I met Sergio last summer at the bar in the town I was staying. He was the bartender there and I was at the bar for the first time with some friends. Thinking I could dance, I got up with my best friend to salsa to the music and we were having some trouble. Sergio then came over and took me from her and started dancing. I could tell he was interested right away and I had such a great time. He told me he was 23. It was perfect.
In the days that followed, Sergio and I spent all the time we could together. We would hang out in the park, back at the bar, my host house, in town, and the whole time he treated me like I was his princess even through we had just met. I felt like I was in a fairytale.
I sadly could only be with Sergio for 2 weeks. The goodbye was traumatic, not because I was leaving Sergio, but because I was leaving the fairytale that had just become my life for two weeks. It’s nice being treated like a princess but sometimes the relationship should just end there. I later found out things about Sergio that would have made me leave the romance on the first dance if I had known. I do not regret anything, but I do know that our relationship could never go further then those first two weeks.
In my experience, Ticos are great lovers, but complicated boyfriends. I kept in touch with Sergio for the year after my trip and he still tells me he loves me and wants to be with me but I know that could never work. He has his world, and I have mine.
I will be back in that town for the next three weeks and I wonder whether I will see my two week Latino prince ever again.
Here are four reasons why Ticos make the best temporary:
- There is a whole different culture in Costa Rica. Cheating is not out of the ordinary for some Ticos and Ticas. They know that cheating is frowned upon in America, so some boys will not be very honest about what they are doing. They will, however, treat you like a princess the whole time you are with them.
- Ticos live in Costa Rica. Most people who are reading this are going to travel to Costa Rica from a place far away. Long distance relationships can be hard for anyone and having a boyfriend in the tropical, romantic paradise of Costa Rica, while you are in your country, can be difficult to deal with.
- Ticos will show you an incredible time in an incredible country, but once your trip ends, so will your romance. The time spent with them will be romantic, sexy, beautiful, full of laughter, and memorable… but it should be temporary.
- Pura Vida.
I have gathered these reasons from my experience in Costa Rica. Other people may have great loves while there but I have learned about the cultural differences and experienced how those differences can affect a relationship. Still, Costa Rica is my favorite place in the world, where people should live through experience and have fun! As I am writing this, I am on a plane flying to Costa Rica for the third time, and I cannot wait for what this time brings me!
Live the Pura Vida.