Why?
1) The food in Costa Rica sucks. Seriously, the only good food I’ve had here is Italian. In Ecuador I think I only had like one bad meal and the variety of places to eat was staggering. The food in Costa Rica is also expensive. At first I didn’t think this, because I ate at some typical local places which are cheaper. But if you want anything that isn’t boring local food you have to pay up. To compare, the other night I had a little tortilla thingy that was about the equivalent serving as 1/2 of a McDonald’s cheeseburger… ie, not much… for $1.25. In Ecuador, in the middle of the tourist district, I could get a whole-grain, organic, veggie burger with half a plate of fresh-cut fries for $1.79.
2) The food at Ecolodge San Luis sucks. They make the same variation at every meal. Beans, rice, salad, steamed veggies, and some kind of meat in a sauce. We’ve had potatoes like once or twice. Once in a blue moon they will prepare something totally different, but normally the food is so bland I don’t even want to eat. I mean, seriously, it’s like Costa Ricans don’t give a damn about food. It doesn’t even compare to the excellent meals I enjoyed at the Maquipucuna Reserve in Ecuador. If Maquipucuna is a 5-star restaurant, Ecolodge San Luis is like eating at Denny’s.
3) Phone calls here are outrageous. 33 cents per minute to call home. WTF? And there are no internet phones… apparently they are outlawed by the government so they don’t take money away from the govt-controlled telephone company. I miss Ecuador, where I could call home for 8 cents per minute.
4) Internet here is expensive. $1-4 per hour. And it’s slow and unreliable. At most places I went in Ecuador, Internet was 70 cents - $1 per hour and a lot faster and more reliable.
It’s funny how Costa Rica is considered (I guess) to be one of the most industrialized countries in Latin America. I guess national health care is great, but if everything else sucks…
First of all when you travel, or more important if you are going to write about something, you must know what are you writing about. I travel a lot, and when I went to Costa Rica, I enjoyed very much and specially costa rican food. Costa Rica is not considered one of the industrialized countries in Latin America, but is the most developed in Central America. They have a very protective government, that’s why everything is under government control. And they have passed for a lor of corruption in the National Electricity Institute, that interrupted the renovation of the telecomunications.
Im costarican, and I wanted to say… its sad but Costa Rica really sucks… “Mi pais es una mierda” and thanks to the stupid people we will fucked up in the next years cause the shitty ideas from government. Perdon ticos.. pero el futbol los tiene estupidisados!
I moved to costa rica two months ago, and now I see how horrible this country is. I had visited before, but actually living here is so different. Food, gas, and everithing else are so expensive, I was planning on staying here for a few years but I dont think is possible. I had great expectations but now I am just looking for a way out.