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I was in Costa Rica for 10 days.  I had both good and bad experiences.  Some
places were helpful and understanding and others just didn't understand even
though I had a restaurant card in Spanish.  It didn't seem to depend on the
quality of the place we ate.  Though the card said to be careful about soups,
salsas, etc. it just confused them more....they thought that it meant I
couldn't have salsa.  Not one place ever said the meal I picked contained any
gluten.  After 7 days of this, I decided that they were never going to admit to
gluten, if they even understood.  Those that seemed to understand always said
that everything was all natural, just spices or natural juices, like in an
orange marinade.  So I gave up asking.

It seemed to me that in everything, including tours, that the Ticos (Costa
Ricans) tell you what you want to hear, regardless of the truth.  This goes for
the water too, they tell you that you can drink the water, but don't believe
it.  See my post on traveller's diarhea.  Another example was our private beach
at Makanda, that they said was beautiful, we walked down over 500 stairs to get
there and it smelled bad and was ugly, and we couldn't swim in the water.  They
said monkeys and sloths would parade by our rooms but that is another lie.
Sloths only come out of trees to defecate and the monkeys were at a distance.
And this was one of the best hotels in Costa Rica.

The most successful experience was a big surprise.  I ate at a little place in
Orotina on the way from San Jose to Manuel Antonio called Restaurante Antojito
Real.  The owner made a huge effort to make me happy, even with advice for us
to avoid diahrea.  He was used to helping diabetics and referred to my card
several times to be sure.  He even gave me a rose for Valentine's day.
However, on the way home we stopped to see him again but he wasn't there, just
a waiter who couldn't understand even our broken Spanish.  So we ordered a coke
with much difficulty and left.  Let me know if you want to stop there, and I'll
explain where it is.

Also good was La Mansion in Manuel Antonio, which also has an incredible view
from the highest deck above the pool.  We ate at La Cantina in Manuel Antonio.
The owner there is American, so you can talk to him.  I was the first celiac he
had met.  He said, "But you look so healthy..."  So I suggest stopping by for
an appetizer and letting him know I'm not the only one.  We stayed at Makanda
in Manuel Antonio and the food at the Sunspot Grill is quite good, I always
felt great after eating there, you can make a reservation.

The best experience of the places we stayed was at the Peace Lodge at La Paz
Waterfall Gardens.  They tried really hard to help us pick food.  Also, this
was the most beautiful and best place we stayed.

Don't expect good steak anywhere in Costa Rica, it is almost always terribly
tough.  If you see the cows there, you will understand why.

Overall, I think that the typical food doesn't contain the offending grains.
The more Americanized the place, the more likely you will start to see wheat
tortillas.  It's easy to get just rice and beans, even for breakfast, but
harder to get plain meat without sauces.  I'm lucky not to be sensitive, but I
still don't think that I consumed any gluten.  But the more typical (local),
the more you have to watch for diahrea

Good luck.  If you can get help with a restaurant card from a Spanish-speaker,
you may have better luck than me.  Choose the card carefully and don't expect
too much.  Costa Ricans are really nice, but don't like confrontation, so be
polite.  Good luck.

If you want a smile, say Pura Vida (Poo-rah Vee-da.....Pure life)!  They love
it.

If you want more information such as tours or what things were like, let me
know, I'd be happy to share.
Diane, PA

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