I used a GPS on a recent trip to Costa Rica and it allowed me to really enjoy exploring the rural country side. I was the most relaxed I have ever been despite spending a weekend driving on roads with few road signs and even less pavement. This story will help you appreciate just how the GPS can transform global tourism and make traveling in exotic places really, really fun.
On my recent trip to Costa Rica for Costa Rica Insight 2008, I did something I have never done in my many trips to this amazing country. I rented a car alone and drove in the country.
I am definitely not a novice renting cars to explore at my own pace. I have driven back roads in Ireland, at high speed on the Autobahn, throughout the Loire valley in France and deep in the Louisiana bayou in a borrowed, beat up truck. But something about unmarked roads and inconsistent paving had made me hesitant to go out entirely on my own.
I have always, always, always wanted to see an active volcano in Costa Rica. I was determined this time to do it. Care to see the prize of this venture? Look here! Arenal is amazing. Check out the photo from my room that was right at the base of the mountain.
Getting there and back was the challenge, but my friend Mario who was born in Costa Rica convinced me that I could do the drive. It’s just a few turns and will take about 3 hours, or so he said.
Right.
At the conference, I shared my plan with my friends and the reactions I got ranged from “are you crazy?” to “of course Mario could do it!” Another friend originally from Argentina told me about his first experience driving to visit companies in Costa Rica. In his words, there are not street signs, addresses or mailboxes. Most directions are given based on reference points like a tree or blue house. After 300 meters, make a left at the tire and drive on the dirt road. I am not kidding you!
Maybe I should have started to worry???
This friend continued as I wondered about my decision. He recanted an experience where he was late to a meeting after getting completely lost. Over the phone, it took him 5 minutes just to explain where he was. After that, they told him to head down a road until he “smelled the cookies.” That’s right, the conversation as repeated back to me under the guise of rolling Argentinian r’s explained the key to the directions was the smell of a bakery making cookies.
Sure, no problem, just a few turns and you are there. Was I crazy or just insane?
Turns out, GPS has finally arrived in Costa Rica. Talk about a gift! In all my adventures, I never had a more relaxing drive as I did this time.
The route confirmed my original impressions that I would be forced to navigate random turns that could just as easily put you on a mountain path as in the center of town. Yes, I turned once and found myself on a dirt road heading up a mountain (turns out this was an optimization made by the GPS that took me off the main road). Yes, I turned another time and the freeway became a town (this was NOT an optimization). Throughout the day, with my handy Garmin GPS, I was actually able to enjoy these nuances that otherwise would have forced me to stop the car and check my map.
Did I say that everyone else was relieved that I had a GPS as well 
I just love technology that enables and that is easy to use. I use my GPS from TomTom at home all the time. I rarely get lost looking for office buildings anymore and I always know if I am going to be on time. That’s the way software and the Internet should be as well, helpful in an unobtrusive way.
I figured my experience would make a great ad campaign for Garmin. My trip had everything including unpaved roads, towns in the middle of the main road, and a bridge that had been washed out. And so, I created this short photo album of the potential ad. Make sure you read the comments!
I went to the Garmin website and it turns out they have a form dedicated to testimonials. I guess the idea of unique GPS enabled experiences is not so unique. For me the experience was fan-tas-tic! I posted it anyways, links to photo album and all.
Oh, and I told a small fib at the beginning of this post. I actually rented a car in Costa Rica on my honeymoon in Punta Islita a few years back. Driving on the only road in town for just a few miles is not the same as a weekend journey to a volcano. No turns means no GPS required.
