Cathy and Gil's Excellent Adventure Day 1
I'll start with the good news....it was catch and release day in heaven today!! The day started out perfectly enough. After kissing the dogs goodbye we made it to the airport without incident where the plane left ontime from Chicago, had a perfectly effecient one hour layover in Florida before touching down on time in Costa Rica.
Had my first Spanish conversation with a young man mopping the floors in front of the bathrooms while I was waiting for Gil. It was wonderful. He actually understood what I said and we parted with a big smile and a hearty, "Pura Vida!!". Then went through customs totally in Spanish and got directions to the rental car place, again in Spanish. Then our first bit of good luck...met some folks at the rental car place who said they knew where they were going and told us we could follow them. How nice!!
Of course, it would have been nicer if they would have been correct about knowing where they were going. Matters are futher complicated by the fact that roads don't have names here....they don't even have names on the map, only colors, and the same color is used for scores of different roads. Also no signs when entering or leaving a town.
I have decided that if you're not lost here, it's only because you don't realize that you are lost.
Anyway, we parted with our "helpers" as soon as we lucked upon the road that eventually led us to where we were trying to go. It was a beautiful but stressful drive, with hairpin turns, vertical climbs and buses stopping on hills that are pitched at a 45 degree angle while Gil tries his best but often fails to keep the car from beginning to roll down the hill. Yes, it's nervewracking, but hey, this is supposed to be an adventure!
Well, to make a long story short, we once again got lost and ended up on a series of potholes on the side of a cliff. A man (an angel?) happened by on a bicycle and we asked him how to get where we were trying to go. He told us we had to turn around.
Here is a travel tip......don't turn around on a crested, one lane potholed dirt path on the side of a mountain. In trying to turn around, Gil missed the gear and the car rolled forward within inches of the cliff. The only option (other than to jump out of the car and call for a tow truck which is what I thought the more prudent thing to do at that point) was to try to gun the car into reverse, hope the gear took and hope to go backward instead of forward. The car didn't exactly catch the gear, but it moved backward enough so that one wheel fell into a pothole, saving us from certain doom. From the safety of the pothole we were able to engage the reverse gear and complete the turn. That was TOO much adventure.
We finally made it here, had a lovely dinner in the open air of the tropical rainforest just outside Maneul Antonio National Park. I got a new word for the phrasebook....cazadora...literally female hunter, but used here to refer to the last bus of the night.
Signing out for now as we listen to the waves of the Pacific crash into the rocks just below us......cathy and gil.
13 Answers
The streets here officially have names, sometimes two or three, but only have signs in the larger cities, and then only occassionally. There are also cases where there are two streets next to each other with the same name. There are only a few street signs in the village where we live: one that says 2nd Ave. on 4th Ave. and one that says 1st Ave. on 2nd Ave. are the only two that come to mind. One of our friends has the address "The house by the ocean one block from the statue." (there is more than one statue in town, but. . .). Our address includes the color of our house and the names of the streets at the nearest intersection, but our water and electric bills use different names for the same streets. . .they don't have mail delivery here, so it doesn't really matter I guess. On a related note, there is a rumor that they are going to open a second post office in the state. . .maybe sometime this year.
My wife and I have lived in Costa Rica for 3 years.
It is true there is no street address system in the country. On the city maps you will see a nice grid systems of streets and avenues. Unfortunately, there are no street signs on the streets. If you tell a taxi driver you want to go to the corner of 38th street and 3rd avenue, he will look at you like you are nuts. He has absolutely no idea where 38th street is. Now if you say 300 meters north of Pizza Hut your in business. We use a large law firm in San Jose. Their address is something like "300 meters east of the Holiday Inn". Of course if you don't know where the Holiday Inn is.......The address of Holiday Inn is probably 300 meters west of the law firm Facio & Canas. Of course, mail delivery is pretty tricky. Most people use a post office box rather than relying on the mail getting to their house.
One thing is revolutionizing directions and in the country....GPS...The maps are locally made and very good. GPS will get you where you want to go.
An option to renting a car is to hire a driver with his car. Its about the same price and much less stressful. In addition, the driver will know of some restaurants and places to go, you would have never found. We still keep in touch with a driver we hired on our first trip to Costa Rica 5 years ago.
"Pura Vida" is a very common response to "Como esta?" in Costa Rica. Also, its never "Como estas?" The "tu" version of you is virtually not used here, not even between mothers and their children. On the bus you will hear mothers telling their kids "venga, venga".
Pura Vida Dan
Matters are futher complicated by the fact that roads don't have names here....they don't even have names on the map, only colors, and the same color is used for scores of different roads. Also no signs when entering or leaving a town.
I can only second this, lol, sounds funny for a European mind, but I used to have a penpal from Costa Rica and the adress was something like this:
Pepe Flores
San José
La esquina de la panadería, luego torcer a la derecha, la última casa de la izqierda, en casa de Doña Josefa
Wow what an adventure. I can't wait to experience the insanity of Costa Rica. We are moving there in August for a year of language school before moving to Peru.
I wonder what the bus drivers call out as they pass streets?
Great story. I am looking to hear the rest of it.
Wow... Street without names???? I really wonder how you managed Cathy... I cannot identify even the streets with name. 
Have a great trip... Keep us updated and please post some pics too...
Thank you so much for keeping this journal. Day one sounds so exciting...I can't wait to hear more. What a great adventure!
Great story. I can picture my husband trying to turn round in just that situation.
Wow! I was just thinking about you two when I clicked onto Spanishdict. What a day! I cannot believe that this morning you were still at home and this evening you are in a tropical paradise!
Good grief...driving can be such an adventure...I use the term "adventure" loosely.
I loved the "pura vida"! I can honestly say that I have never heard that term used like that here in Mexico. Would it be equivalent to "ándale, pues"? Maybe a Spanishdict member will be able to answer that question in the comment section.
Also, "cazadora" will be a perfect entry for the Phrasebook. Get it in there! 
Is the term "camión" used for "bus", or "guagua" or "autobús" or "autocar" or something else?
Que descansen bien...se lo merecen!
I am So glad you are safe!! I'd like to put this in caps but...I certainly don't want to fall into the dunce corner for yelling. lol Something tells me you were doing alot of yelling and crying on that turnaround! Again, take care of yourselves, you two!! And keep letting us know of your adventures!
What a wonderful adventure.
You really do have a keen knack for storytelling.
I really look forward to hearing how the rest of your trip goes.
This Sound excellent on both language and travel fronts!. The fact that Streets have no name reminds me of article I read in Viente Mundos recently about the nameless streets in Panama. Maybe the city planners in Central America ran out of names for streets. I agree with Hiedi, that would have confused me too. 
I'm so glad you keep us informed, and knowing that you are having a good time.
Enjoy all you can! You're the best.
Your Spanish is already very good, and you're becoming fluent in a few days, you'll see. I can't wait for hearing you soon.
Pura vida para ti, my friend.
