Puntarenas, Garabito
Playa Tamarindo is one of the most visited beach communities in Costa Rica, and it is easy to see why. This is a beach that seemingly has it all: Great… Read more » Continue reading →

Playa Tamarindo is one of the most visited beach communities in Costa Rica, and it is easy to see why. This is a beach that seemingly has it all: Great year-round weather, excellent surfing conditions, lots of nature, plenty of amenities for foreigners, a vibrant nightlife scene, etc. What Tamarindo is missing, however, are public restrooms.

According to a recent article written by Andreas Cordero of daily tabloid La Teja, more than 50,000 visitors who arrive in Playa Tamarindo each year find themselves at odds when nature calls. Faced with a notorious absence of public restrooms, tourists start looking for a place to tend to their bodily needs and scout commercial establishments such as hotels, bars and restaurants.

Some business owners and operators in Playa Tamarindo will gladly open their bathroom doors to those in need and benefit from the increased traffic. Still, many others take a more capitalistic approach and require that those with biological urges buy something at their establishments (preferably beer to ensure their return). The alternative would be to pay between 500 and 800 colones (approximately $1 to $1.30) for the right to micturate or excrete in their toilets.

Playa Tamarindo is hardly the only beach community in Guanacaste or even Costa Rica that lacks public restrooms. This is not something of great consequence in the more pristine and less visited beaches where visitors can simply tend to the call of nature by becoming one with nature. Notwithstanding, many people feel that the lack of public restrooms in Tamarindo is scandalous; this is, after all, a beach that is known as “Tamagringo” due to its large expatriate community and its ability to attract lots of foreign visitors.

A few months ago, an exasperated visitor drew inspiration from Marcel Duchamp’s Dadaist masterpiece “Fountain” to decry the zero public restroom situation in Tamarindo. The improvised sculpture, a picture of which accompanies this article, features a picket sign written in colloquial Costa Rican Spanish. An approximate translation is offered below:

“In light of the lack of public restrooms in Tamarindo, you can bare your ass here.”

The colorful and expressive sculpture echoes the sentiments of visitors and locals interviewed by La Teja concerning this matter:

“It’s an odd message that really calls attention to the fact that children, families and senior citizens need a place where they can evacuate and perhaps wash off the salt from the ocean. I mean, showers would be nice!”
“I work at a local hotel, and I can tell you that there are no public restrooms. The town residents have complained to the mayor, but there is no will to solve the problem.”

La Teja interviewed Jorge Enrique Chavarria, Mayor of the Santa Cruz Canton:

“We are aware that the public restrooms are needed and we are putting together a project in order to build some early next year (2015). We have not done it yet due to lack of funds.”