But...Is it safe?

I often am asked the question:
Is Costa Rica safe?

Well, I find I am always watching my back. Just to be safe. The people here are friendly and kind. The attribute I've had trouble getting used to is the stare given when I walk through town. I prefer to look, smile and look away. If I look back ... they are still staring.

Petty theft is high. Locals are considered to committ crimes of opportunity. If you have bars on your windows, a locked gate and double bolted door and a safe in your house then you deter theft as it has no longer become a crime of opportunity but a crime of skill and effort - often not appealing.
Another funny attribute is that most are not discrete. A couple years ago I remember parking in town to go to the market. I exited the car and watched two young men not glance but blatently stare into our car for valuables worth returning to achieve.

If you leave a backpack in the car then you can almost guarantee it will be gone when you return. So we're simply careful and have not had any trouble.

Which brings me to today:

Dad and I drove to Santa Cruz for groceries and gas.

Our stops were as follows:
We stopped for gas on the way into town .... oh and we had a full service attendant that takes our keys to unlock the gas tank door.

We went to the bank to exchange my American $$ for the Local currency of Clonnies.

We went through security including a metal detector and I was asked to open my bag and show contents within (a waterbottle and hair brush) and remove my ball cap. I stood at the teller and communicated through bullet-proof glass (yes that's why it's safe right?)

Then we were off to grocery store #1. The staff held my $100 bill up to the light to determine authenticity perhaps? Funny thing is, they did the same thing with my $10 bill and rejected it for a little tear.

Our fourth stop was grocery store #2.

Finally we stopped at the local fruit and veggie market for tons of fresh produce. Yum Yum.

We left town, got 5 minutes away and had a flat tire.

So we changed it. Thank goodness it happened when we did not have 5 roasting children in the car.

We stopped at a little town close to home to drop the tire off for repair. The serviceman assessed the tire and could not find the position of the leak (we had wondered what he would say because we could not find anything either).

WELL, he filled the tire with air and the air was clearly escaping from the sidewall of the tire. 1-2-3 different locations. Our tire was slashed! and I now knew why our radio was not working either. They had bent the antenna down. It seems the plan was to get us down the road with trouble, stop to assist and then rob us of money/groceries or both. It just depends on where this happened.

Perhaps lucky for us? Were we able to drive farther than anticipated? Were we able to flip a U turn and lose them (unknowingly). We did do a number of correction manouvers. OR were they expecting me to be sitting pretty in the car while Dad worked on the tire? AND our groceries to be laying out on site because they were placed where we needed access to the spare tire in the back of the van? Well, I was out helping Dad and our groceries were placed in the middle row of the van, not the back. An interesting fact is that a Tico (local Costa Rican) DID drive by honking at us.

Regardless, we returned home safely with only an attempt at clearing us of our goods. But let me tell you they would have cashed in! - especially on groceries.

Easter is a huge celebration down here and I imagine the pressure is on to provide at such a time of year. I liken it to stories we hear at home about Christmas theives.

My story should likely be titled Easter Banditos.

Dad laughs about it. I just question everything. Who? When? Where?

I'm just happy to have all the questions and nothing more to report.

"Is it safe?" you ask?
Yes. But it's not always settling.