Departure: May 16th, 0600

I checked us in for our flight on the 15th to save time at the airport. The drive to the airport takes about 90 minutes. It was uneventful and we made good time.

Airport Parking:

I don't know about your airport, but Hartsfield-Jackson in ATL has a park and ride. We used it for the first time and we will use it again. It's cheaper and the van drives you right to the terminal. No bag drag : )

Upon our return, the van driver checked the parking information provided by the first van driver and took us right to our vehicle. No bag drag and no searching for the Murano in the dark : )

Arrival in San Jose:

We arrived in San Jose on a balmy Friday afternoon (1300 local time). We were excited and ready to start our Costa Rican adventure. Our first stop was to pick up our rental car.

Rental Car:

Rental cars can be expensive by the time you add in the expense of the insurance (collision, tire, and windshield insurance) is recommended. If you don't have nerves of steel, you might consider using public transportation. Buses and taxis are readily available and affordable.

Navigation:

Tico's do not use maps (this information from a local who was kind enough to speak to and help visitors, in very good english I might add). Tico's don't use addresses either; they use landmarks plus they have the advantage of knowing where they are.

Anyway, we quickly got used to the landmark method of navigation . . . McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, and Mega Super (Tico version of wal-mart). Street signs are far and few between and are hard to see even when they are posted.

Without notice, streets can change from two-way to one-way. If you are lucky enough to see a sign that reads "No Hay Paso" do not enter. I cannot count the number of times we ended up on a one-way street. Dangerous.

We had relatively good directions to our hotel and we made it without incident, giving us a false sense of confidence in our ability to drive in and navigate in this city.

Other Street Signs:

Alto = Stop

Despacio = Slow

No Hay Paso = One Way

Driving in General:

It's ok to honk your horn. There is a difference in the friendly "I am going to pass you" tap and the "Get the %#&@ out of my way" bleet. You will quickly discover which is which.

It appears to be ok to run red lights, cut in and out of traffic, and turn in front of oncoming traffic. The streets may or may not have lanes. Tico's just drive where they want (at least it felt that way to us) and they are aggressive.

Did I mention that it's a good idea to purchase insurance for your rental car?