Horns, dogs and roosters are the culprits of most noise pollution in Costa Rica.

Since I have been here for over 16 years, the list has had time to grow, not only from my own observation and experience; this is a list of general characteristics that I found a lot of people have mentioned, and there are consistently always the same problems.

1. Barking dogs come pretty much on top of the list. It is not clear whether Ticos have adapted to it, or wear some kind of noise protection, but there is nothing more annoying and frustrating and maddening than dogs barking constantly throughout the night, for no obvious reason at all. Add to that the crowing roosters in the morning, even in urban centers, and you’d think the whole country was a farm.

2. Then come the roads. Costa Rica is famous for the appalling states of its roads, which consist of dangerous potholes. Potholes of impressive depths are often marked by someone throwing a stick, chair or other tall adornment into it, imagine driving over that when you aren’t paying attention! Cars get destroyed here at the speed of light, and many accidents are caused because of this. I cannot say that it has improved over the years; one road may have been fixed while another gets destroyed.

3. Car Horns are used generously here, and their meaning is still unclear, it seems that it has become a normal mode of communicating all sorts of sentiments and ideas.

4. Bad driving is just driving in Costa Rica. How many times have I found myself behind a car signaling to turn right, feeling very impressed as they do not normally indicate anyway, to see the car turning left! They overtake when they feel like it, safe or not, and, most annoying, apparently here the left lanes of the highway are not for faster vehicles. You will get stuck behind slow coaches and they will not move, so, you have to learn to overtake on the right lane, and get used to zigzag your way around cars if you want to get anywhere. They also use the hazard lights for any kind of reason except the proper one.

5. Rubbish collection is sadly a problem in some areas, and has become a health hazard, spreading diseases and attracting rats. If you are lucky enough to have trash collection in your neighborhood (with burning it being the only alternative option – a great source of greenhouse gases) they will probably be on strike once a month. Even more outrageous is the way some people leave all their rubbish on the beaches, empty bottles, nappies, plastic bags, and the rests of a meal. A rubbish bin may be only a few meters away, it doesn’t make any difference, and they are probably put there for decorative purposes! This even applies to food courts in malls where trays are left for others to clean up.

Costa Rica is where I live and I love it nevertheless. I have learnt that no country is perfect; countries are like people, I have come to understand! There are so many reasons why I like Living in Costa Rica, I have no desire to go anywhere else, at this point in time, and I guess, as we do with people, we forgive the flaws and admire the positive qualities!

###

Costa Rica Pages is a rich source of Costa Rica Information.

This post's rating:

Related Stories

Filed under: Living on May 15th, 2008