Bocas del Toro kinda sucks

[amw]

Ah, hostels. I remember why i dislike hostels. It's not so much the setup of shared room and shower, although obviously i would prefer privacy. It's the clientele. I think Paul Theroux described it well when he said that backpackers annoyed him because they invariably come from wealthy countries and travel poor countries, but somehow every

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[spiffikins]

And i really don't need to talk about Java 17 on my fucking holiday, man.
I giggled. NOBODY wants to talk about fucking Java 17. Fucking Oracle.

The whole "vendors importuning you to come spend money at my shop" - I've only really experienced this in Puerto Vallarta - walking through the main tourist area (I accidentally ended up there) - and every 2 steps it was a different vendor calling out "hey pretty lady" (I am NOT a pretty lady, LOL) - and offering to sell me the "best X" at the best prices. I allowed myself to be pulled in to a couple of little shops - most of them the stuff on the shelves was just COVERED in a layer of dust - and when I didn't buy anything, the vendor's mood turned dark pretty quickly - I learned really fast to just ignore everyone calling at me.

It did make me wonder though - in places like Puerto Vallarta where there is the "tourist area" - the beaches that are set up in front of the hotels and where the vendors have set up to sell you overpriced booze and mediocre food - do the locals resent it if the tourists venture into their local restaurants and beaches? Like "stay in your area and don't come ruin OUR spots" ?

Living in Santa Cruz, which has a significant tourism industry - there definitely is a culture of "Valley Go Home" - where the locals resent the weekend traffic coming over from Silicon Valley to "invade" the local beaches and make traffic a nightmare - outside of the typical summer months. It's like everyone puts up with the tourists during the high season - but once fall comes, or in the spring - we want to be able to enjoy "our" area without being overwhelmed by nonlocals.

So I often assume that in areas where there are the higher priced, touristy parts - that the locals would not be thrilled if I avoided those part and tried to find the little hole in the wall restaurant that caters to the locals.

But - I may be overthinking things :D

[amw]

Yeah, i think that kind of tourist touting is the same in all the big tourist hotspots around the world. It's probably more aggressive in places where there is a bigger gap between the income of the tourist and the local average income, though. I think this is why i prefer, if i visit tourist towns, to visit tourist towns that mostly cater to people who come from the same country that you're already in, and not to foreigners. Then there is still usually a gap, but it's not quite as pronounced.

I don't think that locals get annoyed if tourists find their cool spot, as long as the tourist isn't an obnoxious one. Like, if the tourist just drops by quietly and falls in line with how everyone else is there, then it's not a big deal. I experienced this a little bit in Berlin.

Of course the problem with "local's places" in major tourist destinations is that if you get a tourist who finds the "local's place" and writes a Google review saying "hidden gem!!!!" then that place might quickly be flooded by other tourists, which then ruins the original vibe that made it good. But i think usually the types who hunt out that kind of place in the first place respect what it is enough to not shout it from the rooftops and attract the wrong crowd.