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It didn't happen to us, but while we were in Quepas on the beach, a poor tourist couple were looking everywhere for their backpack with his wallet and tickets. He apparently had left it down to go in the water and .. well it was gone when he came out of the water.
I guess the point is that if you are a tourist you are a mark and you need to be on guard, but not paranoid, all of the time. Leave a Comment
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Maybe it was the confluence of a very rainy season and a small earthquake, which I guess might be considered 'Warnings or Dangers' by themselves, but when you are held up from going where you need to be, waiting for a front-loader to arrive from miles away, you get the idea.
One consolation, usually the scenery and wildlife can be appreciated while you wait. Leave a Comment
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We knew about it and still got caught. You read about this kind of scam and you are sure you would never got caught, that this plan is so stupid it would never work.
Well, it does. You're in vacation, you're elax, you're happy to meet friendly local peoples... And then a little man comes around with tissue paper and warn you you are dirty in the back. Some kind of bird poop or melted ice cream. You take the tissue papers, so happy to have found a gentleman to help you. This is when the gentleman opend your bag and run away with your passport, money, camera or other precious belongings. Fortunately for us, our gentleman wasn't very good and his pickpocketing was obvious enough to stop it. He ran away before getting anything.
We though back on the event and realise that we missed every warning signs. And didn't do the obvious.
So just be warned. It is going to happen, in the more obvious place (we were in the Rostipollos parking lot, a familial restaurant, at noon). Don't let anyone approach you (you approach people), even the sweeter gentleman (if he's a gentleman, he'll understand you have to be careful). Ask to anyone who get too close to stand back. Any kind of gesture in any language will do. Leave a Comment
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If you ever see this plant please don't touch it , it's best not to go anywhere even close.
My wife saw it in the park at the Hotel and thought it was interesting. apon touching it the little bristles stuck to her and she tried to get them off. It started to itch real bad and she broke out in a rash running up her arm.
It lasted for a little while, 15-20 minutes and subsided.
But it made her real nervous.
Our local guide Edwin laughed for 10 minutes when we told him. He said that was one of the worst plants in Costa Rica, called Peka-peka ( itchy-itchy) plant, and that they keep there distance from it.
So if you see this plant/bean please don't touch.And if you do our guide told us not to try and wash it off right away as this makes it worse.... Leave a Comment
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There is a big problem with theft on the 8:40 and 11:30 a.m. bus routes from San Jose to La Fortuna. The buses are charter buses with carpeted shelves overhead, so you can't see your stuff unless you lean out of your chair to look up. Also, they will sell more tickets than there are seats, so there will be people standing in the aisle. There are no bars on the ceiling, so they have to hold onto the shelves that store the luggage in order to keep balance. Sometime during that 4.5 hour trip, the zipper to my backpack was unzipped right over my head and while everyone was squeezing to get out, my purse was stolen out of it. The police say that it is a constant problem with those two routes, and the bus driver is possibly in on it. So, if you're taking public bus, keep the zippers facing away from the middle and take the 6:15 a.m.! Leave a Comment
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this is more of a reminder than a danger tip...
for the most part Costa Rica is very safe, like many places it does have it's bad parts ,Costa Rican people are unaccustomed to seeing women traveling alone.
Males will see unaccompanied females as not spoken for and will traditionally "hiss" and express compliments...we were told this by two different guides on trips we were taking...
just ignore it and don't feel threatened...
When a couple walks down the street, a woman should walk to the inside with the man next to the curb, otherwise the impression will be that the woman is "available."
this is just there culture,just don't remark to them about it..... Leave a Comment
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A little skepticism may be in order if you are told that there is a fantastic Pacific view at the crest of the trail. If you feel any raindrops dripping down upon you from the endless layers of leaves above--you can be pretty sure that the cloud has descended upon the cloud forest.
But it doesn't matter. The interesting things are to be found close at hand. Look in the tree roots for interesting insects or even frogs. Listen and you will hear any number of different bird calls. If you stand quiet and have binoculars at hand, you will see more species of birds than you even knew existed.
Remember that the natural state of the high elevation forests is clouds and drizzle. Tremendous views are a dime a dozen, but the Costa Rican cloud forests are a unique biosphere. Leave a Comment
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If a police officer insists on stopping you or retaining your documents for no apparent reason, ask him to escort you to the nearest police station to clear the problem. Under no circumstances give money to traffic police or other police officers.
Do not drive through or park your car in poorly lit areas (especially in San Jose). Never leave your car on the street; always park it in a safe parking lot. Do not leave any belongings in the car. Sometimes there will be young boys in parking lots of nicer restaurants who will offer to watch your car for you while you eat. It is best to agree and then tip them a few hundred colones.
If you see a branch or pile of sticks in the road, slow down. This is the Tico version of a road flare and indicates danger ahead. Leave a Comment
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While in many of the Nature preserves you may get to pet some of the locals....
While at the Curu Nature Preserve we were able to pet some of the Monkeys that were being rehabilitated.
the care taker told us that it was o.k to pet them, but let them come up to you and only pet them, never ever try to grab them or hold them. If you do they might bite you as one boy we saw found out. Leave a Comment Other Contact: Curu Nature Preserve
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San Jose
We were more than warn about the danger of this bus stop. And dreading it. But it's an outdoor kind, with bus parking on each side of boarding sidewalk under a roof. Although we never let any of our belongings out of our side and were careful not to do anything stupid, we never felt in danger of anykind.
The man that got closer to me was trying for the third time to sell me cheap watches. But I think he knew I wasn't interested and even tho I didn't spoke spanish, he engage in a nice little chat. I understood about 4 words of what he said, but it didn't bother either of us. He left after 2 minutes, smilling and waving.
The other one, and he was in fact the first one we encountered coming in for the first time from our taxi that drop us off at the wrong station (500 meters from the correct one). Although I was sure at first he was going to trap us in an alley to sell our eyes and kidneys, he kindly took us to the correct station, pointing where to buy tickets and where the bus was. Quite friendly after all and I think we didn't made a good impression... being very afraid to loose our precious organs!
Be careful, but don't be alarmed.
See the website below for more information on ways of preventing crime from happening to you. Leave a Comment
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on August 20, 2004
on March 16, 2005
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on June 26, 2005
