The Buses Aren't So Bad

After that last post I took a nice cold shower and passed out with my legs tingling from an exhausting first day of classes.  This morning I attacked my commute with the kind of focus I usually reserve for academic testing, and it helped a great deal.  Here is my commute:

(1) from the corner in right next to my house to the bus center in ALAJUELA:

(by BUS: 5 minutes, 50 cents)

walking: 15 Minutes

(2) from the bust station in ALAJUELA to the stop in front of the SUBWAY on the SAN JOSE DIRECTO:

30 minutes, 90 cents

(3) walk from SUBWAY to PARQUE LA AUXILIADORA: 4 minutes

wait at 

(4) 0-10 minute wait at LA AUXILIADORA for the BUS to MULTIPLAZA

(5) BUS to MULTIPLAZA: 15 minutes, 60 cents

My morning commute, done alone, was an hour and twenty minutes, and cost around $1.50.  Not terrible.  Moreover, I was exponentially more comfortable with the trip.  I should be able to read or listen to music on the morning trip in just a few days.

I am still a bit worried about doing the trip backwards, but I went over the names of the buses and the routes with my host father Marcos this morning over a hearty American breakfast (Raisin Bran with a delicious sliced banana).  The traffic is also worse in the evening, but I imagine without all the mistakes I made yesterday (at least four), I should be able to make it home in under an hour and forty-five minutes.  That is, if I haul out of here immediately after class.

In other good news, my cell phone chip will be waiting for me when I get back to the house!  I will not be so alone when commuting.  And with that, class is starting...

Pura Vida,

Z

(This is a photo I found online that surprisingly resembles most of the buses through San Jose.  There are a couple of old school buses servicing some of the more distant and poorer outlying areas, but a majority of the buses are red/white/blue/gray manual transmission touring buses like the one in the photo.)