Crossing the border into Costa Rica was a culture shock to say the least. The Latin American language, indigenous villagers, beautiful old colonial towns, small local ‘tiendas’ (shops), locally owned hospedajes (hotels) and intriguing cultural differences were instantly replaced by the North American language, sprawling rapidly growing towns and developments of condos only affordable to foreigners, billboards advertising further condos or land for sale, supermarkets stocking world tastes, shopping malls, and modern hotels. Our initial reaction to Costa Rica was of disgust at the degree of ‘Americanisation’ that had already taken place and was slowly creeping further throughout the country, transforming once ‘local’ places into a foreign creation devoid of any true Costa Rican culture or traditions. The Costa Rican currency also caused us some confusion (although the dollar is
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