Where to begin? Nine days of total bliss. Okay, here we go...

Money- ATMs all work with a Plus or Visa card. Had no problems getting cash (as evidenced by my now depleted bank account). c1000~ $3, c5000~ $15, c10000 ~ $30.

Got to SJO at about 2:00 pm with my buddy Stealth Monger. I was travelling on my birth certificate and driver's license out of necessity (didn't have time to renew my passport before I left the US). This never really proved to be a problem, though I always felt kind of naked without a passport while there. I did have to wait around at immigration for about 15 min for the AA rep with the tourist cards to show up (this was a pain). Those with passports were through immigration in less than a minute -- I'd strongly advise getting a passport if you can, it's always better to have one anyway.

Bought some colones at the airport, got a cab no problem courtesy of the uniformed expediters. Took cab to the Presidente for c3300 ($12). We had reservations with the TSM rate or a junior suite at $65/nite. Junior suite was actually a double room with a private ajoining single. This worked out great for us when we were entertaining guests.

I give the Pres. high marks. The rooms were perfectly adequate, probably about the level of a Holiday Inn or somesuch in the US. Each room has a private safe but you have to pay $3 a day to get the key so you can use it. Not much in the way of facilities other than the rooms. There's a cafe downstairs, that looked ok, but we never ate there. They're in the process of finishing their new lobby which looks like it'll be great once they're done with it.

Here are the highlights of the trip, more or less in chronological order.

Hotel Del Rey/Blue Marlin Bar -- This is it, ground zero mongerville. The girls here are the hottest, the prices the highest, and the vibe is amazing. Expect to pay c700 for an Imperial and more for anything else. Girls all want $100. We took two for the night for c20000 each. Took 'em out dancing at club Infinito in El Pueblito, then back to the Pres. where they stayed until the following morning. The BM is a mob scene from about 9:00 pm or so until about 1:00 am. I found it to be much more enjoyable later in the evening. The girls (of which there are still tons) are more amenable and relaxed and there's more breathing room. There's a huge contingent of Columbian girls here and most of them are fucking hot. Alot of them are also pros and you have to keep an eye on them. We had mixed experiences with them, but two of the most beautiful and gfe girls we picked up were also Columbian so they're far from all bad. More on this later.

Tin Jo - The rumors are true. This place is fantastic by any estimation.. Located in a private house, it's a classy place with great service and wonderful fresh food. I was really floored. You've gotta go.

Idem - The first time we visited we didn't stay too long. The big problem I had with it was that all of the clients sit along one side of the room and all the girls on the other ala junior high school dance. While this place is nice for a tico bar, I had expected something more of in the way of a cool place to mingle. After the beach trip,we stopped back by and asked for Roberto, the owner. He was a really great guy, very keen on providing a nice experience with no hassling from the girls for drinks, etc... He gave us a tour of the rooms which were simple but immaculate and very clean. Basically the inclusive price was $62 (or c19000, which is actually less) for the upstairs rooms, or $72 for the downstairs rooms which are nicer and include a private shower (though there is an upstairs room in the back that has a private shower too). Roberto was happy to make a recommendation and sent a couple of girls over to our table. I took a lovely long legged Nica upstairs for an hour of play and was completely sated. Thumbs up for Idem for sure.

Molino Rojo - Had read on the boards that this was a good local place to hook up with some cheap fun. This is defnitely a somewhat seedy place, we had cab drivers warning us that it was dangerous and to be careful. While I never really felt unsafe while we were there, it wasn't really a place where I wanted to spend a lot of time. A number of girls of mediocre quality lurking in the shadows. They've got a stage which seems to be empty for most of the time. I think it was about c3-5k to get in which included a drink. This was our first night there so I was dying to just bust a nut so I grabbed this sexy little thing from Limon (dark skinned, but not african, looked more like an east Indian girl). 2 minutes of convo, then to the back. You go through a door to a desk where you pay c5600 the attendant give you a sheet, towel, and rubber and you head back to one of the seedy little rooms. Got a perfectly clinical half and half (all I wanted) which did the trick. Tipped her c1k and we were outta there...

Krysis - Went to this place on our first day, but walked out when they wanted c18k for an hour. Stealth went back there after we got back from the beach and enjoyed himself. Each room has a jacuzzi and a bed. The girl washes you, gives you a massage then you hit it on the bed. Would have gone back myself if we had time.


Arte y Sauna - First of all this place has moved. It used to be right around the corner from the Pres. on calle 7 between Avenida Central and Ave. 2. It's now a block further over between Ave. 2 and Ave. 4. Inside you'll pay c7k for a massage or c12k for massage and sex, both for one hour. They've got lockboxes to put your stuff in. You pick out a girl and she'll join you in the steam and sauna if you want. I got an 18 yo tica named Ariela who was really sweet. She did a nice job with the massage (feet to scalp) then hopped on the table for a nice bbbj and sexo. Gave her a c2k tip which she seemed really pleased with. Very nice experience and recommended.

Club 40's - a block from Krysis, this is a tico bar/whorehouse. We walked in and walked out w/o talking to anybody. Didn't seem like there was too much going on here.

Olympus - I had been very leery of going to any of the strip clubs b/c of all the postings on the boards, but one nite at the BM we met a guy who was spending a year in CR working for his company. He highly recommended going to Josephines. Apparently they do sketches like "bad nurse" and "hot for teacher" that are really great. We were ready for something different so we went over there only to find that it was closed for remodeling. It was near Olympus so we decided to go there instead.

Basically the deal is c15k to get in, this includes 3 drinks. Chick drinks are c6k, table dances c3300, private dances in a back room c16500, and rooms for sex in the back for $150. These prices are expensive for CR no doubt, but the fun that you'll have at this place is better than anwhere in the US. I refused to buy the chick drinks, just telling the girl that I'd rather give my money to her than the club, something that she was totally ok with. I met this gorgeous little student named Paulette who was very spunky and sat at our table for awhile. She really turned me on so I took her to the private room which was in the back of the club and was decked out with leather couches and a two way mirror so you could see the club. There, I got the absolute hottest dance ever. Full contact, touch, kiss, lick anywhere. She was rubbing my now very interested member and asked me if she wanted me to suck it. I said fuck yeah (in Spanish) and she started to tug and bite at my cock through my pants. At this point I had to take care of business so I offered her c10k to take it out and give me a bbbj. She was into it and I got what I've been looking for for years.... total and complete satisfaction in a strip joint. Afterwards we went back out and talked for another hour or so until we left. Yeah it was expensive, but no more so than the U.S., and with more than you can ever pray to get here (unless you're Patrick Ewing, he,he).

By now it was Friday night. Stealth and I had reservations at a hotel in Manual Antonio the next day and we were planning on leaving on the first bus at 6:30. We made the decision not sleep that night. Our first order of business was to head over to the Park Hotel for their legendary show.

Now, to actually describe the Park Hotel Show Experience is to really not do it justice. This is the house that Bill built, his vision (Bill is a great guy, by the way, he really wants everyone to have a good time at his place). Behind the bar they sell liquor, smoked trout, and viagra. On Fridays and Saturdays the bar fills up with perverts of all ages. Bill collects c6000 from everyone in the bar, hands out micro bottles of baby oil, then trots out some honeys of moderate to minimal appeal to perform with the customers. Baby oil flying, gringo statesmen eating out girls young enough to be their granddaughters, double dildo fucking, it was the kind of scene that is burned forever into one's mind. The most perverted display I've ever seen.... I loved it.

After the depravity at the Park Stealth and I decided to head out to Los Yoses, an upscale residential district just to the east of downtown. Planet Mall is a 5 story new shopping mall with bars that forms the anchor of an entertainment district that caters to UCR sutdents and more well off ticos. We headed to this hopping reggae/dance hall bar that had a line going in (hence we thought it would be good) and had a blast it was c1000 to get in which included 2 beers. We drank and danced with the young ticos until about 3 am and got a much needed break from the mongering scene.

Mongering duty called, however, and we stopped off at the Pres. to pick up some of the party favors we'd brought for the trip. Headed to the Del Rey feeling rather "ecstatic". There we hooked up with our buddy from the Park. He was chatting up a cute girl, and we ended up negotiating with three Columbian girls. Final deal, $100/day for two days. Deal done, they left to get their stuff.

We all headed down to Coca Cola bus station only to find that the bus to Manuel Antonio was full. We found a guy named Ferdinand who agreed to take us out to MA with a buddy for $80 per car. All good I jumped into the back seat of one car with my girl. Offering her some "refreshment", we got underway.

What followed was four of the best hours of my life. Driving through the Costa Rican countryside in the early morning air out of my mind with this beautiful girl who was feeling as good as me was truly something special. I think I burned a permanent hole in my brain's pleasure center that will probably feel empty for the rest of my life.

anyway...

We got to MA and checked into our hotel which consisted of suites overlooking the ocean. Spent the next two days with the chicas buying them Hawaiian pizza (it was all they seemed to want to eat, they couldn't get enough). My Columbian was an absolute doll, gfe, and all the rest. The other two however, were a little fiestier. Stealth's girl started up demanding half her money up front, which started this other guy's girl on the same track. My buddy's response was to just turn the tables on her with the pimp mindfuck. Scooping up change she left around in her plain view, imposed yoga sessions at daybreak, giving her only enough cash to get a bowl of soup -- all the while banging her silly. Within 8 hours she was completely in line and behaving herself. It was absolutely masterful display of pimpology that I truly took to heart. She tried to see what she could get away with and he let her know the boundaries. It was so textbook it was great. Our buddy from the Park's girl simply ran amok, refusing to have sex with him, drinking, being insolent, until there was one day left and he decided to just show her the money so she'd be happy.

After the two days were up, we sent the girls home and went over to the Si Como No for a real meal. There we sat at the bar and chatted up the bartender named Rogen, who suggested a place in Quepos called Sargento Garcia, which, coincidentally, just happened to be run by his buddy who went by the nickname of "Soco Troco". He indicated with a wink that he could hook us up with whatever we wanted.

We headed over to Sargento Garcia's after dinner and found that it was actually a fun local place. We got drunk with the local ticos, and before long our buddies from Si Como No showed up with some additional party favors. It was a total blast and our bar tab for the evening (three people, plus random drinks for our new tico buddies) was less than c10K, not a bad deal at all.

We spent another day in MA relaxing, then took the Sansa flight back to SJO. This was the best deal. $45 one-way, they pick you up at your hotel for c1000, and the flight takes 25 min over the CR countryside. I would recommend everybody drive out to the beach at least once to see the countryside, but after that this plane ride is totally recommended. I intend on using it exclusively in the future.

This was our last night in CR, and unfortunately, it was Costa Rican Mother's day, a holiday which is more on the order of magnitude of Thanksgiving here in the US. Stores were closed, and many of the girls were home with either their bambinos, their moms, or both. Went back over to Idem and talked to Roberto this time. Very nice guy, gave us the tour of rooms which were all very clean. Had a scrumptious Nica named Anita, then headed back to the Blue Marlin to meet Stealth and our Park buddy. Wound up putting in a long shift at the DR, with a short break to run over to Cheetah across the street to lose $60 on their craps table. Because of mother's day, the selection wasn't really that great, I was pining for the girl with whom I'd spent time on the beach, but she never showed up. Stealth finally grabbed two columbians for $90 and brought them back to the Presidente for an hour of fun. It was fun, apparently, but no gfe.


That's about it. One thing I that will make your trip infinitely more enjoyable is to learn some Spanish. I speak enough to hold a conversation and it makes all the difference, especially if you're looking for the GFE. If you've got the time and the means, everyone should consider going down there to take Spanish classes. Programs that cater to gringos coming for a period to learn Spanish are everywhere. You can organize your vacation around classes or however you decide. Also, bring your own rubbers. I got caught without my Trojan ultra thins a couple of times and ended up having to use the Municipal CR Family Planning Specials -- it's like fucking with a dishwashing glove on.


P.S. After Stealth and I split, our buddy went back to the Park Hotel and bought some of the smoked trout. Apparently it's sitting on his kitchen table in L.A.. Please contact me if you want some ;-).

PPS Don't use my aforementioned operamail account to get in touch with me with questions. Haven't got another acct. yet. Just post here and I'll get back to you!!

FreedomRun-
Sounds like you had a great trip, we may have crossed paths as we were down there at the same time. One comment about IDEM's though, don't take this the wrong way but you may have been overcharged. The price for a girl/upstairs room was C13000. Tico or Gringo. I am actually suprised they charged you more.

Scooter

Two Items:

Correction: Olympus was c5k or $15 to get in.

As far as Idem price in concerned, you're the second person to say it seemed too expensive. Maybe it was b/c it was a holiday, and I was in there close to closing time...