Acquiring a Costa Rican driver's license and, of course, some notes on food

When I went all by my lonesome to the San Jose office of COSEVI (the Costa Rican equivalent of the Department of Motor Vehicle), I found myself wishing that I had a companion along, preferably one who "knows the ropes" when it comes to the process of getting a driver's license in Costa Rica. But, alas, there I was with my gringa self, trying my best to understand something that is not very understandable, especially to an ex-pat without much skill in the local language.

So, I thought that a good topic for my blog would be to give you the low-down on what to expect and how to go about procuring your driver's license in Costa Rica. For those of you planning to make the move to Costa Rica, and those of you who have moved here recently and have not yet "experienced" COSEVI--here goes:

First, take a taxi. Don't even think about driving to COSEVI. It is located in the extremely busy area of La Uruca in San Jose. If you have never been to La Uruca, you are in for some bonafide stress. The traffic in La Uruca reminds me of one of those youtube videos of the traffic in India.

You must go to the La Uruca office if you are applying for your first Costa Rican driver's license. After that, you can go to Liberia for renewals, which is much more convenient for Lake Arenal residents. But for your first time, you have to go to the main office in La Uruca. If you are like me, you will have to go the day before, stay at a hotel, and go to COSEVI the next morning. Otherwise, you will likely self-implode from the stress of trying to do this all in one day. If you have the luxury of time, you might even want to make it a three-day trip--one to drive to San Jose, one to go to COSEVI in the morning and recover at your hotel in the afternoon, and the third day to travel back to the lake. I'm not kidding. It wears you out. Okay, call me a wimp, but we'll see how you fare when it's your turn...

So, now you are in the taxi on your way to COSEVI. If you have been lucky enough to read this posting before your trip to COSEVI, then you will most likely have the necessary copies and doctor's reports when you arrive at COSEVI. You see, in order to apply for your Costa Rican driver's license as an ex-pat, you need a copy of the main page of your passport, a copy of the page showing your most recent entry into Costa Rica, a copy of your valid driver's license from your home country, two copies of the results of your official examination (especially for the purpose of getting your driver's license) done by a Costa Rican doctor (you can use any Costa Rican doctor for this as long as they have the correct document for this purpose), and two copies of the official results of a blood test showing your blood type (also on a document especially for the purpose of obtaining your driver's license--your doctor should have one of these, also).

Sheesh.

Now, if you are like me and did not get a list and are not prepared, then when the taxi driver drops you off at the entrance to the building (in the rear bowels of the COSEVI complex) where you are to apply, you will have to hike back to the front of the complex, exit onto the street, turn left, and look for the building with a sign that says "Medico". There are actually a lot of these offices near the COSEVI complex, but this one is closest and the people running it are helpful and friendly. When you get inside, the young man behind the desk will relieve you of 15,000 colones (approx. $30), and then you will proceed to the lab where they will prick your finger to do the blood typing. After that you will spend a few minutes with a doctor having your vision and reflexes checked, and answering a few of the doctor's questions about your general health. When the blood test results are complete, the doctor will give you the official blood-type document and the official report showing that you are capable of operating a motor vehicle. Next, you will queue up at the front desk with all of the other poor souls going through similar misery, and have two copies of each of your test results made. And pay the young man behind the desk for the copies (about a dollar).

Okay, so now you have everything that you need (oh, I almost forgot--you also need your original passport and driver's license in addition to the copies). Go back inside the COSEVI complex, hike to the rear building, and go upstairs to meet with Brunhilda, the boss who overseas all ex-pat driver's license applications. This is the part where I would really rather drink castor oil and eat worms than have to go into Brunhilda's office. You see, Brunhilda is not a happy woman. I decided after spending a few minutes with this woman that she either does not like her job, does not like her husband (she wears a wedding band), does not like ex-pats, or possibly all three. I don't know, maybe Brunhilda just has a chronic rash on some tender part of her body, but you get the picture. She ain't pleasant and woe be to anyone who is not completely prepared and strong in the face of such disdainfulness.

So, assuming that you did not forget anything and Brunhilda is forced to release you to your much-anticipated freedom from her so that you can finish the process (don't get too excited--this is far from over), you then go downstairs and take a number from the nice security guard stationed at the entrance. With this number, you wait to be called to the area known as Pantalla, located on the first floor, directly below Brunhilda (try not to think about her because you will be photographed in the not-too-distant future for said driver's license and thinking of Brunhilda cannot be good for your facial features). When you are called to come to one of the Pantalla desks, the nice clerk there will take all of your documents, input them into a computer (yes, the first time during this whole ordeal that a computer is used), and then give you a document and send you back to the front of the COSEVI complex so that you can queue up to pay your fee to get your driver's license. The payment office is located just inside the entrance to the complex, so you will be hiking again. Don't be too discouraged when you see that the place where you pay your fee is called something very similar to the English word for "infractions". You are not being punished (any more than you are already being punished by enduring this process, anyway). This is just the place where everyone gives up their moola. At this writing, the fee is 4,000 colones, or approximately $8.

Okay. Now you have your receipt after having paid your fees. Hike back to the rear of the complex and find the nice clerk who sent you to pay your fees. You will then be given another document and told to wait for the "Camara". This area is located directly across from the Pantalla area, and it is where they will take your photo. When you are called into one of the cubicles where your photo will be taken by another nice clerk, you will find that not only will they be taking your photo, but you will also be signing a plastic screen exactly the way that your name appears in your passport AND having a fingerprint taken of your right index finger on yet another plastic device. I was pleased (for the first time since arriving at COSEVI) to find that Costa Rica takes your photo while you are sitting down instead of making you stand there like a goofball on the tape in front of a screen like they do in the U.S.

Now you are nearly finished. You just have to wait outside the photo cubicle until the nice clerk calls your name. He/she will then hand you---YES!!!--your Costa Rican driver's license! Don't look at the photo on it, whatever you do. Don't. Just hike back to the front of the complex and try to hail a taxi, like about twenty other poor suckers in line in front of you.

After you get a taxi, tell the taxi driver to take you to the nearest bar or day-spa, whichever you fancy. You're gonna need it.

Now, let's talk about food.

The produce and gourmet product availability here just keeps gettin' better. Two weekends ago I was in Liberia for two days of required courses for my membership in the Costa Rican Global Association of Realtors (affiliated with the National Association of Realtors in the U.S.), so I got to hit a couple of my favorite suppliers. One is the Italian food warehouse, Pippo's, about which I wrote in an earlier blog posting. The other is a great little market in the basement of the Liberia mall. At this little basement market I found some wonderful Spanish sausages and roma tomatoes, so I used them to make a delicious pasta dish when I returned to the lake. The sausages came in three flavors: one with figs, one with green peppercorns, and one with Cabrales cheese. I used one with figs in my pasta dish.



And I used my favorite pasta for this dish:



And to accompany the pasta dish, I prepared a mixed salad using a new vegetable/fruit that I found recently at the market in Tilaran. The produce clerk at the market told me that they are "tomates de arbol", or "tree tomatoes". They are delicious! (Be sure to remove the bitter peel.) These tree tomatoes are a welcome addition to the ubiquitous mixed salads that grace the table at our house. Here is what they look like:




And that is enough of my ramblings from Lake Arenal. Thanks for visiting.

Laura Murray
Owner/Broker
RE/MAX Lake Partners
http://www.arenalbuyersrealty.com/
http://www.lakearenal.blogspot.com/
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica
011-506-2-695-4511