Travel 101: The extreme sport of driving in Costa Rica

October 29, 7:43 PMDallas Living Abroad ExaminerLynn Farris

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The road from Nosara to San Jose during rainy season.  Photo by Donald Farris

Driving in Costa Rica offers two very different venues, both fraught with peril. Visitors to Costa Rica should not be afraid to rent a car and drive here, but they should learn a little about the extreme sport of driving in Costa Rica, before they try their hand.

The first venue is San Jose. Think driving in New York City, Rome and New Delhi and you get the picture. The local officials have tried to solve the problem by getting rid of 20% of the weekday traffic. On Monday, individuals with cars with license plates ending in 1 and 2 can not drive in the metro area, Tuesday, 3 and 4 and so forth. Locals claim this makes the situation much better. However, when we venture into San Jose, we normally park and hail one of the many cabs to get where we are going. Unless your Spanish is excellent, it is always a good idea to write where you are going on a note card to hand to the driver.

The other venue is the countryside, which is the majority of Costa Rica. Here there are a great many and varied obstacles to driving. While President Arias’ administration has improved the roads significantly in the country, there is still a great deal more to do. The roads in the mountains are windy, much like mountain roads elsewhere, there are lots of twists and turns and scary edges. This is sometimes made more difficult by heavy rains and fog. Remember, this is a country that boasts rain forests and cloud forests. While being spectacularly gorgeous, they also make driving more challenging.

Adding to the challenges of mountain driving is potholes. Actually one of the first new words I learned in Spanish when I moved to Costa Rica was hueco, (pronounced waco) the word for pothole. While some of these huecos are your standard garden variety pothole we find in the U.S., many of them are of the car eating variety. You often will see drivers weaving down the road, sometimes almost going off the road and sometimes crossing the center line. In the U.S. you would wonder if the driver was driving under the influence. Here in Costa Rica, we know that they are just going around the potholes. Drivers that are driving straight down the road are much more likely to be the ones who are intoxicated. It is always nice to follow a driver and you can see the route they are taking and if they are getting swallowed by any potholes.

If the fog, rain, twists and potholes weren’t enough we also have animals. Some of these animals appear as beautiful birds that can take your breath away or monkeys playing in trees. These sights can serve to distract you or the driver in the car in front of you or coming at you. Many drivers just stop in the middle of the road or pull only slightly over to the side to view them. Always be on the look out for stopped motorists viewing the wildlife. While you are at it, you may as well join in, stop your car too and ask them what they are viewing. Get your camera out and take a picture as well.

The other animals you have to be aware of are dogs, horses and cows. These animals seem to have a penchant for walking down the middle of the street, sometimes in groups and sometimes alone. I have to share that Costa Rica has what I believe are the most athletic cows in the world. Not only are these cows climbers, they love to go for long walks or runs down the highway. My last trip on the Pan American Highway , the highway that runs from the U.S. all the way through Central America, featured a bull running down the highway, weaving in and out of traffic alluding the farmer who trailed behind him trying to catch him. This chase seemed to go on for miles while we crawled along. On another drive, traffic on both sides of the road backed up for almost 15 minutes while a sloth crossed the road. It was an amazing encounter, but would count as another driving hazard.

Another animal you have to watch out for are homo sapiens. As there are few sidewalks outside of the city, many people get to where they are going by walking, riding a bike or riding a horse. It is also common to see people sitting on the edge of the road especially in the evening. Often, these people are wearing dark colors making driving at night a huge hazard for everyone concerned.

Some other challenges in the extreme sport of driving in Costa Rica include bridges. Most bridges in the country are only one lane wide. On one side of the bridge you will see either a sign or the words painted on the pavement CEDA. This means Yield. If your side says CEDA, you wait until all oncoming traffic has passed before you proceed.

There is a beautiful two lane bridge over the dam for Lake Arenal. The views of the lake and the volcano are amazing. Vendors sell food and other items at both ends of the dam. Since it is unusual to see a two lane bridge, the locals have decided that it is unnecessary. On the lane next to the lake, everyone parks and picnics. They stop and take pictures and enjoy a beautiful morning or afternoon in Costa Rica. Once again, you can argue about it – or "When in Costa Rica, do like the ticos do", take the time to stop and enjoy the spectacular view. Grab a snack with the vendor, get out your camera and take some pictures too.

Additional obstacles occur when bridges are washed out and you have to find alternative routes. Flooding may be so deep that you have to measure in some places to determine if your car can make it through. It is always wise to rent a car that is 4 wheel drive and is high off the ground. There are also mudslides which wash trees and other debris down the hill to block the road. Sometimes there is damage to the road that causes the road to be narrowed to one lane. Normally in this case a CEDA will also occur. All of this information is for when you are on paved roads. Driving on unpaved roads is another article and it is full of challenges as well.

Some of the other words you should be watching for as you drive in Costa Rica are PELIGRO which means danger and NO HAY PASA which means do not enter.

So my advice is to go ahead and rent that car here in Costa Rica, with the Costa Rica GPS. Drive slowly. Often on the back roads in the country we rarely get above 20 miles per hour. We don’t get where we are going quickly but we have learned to adapt and enjoy the journey. We also try as much as possible to not drive at night. Driving at night adds a whole new dimension to the sport of extreme driving in Costa Rica.