hard to spot and look like a stick floating in the water. Keep your eyes peeled and be alert as they will bite!

We came to Tamarindo without much money expecting to use a local ATM. We used the ATM at the Best Western and we charged a whopping 5% surcharge! In our case, it turns out we we charged $12 US for one withdrawal). I was told (after the fact) that there is another ATM further down the road whose charges aren't quite as exorbitant but your best bet might be to come into town with the money you'll need for your stay in Tamarindo.

Lola is a legend in her own time. She has lived on Avellanas beach for many years. We admired her girth from afar but then some punk surfer poked her and I laughed with delight when she sprang to life and snapped at him!

You've heard the saying "Let sleeping dogs lie," well, the same can be said for swine.