Damn Costa Rican Drivers! - Costa Rica: Part 3

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Damn..it's been a while since I've updated this, but between work, the social life, and of course, traveling, I've been busy, people. I did notice a trend on this time off though, in that if I provide much shorter entries with big humor, you all love it. So that's what I'll give you. Today, I'd like to focus on a topic that ran rampid through our time in Costa Rica. Driving.

When we decided to take this trip, our friend Steve agreed that he would rent a car and drive around the country. Now, he did not have to do this. However, because he decided to arrive and depart Costa Rica seperately from the group, he insisted on renting a car. After his white knuckle drive mentioned in a previous post, Steve came close to throwing in the towel. However, when push came to shove, Steve was going to be driving the group from Alajuela to Arenal Volcano. This is roughly a 4 hour drive, given the not-so-straight roads to Arenal. After we figured out where to leave from the hotel, our gps led us to the highway, not before cruising around downtown Alajuela. Now, in every country, cars drive on both sides of the road. This is not an uncommon practice. However, every time a car passed on the other side of the road, Steve insisted on cursing out the drivers, claiming they didn't know what they were doing. Mind you, he also did this everytime he had to pass a donkey, bike, child, or mobile fruit stand on the sides of the road. Needless to say, Steve had two hands on the wheel at all times. The other thing to be noted about driving is that the traffic laws are very lax, in the sense that there are few stop signs, and a traffic light, what the hell is that? Cars just sort of drive around however the feel, and you have to keep up and be alert. Not to mention, half the people driving around are not Costa Ricans. Once we got on the Inter-Americana, it was like driving up 95 with nearly 80% less traffic. However, once we got off, it was about a 2 hour drive on winding roads to Arenal. We passed some pretty amazing green scenery, cliffs, waterfalls, and stands that all sold local Palimino Cheese and cured meats. Of course, everytime a car passed, more cursing out of pottymouth Steve. Not a lot of cars heading in the opposite direction, but enough for some colorful commentary. We finally made it to our hotel in the Arenal area, and I think we were all relieved that we made it out alive. However, we had to pass about 6 monkeys that emerged out of the bushes right before we got there. It was cool to see them out in the open, and we spent a good 15 minutes watching their antics. Good thing they didn't fling s**t at the car.

We'll revisit Arenal in our next post, but for now, enjoy some pics from the drive and the Costa Rican scenery.

Until next time, safe travels
-Kacz

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Photos

Our driver
Scary, isn't it?

Watch out for the monkeys!
These drove Steve nuts too..