Transportation Troubles – When the Ride Becomes the Story

So far not having a car has been inconvenient at times, but has not kept us from doing anything we’ve wanted to do. Today was a different story. We had planned on going to the Kalambu Hot Springs. This was a kid pick activity and is essentially a hot springs water park.

When the Uber Driver Asked Dave to Drive

We ordered an Uber, like we’ve done numerous times and the driver arrived quickly. We all climbed in and she immediately starting saying something about the policia (police). With our limited Spanish we couldn’t understand exactly what she was saying. As she started driving down the road, she asked Dave in broken English if he knew how to drive a manual transmission. Dave confirmed that he did. She then proceeded to pull over and ask Dave if he would drive. She said the police were in the direction of the hot springs and wouldn’t pull us over if he was driving. Dave explained he did not have his license with him. Pretty confident I would have objected to him driving regardless. The woman said she could not take us in that direction. Dave and I consulted quickly and decided we should just cancel the ride and try again. Braxton came through with the Spanish word for cancel, and we all got out of the car.

We stood in a parking lot speculating about why the woman was certain she would be stopped by the police. Did she have a bunch of unpaid tickets? Was her car stolen? We had no idea. We considered what to do next, and decided to order another Uber.

Another Ride, Another No-Go

The second Uber also arrived quickly, and again we all climbed in. He looked at the map to where we wanted to go and shook his head. He asked if anyone spoke Spanish and at this point Dave decided to get out Google translate. The driver explained that there were police in that direction that were stopping Uber drivers. He said they set up these check points at time, and that he could not give us a ride. Uber is not legal in Costa Rica, but it operates in a kind of gray zone. The government hasn’t formally legalized ride-sharing services like Uber, largely due to pressure from the traditional taxi industry. However, Uber has been active in Costa Rica since 2015. We thanked the driver and climbed out.

Costa Rican Sidewalks: Now You See Them, Now You Don’t

We couldn’t decide what to do next. The hot springs was about 2.5 miles away. Walking this distance is not a problem for us physically, but sidewalks are non-existent in spots here.

This shows best case scenario:

This is what you come across most often:

Locals walk along the side of the road, and at times we do this too. However, there are areas where this does not feel safe. We had never walked very far in this direction, so we decided to at least give it a try. About 1 mile in we determined it was not safe and turned around. We stopped at a souvenir shop to sit in the shade, regroup, and figure out what to do next.

Food Fixes Everything – Even Travel Whiplash

We decided to go out for brunch. We would make the decision afterwards if we wanted to attempt another Uber to the hot springs. Our brunch place was super cute. Alexis said it looked like they were having a gender reveal. Ha! The kids got dessert breakfast, Dave had an omelet, and I got a local dish. I did not successfully avoid a stomachache, but everyone’s food was delicious!

Pura Vida Means Sometimes You Pivot

After lunch we decided to walk back home and we will try again tomorrow for the hot springs. Dave and Braxton are going on a night hike tonight. This is not an activity that was at the top of the list for Alexis and I, so we opted to save the $100 and just the boys will go. We need a break from the bugs!