Cars

Woo hoo we got to drive around in a real live car today! The bad news is after riding in the downtown traffic to Escazu to visit the big mall, and driving home, I have had enough driving to last me a couple of years.

The roads in Costa Rica are barely wide enough for two cars, and the people try to drive three wide on them so it is crazy. I never realize how crazy the folks here drive when I am on the bus or in Taxis since I am not the one worrying about getting hit.

When we moved here we made a decision not to have a car. Some days that turns out to be a big fat mistake. But I have to admit most days I love not having the headache of breakdowns, tires, oil changes, etc to deal with.

When we want to go someplace we just call a Taxi and away we go. Now we have to babysit our car for the next few days and make sure it is kept safe and does not get ripped off or damaged. The joys of wheels!

TAXI DRIVING JERKS

I have to say that most of our experiences with taxi drivers have been very positive here. In fact we have quite a few funny "pick-up" stories about taxi drivers. One time when we were in Nicaragua a cute young guy gave us a good deal on the long ride to the beach town of San Jaun del Sur. We got in the car, the girls in the back and hubby in the front. As soon as we got in he adjusted his mirrors so that he could see the gorgeous teenager in his rearview mirror the whole two hours there. But he did make one stop in town to buy a new cd, an English love song cd! It was freakin' hilarious.

The other funny one was when the old toothless guy picked us up. I was in the backseat this time and he kept looking in the rearview at me. He asked my daughter how long we had lived in Costa Rica and how our Spanish was. He told her that if her Mama had a Tico boyfriend she would learn Spanish really quickly. I may not speak good Spanish, but I understand it, hello! As he kept talking and looking I asked my daughter if we should get out of the car. She said "no I think I'm good, but you may want to get out anytime now." Funny.

Tonight we went to the mall to meet the tall one and have some ice cream. We got in the taxi van to head home. Now we all take taxis together all the time. They do sometimes tell us no if there are all five of us, insisting they only take four at a time. In that case we usually just find another driver who will take us. We thought good tonight because we got the taxi van. A little more expensive because of the extra gas, but no hassles. Boy were we wrong. He started in right away talking to my daughters boyfriend about how they charge more when there are more than four people. Lie number one. Then he kept talking about it all the way up to the house. The meter read 1900 when we got home. Tall one went to hand him a 2000 bill and he said no it was 2800, because of the extra person. We said no we only pay what is on the meter. He started giving us crap and hubby came out of the house, that was when he sped off and threw the 2000 out the window, cool free ride!

BOAT OR CAR?

We have lived here in Costa Rica for almost three years without a car. I have not had the desire to get one, but the baby is making a fuss. Of course that changes everything verdad? The other day we got ready to ride the bus to her sisters house and she threw a fit. She wanted to get a taxi! Then she asked me when we were going to get a car. I told her we don't need a car, it is just a lot of trouble and I like having someone else drive me around. She did not buy this and is still determined that it is time for us to buy a car.

Now my question is should we really buy a car or should we think about a boat? My hubby loves to go to the beach and fish with the son in law. They would spend many happy hours fishing and maybe even bring home some food, if they got really lucky.

That would make much more sense to me than a car. We can take a taxi or bus anywhere, with a relatively small amount of inconvenience. Having sold four cars when we left the states I am in no hurry to go and purchase another one. If we feel a real need for a car we can rent one for a few days and get our fix of driving around. In fact we will be renting a car next week to go celebrate our 30th anniversary at Arenal.

Without a car we have no worries, except of course getting to the bus in time! Baby drew a picture for school a couple of weeks ago. It was a bus with people on it. In the background was us running to try and catch the bus! Pretty common site to be sure.