Remember, Americans are the oversized, overweight, over use, over do it humans in the world. That tico was right..."because gringos can afford it" and are dumb enough to think no one will snatch something away from them. Don't leave anything in site and it won't be stolen. The average tico makes $300 a you blame them. I'd like to see an American live off that.....welfare pays more. I had a friend with me in Jaco and he set his sandles and pack of cigs on a log on the beach while we surfed. I told him not to, but he did it anyway. As we were trading waves, we watched a tico sit on the log, smoke one of his cigs, then get up and take my buddies flipflops with him as he walked down the beach....I laughed my ass off cause there wasn't a dam thing we could do but watch. By the time we would've paddled in that tico would've been half way to San Jose...besides the waves were great that morning. I'm just sayin............ I love our country but sometimes I wonder how we became a superpower or how we still function in this country. The ocean brings it all back into prespective...everytime.