Aero: Marriah Gough – Costa Rica 2015 – City Life

Aero: Marriah Gough – Costa Rica 2015 – City Life
Creative Commons Image via The LEAF Project

Aero: Marriah Gough – Costa Rica 2015 – City Life

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Marriah Gough

When arriving at my new home in Costa Rica, the first thought that came to mind as I arrived at the house was “Wow, I though the United States was bad”. By stating this I simply meant that us Americans are crazy when it comes to driving, and are known for our road rage and numerous accidents throughout each year for our careless driving. After just going down a few blocks, I was more nervous than ever. It was such a different atmosphere and culture than back home. My cousins always joked around with me when I was first learning to drive by telling me that the stop signs with the white borders around them are optional; when in Costa Rica, that was all I could think about.

When driving, a majority of the traffic is controlled by honking the horn, and communication. It is almost like first come first serve. There may be stop signs, but if there is no one around, you just keep going. There are stop lights thank goodness, and those are still mandatory. What I did notice however is that when the stop lights are about to change color, the next color that it is going to be changes to that color arrow and flashes, allowing the drivers to have a heads up to the traffic signal changing, rather than accidentally blowing through a yellow light or red light. The streets were clean and for the most part flat and not full of pot holes until we got further into the mountains, then it was a different story. There were also a lot of one way streets, and on almost every street there was a speed bump. Some people flew over these speed bumps, others stopped and didn’t try to ruin their car; it was all out of preference I guess. Another major difference between home and Costa Rica was the pedestrian walking. Again, it all relates back to the communication factor. There are crosswalks in Costa Rica as well, but depending on how many cars there are as well as people basically determines when one crosses. You will see people weaving in and out between cars to cross the street, but here, most people wait for the crosswalk and stop lights; key word is most. The biggest thing that was different was that most people drive around on motorcycles, mopeds, and dirt bikes and had to wear a bright reflective body band so that other drivers could see them. These drivers were allowed to pass whenever, and wherever, even on sidewalks. They would weave in and out of driving cars, and pass on either side. There were really no restrictions to passing for them, let alone any driver for that matter. Ticos just drove as they pleased really. It was certainly a lot different than back home. I am glad I wasn’t driving there; I would get honked at all the time and not in a good way.

ML@FLCC Costa Rica
2015 Flickr Gallery

The city of Alajuela was very laid back and reminded me of a calmer version of Syracuse. There were mini corner stores everywhere that consisted of banks, super markets, barber shops etc. The biggest difference was the Cathedral. The trick with the Cathedral was that it was the center of town; if you could locate the Cathedral, you would be good to go with your directions and locating where you were or needed to go. Back home, there are multiple churches close by, and they all look alike. There aren’t as many twists and turns in the roads like back home; the town is mainly square and made up of blocks so you can walk pretty much anywhere. However, when looking at San Jose, I felt like I was in New York City. There were tons of people, many people selling goods on the streets, doing everything and anything to make money. It got to the point where one street was completely shut down for traffic and became a road just for pedestrians it was traveled on so much. That type of setting is not for me; way too many people. When we traveled to Arenal, and to La Basillica, the view was amazing. Not every day do you get to pull aside the road and take pictures of mountains and water, or better yet sloths and tree frogs. The higher we traveled on the roads, the more curves we approached. This part wasn’t flat, and was a bumpy ride but the view was amazing. Something you certainly do not see in New York.

Marriah Gough
LEAF Contributor