Hey backpackers! When did tourist become a bad word?

Yesterday I came to Manuel Antonio. I'm staying in the nearby town of Quepos with some peeps I met in Montezuma. The hostel here is actually really nice and my favorite part about it is they have 4 awesome dogs that just hang around. I love it.

Today, I headed over to Manuel Antonio National Park. To be honest, I didn't see much of the park... i did a very small hike to one of the beaches and then hung out there with other friends most of the day. I DID however see a ton of cool animals! There were monkeys everywhere! Also, SLOTHS. Yes, sloths. They really move so slowly and are the funniest looking creatures. Did you know they were furry? I didn't. Also... I wasn't expecting this but there were families of wild raccoons! I thought those only lived in our garbage cans in Connecticut.

One thing I've realized in the past few years is that I'm not really a backpacker. I mean, sure i carry a big pack on me and stay at hostels... but i can't really get behind much of the backpacker mentality. "Backpackers" seem to have become the most recent group of conforming non-conformists...along with hipsters and the old grunge crew from the early nineties.

#1 thing backpackers do that annoys me - they talk about money ALL the time. Everything is too expensive. Everything. I understand that you are used to paying $3 a night in Nepal but this hostel costs $12 and you are American. Are you really going to tell me that's "expensive?" It includes a pool and breakfast!
And I promise - I know what it's like to not have money but i don't understand why people can't realize that different people have different budgets. Would it hurt you to just say "go for it... i'll grab some cheaper grub and meet up with you later." Instead, we are often judged for spending a lot on something... like we are doing something wrong. We are breaking backpackers code.

I just think different people have different budgets. The end?

Similarly, you go to bust out your camera to photograph something and a "backpacker" comments "are you going to get all touristy on us?" Um... aren't we all tourists? Is it really a faux pas to take a photo while you're on vacation? If so, i'm going to faux pas away, thankyouverymuch.

When did tourist become a bad word? Aren't backpackers tourists too? Everything is "touristy." We are all using the same guidebook. Seriously. You see that dreaded kid in the hostel and that 50 year old man at the resort next door? You both have the same lonely planet book. I don't see why backpackers are "above" tourists. They are tourists! We all are.

Lastly, backpackers have become more and more hypocritical. They want to have the most "authentic" experience... yet a lot of the time, they don't like it when people don't speak English. I am trying my hardest to learn and speak as much Spanish as I can while other backpackers are still saying "San Jo- zay" (with a hard "j".) Really? You can't TRY to pronounce "San Jose" correctly? You have travelled the world yet you can't say "Gracias" instead of "Thank you?" Ridonk.

Ridonk, I tell you.

Aaaaanyway, that's the end of that rant. In other news, I'm hoping to get to a $15 all you can eat sushi buffet tonight... if the other backpackers don't scoff me for it! "$15? Its astronomical!" ;)

Tomorrow, i take a bus to San jose and then a taxi to Santa Ana. Apparently, I'm staying in a fancy hotel b/c it's all i can find. The backpackers may freak out but its my last night and i think that will be a nice treat for myself! aw yea!