Night-time Behaviour - Tamarindo - TravBuddy

Tamarindo is regarded by many as the "Las Vegas" of Costa Rica, or so I was told before arriving. I was travelling with a large group of young guys who wanted to party. The group walked around at night with the casualness that one might have while at home in Canada or the States.

One must never forget however that in spite of Costa Rica's general and Tamarindo's specific appeal as a modern state or city, the country is still made up of individuals with very conservative/traditional mentalities.

Whilst our group did nothing wrong by Canadian standards, our total comfort as a group in the bars was an affront to many of the local Ticos with their customary machismo.

I was approached by one such young man and told that in no uncertain terms I was about to be killed by him and his friends and many of the locals, simply for being "American", which while untrue and irrelevant was still unsettling.

We left the bar and went to another where I was again approached by a local, but this time a considerate one. He said to me that perhaps it would be in our best interests to 'move on' because our presence was not welcomed by the young male population. We thanked him and heeded his advice and 'moved on' to Manuel Antonio, which was excellent to say the least, but is another story..