![]() In Costa Rica, all you need is a valid driver’s license from your home country to operate a vehicle. Here are our tops tips for driving in Costa Rica. We’ve driven all across the country over the last nine years from the Caribbean coast to northwestern-most Guanacaste, the central mountains to the southern Pacific, and everywhere in between. And with a little knowledge and experience, you’ll lose the nerves and be ready to take on the open road for yourself. Having a car in Costa Rica gives you the freedom to stop and go as you please, opening up a world of possibilities. It took us several trips to gain the courage to finally get behind the wheel. When we traveled to Costa Rica as tourists, we most often took the bus or shuttles. He agreed.Driving in Costa Rica can be intimidating for a first- or even second- or third-time visitor. I’d sometimes pretend to drive them (checking first for snakes, scorpions, and spiders, of course).ĭad and I walked back to the house together. There were also a couple of broken down Model A pickups on the side under some big mesquite trees, rusted and surrounded by weeds. Dad came out and hopped on while I was turning toward the open area where the tractors, plows, and other equipment were parked. I steered onto the main road and rolled down the drive to the farm house, slowing as I got close. As an adult, a cruise ship seems like a similarly big commitment to me.įinally, I pointed the tractor west into the sun. It could be excruciating to a little person with a short attention span. If you’re “in” for the beginning, you’re “in” for at least a full lap which could take quite a while. While I loved to ride on the tractor for a while, it is a very boring activity… drive straight for the ENTIRE length of a field, break the monotony with an exciting 180 degree turn, and then come back down that ENTIRE field again, only about 12 feet over. My limited experience with tractors has lead to an adult aversion to cruises and cruise ships. I even changed gears using both feet on the clutch. I practiced a lot of tight turns, the hardest maneuver on a tractor when doing real work. Then I made a lot of circles, because that’s NOT what you usually do when driving in a field… but it makes for a bumpy, jerky ride as the front and back ends buck up and down. I drove back and forth doing nothing special. He also told me not to hit the tree, then climbed off the tractor as it was moving, and walked back to the house. We drove about halfway to that tree and Dad said I could drive until I got tired or ran out of gas. There was a large, lone tree way out in the middle of it. He and I got up on one and drove east of the farm house into a field of about 40 acres. One day before planting season, after pestering him for the longest time, Dad let me drive the tractor by myself. Old as they were, Grandpa’s tractors were pretty well maintained.īy the time I was 5 years old, I knew all the basics of driving a tractor. Most of the time, the engine started with one or two tries. Even as a kid, I remember setting it to the right position and saying “ready”… then Dad would reach in the side and hold the throttle open and I’d pull down on the crank with all my weight, let go, and stand back. You attached a crank and turned it to start the engine. The front of the tractor had a starter drive shaft. The shifting pattern was complicated but it took a LOT of leg strength to press the clutch all the way down. ![]() Dad would press the clutch and I could shift gears. So, I learned how to operate the throttle and steer in a straight line at a very early age. The speed would remain constant until you reached up and changed it. The throttle is a simple lever-wire arrangement that you set manually. If you get everything lined up right, it almost drives itself. Once you’re in a field and on a row, you just guide it straight. ![]() I would stand between their legs and steer the wheel. ![]()
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