To get away from the resultant carnage we drove into
Alajuela to trade our rental car with Wild Rides for something less
expensive. Our Nissan X-Trail had served its purpose by getting us and our
luggage to Puriscal in one piece but now we didn’t need something so large, and
we wanted to save some money. Our “new” vehicle was a ten-year old Hyundai
Tucson 4x4 with a 5-speed stick. It was okay but back home this would
kindly be referred to as a POJ. It reinforced my decision NOT to pursue a used
car purchase in Costa Rica—if this car was any indication of what we might get
in a used car.
While in Alajuela we went shopping at Wal-Mart which was
pretty much what you would expect in the States. However, parking at stores like
Wal-Mart, Maxi Pali, or Price Smart, is a prized commodity. At this Wal-Mart there
was covered parking on the first level, with the store above, and there was
surface parking in front. Armed guards patrolled the grounds and gave grave
looks to anyone who appeared to be using their parking space for purposes other
than shopping at their store.
People often used these parking lots to drop their cars and
then take a taxi into San Jose for the day. Driving inside the San Jose beltway
is controlled by your vehicles license number—the last digits of your tag determine
when you can drive in the central business district. It is your turn to
not be able to go on or the inside of the beltway from 6:30 am – 7:00 pm
from Monday to Friday.
Your Tag Day is determined by the last number of your
tag.
1-2 Monday, 3-4 Tuesday, 5-6 Wednesday, 7-8 Thursday, 9-0
Friday
I’ve heard how crazy
it is to drive in San Jose and have resolved NOT to experience that hassle unless
on a weekend—or not at all.
After our Wal-Mart run, we had lunch at La Tereza in
Atenas where we met Rosie and Chris—two other expats who had relocated from
Washington State. They are friends by way of Dallas’ sister in San Francisco
and we were interested in meeting up and hearing about their experiences. Currently,
they live in Atenas and had decided to settle there so they will be leasing a
place in Uvita in the Southern Pacific area, near the beach during the construction
of their home in Atenas.
Both locations are places we have discussed for long-term living
if Puriscal doesn’t work out.
