www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I have always found the placard taxi drivers to be good guys...with one exception, and it's a bad one.

As a blind guy, I probably take taxis more during a week in C.R. than most guys take all year. I have found the placarded (yellow triangle/red taxi) to be relatively inexpensive... I've never tried Uber, as the app is a pain in the ass for blind users.

The one exception: A red taxi driver and I got into an argument over the fare. He refused to turn on the meter, saying it was broken. He tried to charge me nearly $40.00 U.S. for a trip that I know shouldn't cost more than about six bucks. When I demanded his number and name, he went nuts, stomping on the accelerator and taking me on a crazy-ass joy ride through some of the nicer parts of La Uruca, finally physically shoving me out of his cab in La Carpio. Not a place a solo blind gringo wants to be after dark... Yes, I made it back to the SL alive...but without a placard number etc. there was no way to file a police report. The driver could easily have gotten me killed, as La Carpio is home turf for a number of gangs.

Also, one driver affiliated with the HDR pulled a "tire buddy" from under his seat and tried to threaten me with it, thinking he deserved a CRC 2000 fare for what is never more than a mil. The security guy at the Amistad intervened, no problems.

Uber? I have a friend who frequently has to travel between Cartago and SJ, and she swears by them.

As for me, I'm learning to make more use of the public bus system (cheap and good), and to plan my routes more carefully to minimize the cost of taxi fares.

Newbie tip: The phrase is "Prenda su taximeter, por favor" (Put on your taximeter please) formal, or "Ponga la maria, por favor." informal. Always be sure to take note of the taxi's placard number; the number is shown on a triangular shaped, yellow decal, and from the license the driver is supposed to display. Your hotel will advise you of this number, if they call a taxi for you. Be respectful and polite, but don't hesitate to let the driver know if you've noted something that's not quite right. Familiarize yourself with the street geography of the cities you visit to avoid being taken on a joy ride.

Happy travels.

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

I remember about 10 years ago I was with a frail elderly friend and we hailed a cab to take us to some mp, been forever so I forgot which one. My buddy sat in the back and me in the front. It was a popular place, again I forgot, but other cabbies always took us right there.

The cabby was pulling the old trick of driving in circles, racking up the charges acting like he didn't know where it was. My elderly friend is squeamish and nervous here, the tension built up and he finally blurted out "He's taking us somewhere to rob us!!!"

Not really, he was just exceeding the normal time of driving around acting confused. I'm not Bruce Lee or Muhammad Ali but when I get pissed I think I am and you can beat me over the head with a billy club and I don't care, the only thing on my mind is getting my hands around the offenders throat, you can look into my crazed frenzied eyes and realize this guy just may present a problem. Does anyone remember "The Exorcist"? That's me when I've had it and I'm not afraid of an army, plus I was worried my old geezer pal just may have a heart attack, he was scared and sweating...that set me off...

I don't think the cabby spoke English, but I looked right at him and said "You're going to take us there in less than 5 minutes you greasy little 4 foot pos or we're getting out of this cab and you ain't getting nothing except a trip to Biblica, comprende??? Gawd fkkkn gawd dammmit!!!! I then ripped off my seat belt...

He might have had a gun, he might have had a knife, he might be able to call his cabby buddies, but at that particular moment in time he was staring into my Zuul psychotic Clint Eastwood eyes, I'm 2 foot away from him and staring at him intensely.

I was fantasizing about grabbing him by the hair and slamming his face into the steering wheel repeatedly until it became a bloodied unrecognizable pulp...100 times in 5 seconds...at this point I'm seething, my breathing is increasing rapidly and my face turns red...I think people can sense I'm thinking these things when I explode 10 miles past my danger zone...we ended up there in 2 minutes...

The odd thing was we were relieved when we got there and I gave him the fare plus a tip and said "Puda Vida". He just stared back at me with a nervous smile and soiled underwear...

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Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...