I had some free time over the holidays so I thought "Why not got to Costa Rica for a few days?". Might as well, since I'm in the neighbourhood. A quick Google search of "Costa Rica" and "surfing" and Tamarindo came up as the place to go.Driving directly from Managua would take about 4 hours, but with a chaotic border crossing (getting there took 3.5 hours) 
and having to switch to a local bus in Liberia, my journey took me about 10 hours. As soon as I arrived in Tamarindo I felt like I was transplanted into another world. The town was so developed. It reminded me of a more tropical Florida. A new condo building is being built in the middle of town, and it was the tallest building I'd seen in 4 months.It was probably how Crocodile Dundee 
felt when he left the outback and landed in New York City (that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was a taste for the culture shock I'll feel when I get home).The place was overrun by tourists and real estate offices trying to sell land to foreigners. In the rush to develop this once "sleepy" beach town, they missed something. Where was the authenticity? Reading a magazine
geared at foreigners living in Costa Rica, the sense of entitlement and 'snobbishness' expressed by 'some' foreigners left a bad taste in my mouth. But there are always two sides to every argument. These tourists are bringing in a lot of money, jobs and opportunities (and paved roads) for Costa Ricans. Part of me can't really blame people for wanting to transplant the luxuries and comforts from a more developed country. And if there was a Starbucks in Tamarindo, I would have been right there.So the dilemma continues.
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