Getting
Around in San Jose
One
of the most common complaints made
by visitors and long term tourists
alike is the lack of road signs and
street markings.
It's true that
anyone used to the North American or
European way or marking streets with
names and each house or building
with a number, might find themselves
rather confused in the hustle and
bustle of the city with almost no
signs at all, and where one existed,
it is not readable or makes any
sense.
In San Jose and for
the most part, the rest of the
country, directions are based on
landmarks and distances from such
and such.
That is, you will be told
to walk a certain distance past a
particular landmark. Distances are
usually given in blocks that are
supposed to be 100 meters. But don't
take out your tape measure. 100
meters usually refers to a city
block. A half block thus is 50
meters and so on.
A
typical direction could look like
this; ' del parque Morzanl, cien
metros al sur y doscientos al oeste,
el porton verde con rejas negras'.
If by chance
the door or the fence is re-painted
a different color, you are in
serious confusion - that is if you
know where the Parque Morazan is in
the first place!
This may seem
overwhelming for the uninitiated or if you are not accustomed to
carrying a compass, again if you know where north and south to begin with.
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Parque Morazan |
San Jose and most small communities are
organized in the grid system, a way that
is quite easy to know in which direction
to walk.
All roads are divided into even and odd
numbers, Streets or "Calles" usually
running North and South and Avenues or "Avenidas"
East and West.
To simply matters (ehm) using this simple
keep the following in mind: all Calles and
Avenidas in the South and West quadrants
are EVEN; all Calles in the North
and East quadrants are ODD
Still confused, you should be. It takes
time to get oriented to the system.
In San Jose, if you
were to stand at the very center of town at Calle 0 and Avenida 0, you
now have a guide to which way to walk to your direction.
Walking East from your central point, you will cross 1st, 3rd, 5th and
so on, the same way South would take you to 2nd, 4th, 6th and so on.
So, if you you happen to be at Calle 5 (5th Street) and Avenida 26 (26th
Avenue) you would be standing in the NorthWest quadrant of the city.
It may sound confusing
at first, but you will soon get the hang of it.
It's one of those many idiosyncracies of Costa Rica and which make it a
special place.
And if you really need help, just ask any of the locals, even if your
Spanish is not that good.
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A word of advice
though. Ask three or more different people
each at various points of your
journey, turning and changing your
heading based on the most common
direction given. If two or more
agree on the direction, then it is likely
the right one, but not necessarily.
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If each is
different and this can happen, take
the route that seems most logical to
you and if all else fails, take a
taxi.
Most taxi drivers know the streets well and can locate your destination
easily. However, there are times where this method fails, especially if
a taxi driver thinks he has 'sucker' to take you around about when your
destination was only a few blocks away. A note on taxis, they are all
red, identified by a yellow triangle with the taxi number and must
use a meter at all times, save for trips that are over 12 kms, and then
the prices is fixed. Ask first. |
If all else fails, go back to your
starting point and start again. Try to
locate landmarks that can make your search
easier. If all else fails, take the day
off and try again tomorrow.
You've just experienced what we call a
'Costa Rica Day', when everything just
goes wrong!
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