“When I fall in love, it will be forever” – We have fallen in love with Costa Rica and the people here. All the smiles, happy faces, the beautiful and diverse nature with jungel and beach, fresh fruit and veggies, the worlds best ceviche, loud animal and nature sounds and smells – all of it, we have never experienced anything alike.
But HMS on the road, however, oh well, thats different….
As an exchange student with YFU (youth for understanding) at high school back in Minnesota in 1998 (last century..), I was upon arrival told by one of the mentors that a lot there would probably differ a great deal from what I was used to back home. However, she emphasized that even though things are different, it doesn’t mean that they are stupid or bad – don’t judge, don’t insult, just state the fact that its different! So the phrase much used; “oh, that’s different!” I guess applies here, no judgement, just sheer fascination (and a little bit of braking on the non-existent brakes on the passenger side of our car once in a while and grabbing the dashboard to Eriks enormous frustration). Well, I tell you, the road and the driving here is different from “Lyckligagatan” at Eiksmarka (where the speed limit is 30km/hr and the grumpy neighbourlady sends out an email when the kids living there make a havoc riding their bikes or just play in the streets, in her opinion with the sole agenda of blocking her way to speed home to her driveway). I chuckle as I write this, a little because it feels exotic to be part of this here, and a little because I´m happy we survived so far…
Pedestrians on the motorway 
Narrowing of road over all bridges with room for 1 car 
Sometimes the steep redactors are marked, sometimes you rush up on them quite unknowingly until you hit them – and then you know … 
Dont need rope to guard the kayak, need a person to stand on the hanger going full speed… 
Roadside obstacles 
Moving roadside obstacles 1 
Moving roadside obstacles 2 
Motorbikes, bikes or trailers 
Overtaking other viechles – it being uphill or going around bends..
Ski-goggles on the motorcyclists, surfboards straddled across on mopeds/ATV, loose horses on the main roads, the list is endless – and so very exotic and fascinating.
Skigoggles 
Skigoggles2
Oversized car&truckloads on stretches of roads that would even leave experienced truck drivers up north and west in Norway flabbergasted!
Top-heavy truck about to be bypassed by a motorcyclist 
and seatbelts? well..
Costa Rica – land of signs galore! The following pictures tells all. Imagine coming to a possible traffic junction and being met by about 20 signs, either right there at the junction, or during the last 20 meters coming up to it! I tell you, some hot headed yelling does happen in the (our) car when one of us is supposed to follow google maps and give the driver correct directions because the decision of turning off or not needs to be decided in an instant, but happens to be busy taking pictures of all the fascinating things in this country… And it is more than a little exotic with the road signs warning us to take care of the possible fauna that could cross, not being a regular cow or sheep like back home… And then there’s the Tsunami evacuation route sign…. And all the little supermercados are named: SuperCristian, SuperAlex and so on!
old surfboard used as a speedlimit sign 
Berlin, Santa Cruz, Liberia, Monterrey, Las Palmas and so on 
And to my great relief, there are caretire repairs spread around – very smart taken the some of the really 4×4 roads into account 
Bus sheds – old and new, so fascinating.
Law and order – Police patrol cars pop up everywhere and anywhere – a lot of times right out of the blue! They even pop out so abruptly of the blue (that is to say: the police officer jumps out into the road to stop a car) that sometimes they actually are run over! Fun(absurd) fact: in mid-2019 it was declared illegal til drive into a train… ($530 fine). I mean, if you live to pay the fine…
Road hazards; I must admit that for being such a magnificent country, a lot of CRs roads are really a test of patience and a great way to test your nerves (and your marital relationship)! There are plenty of mighty fine asphalted long road stretches, but then again, on the dirt roads it feels like you’re driving on old fashioned washboards (tiresome when it last for hours on end) and lucky for us we didn’t go there in rainy season. There are several reasons for this; the riverbeds needed to be traversed are a lot deeper in rainy season, and word has it that on the roads that we saw as orange/brown and dusty now, act as mudslides in rainy season and the mud apparently has the same effect as water when going at some speed with the car – possibly ending with mud planing. They say that some sections of the route we took to Santa Theresa are impossible to drive in rainy season even with a Humvee – for the above reasons(I can just picture the 4 of us stuck in a river with the small wheeled, 7 seater Ertiga – wow – would be like 2 erupting volcanos in the front seat of the vehicle at least)! Anyways, with so many dirt roads and the effects of a hard rainy season, there is bound to be som maintenance issues. The ways Ticos warn other drivers of hazards in the roads like potholes and so on that are not yet taken care of by the state, are simple yet very effective; A stick or a branch stuck in the hole/hazard with a Coca Cola can or the likes stuck on top. (With bigger roadworks they have traffic controls just like we do).
Rain rain go away; In the period of time we were in Costa Rica, hardly any rain fell, but umbrellas are still a common sight as the sun is hammering down with exhausting 35+ degrees celsius – but as I always say: it can never be too hot! I was probably made for living somewhere other than beautiful, but cold, Norway…
Old satellite dishes and car tires recycled for good use:
“When I fall in love,
It will be forever!
Or I’ll never fall in love
In a restless world
Like this is
Love can end soon before it’s begun
And too many moonlight wishes
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun..”
(Freely adjusted text by yours truly)
Sirkussaeter 
Dagen i dag en den dagen vi har!
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