| You can get confused in Costa Rica trying to find your
way around especially in San José. Except for the center
of San José, most streets have no names or numbers,
or they are not in a visible place. People use known landmarks
to get around, to locate addresses and give directions. If
you are unfamiliar with this system. it is almost impossible
to find your way around, and easy to get lost. Don't worry.
After you have lived in Costa Rica awhile, you will get used
to this system. In the event you get lost, you can always
ask Costa Ricans for directions provided you understand
a little Spanish or they speak some English.
As you know, Costa Ricans are generally very friendly and
are usually happy to help you find the address you are seeking.
However, it is always a good idea to ask a second person,
because most ticos are embarrassed to admit they don't
know an address and will sometimes give you directions whether
they know where you want to go or not.
Here are some basic tips on how to get around Costa Rica
and understand how the street numbering works. It is somewhat
easier to find your way in downtown San José because
of the layout of the city. Avenues, or Avenidas, run
east west. All the odd-numbered avenues are north of Central
Avenue (Avenida Central). The even-numbered avenues
are south. Streets, or Calles, run north south, with
oddnumbered streets east of Calle Central and even-numbered
streets to the west.
If you get lost, looking for a street sign on the side of
a building and counting by two's will usually help you get
your bearings. Keep in mind that the word avenue is often
abbreviated as A and streets as C when you get written directions.
To find your way around Costa Rica, you also need to know
that 100 meters (cien metros) is another way of saying
one block. Likewise, 50 meters (cincuenta metros) is
a half-block and 150 meters (ciento cincuenta metros)
a block and a half. The word varas (an old Spanish
unit of measurement, almost a yard) is slang and often used
instead of the word metros (meters) when giving directions.
Landmarks, such as corner grocery stores (pulperías),
churches, schools and other buildings, are usually used with
this metric block system to locate addresses. For example,
in finding a house someone might say, From Saint Paul's Church,
200 meters west and 300 meters south. In interpreting written
directions you should also know that M stands for meters.
An old trick Costa Ricans often use for finding the four
compass points may make it easier for you to get your bearings
straight. The front doors of all churches in Costa Rica face
west. So, if there is a church nearby, imagine yourself with
your back to the entrance of the church you are facing
west.
If you live in San José, there is another method for
finding the compass points. Poás Volcano is north,
the Cruz de Alajuela mountain approximately south, the direction
of Cartago is east and the general direction of the La Sabana
or Rohrmoser is west. This system of using landmarks should
make it easier for you to find your way around the city.
The time wasted searching for a house or building in Costa
Rica may be a thing of the past. The Costa Rican postal system
plans to initiate a new plan that will introduce a uniform
system of street and house numbers.
Signs will be posted on street corners following a coordinated
system of colors, sign sizes and symbols. Blue signs will
mark international thoroughfares, yellow will be used to indicate
inter-provincial highways and white will denote interurban
roads. Homeowners will be told where to place their number
signs. This system will be tested in several areas with the
hope of extending it to all parts of the country within three
years. Let us hope this system becomes a reality to make everyone's
life easier.
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