After dinner, we extended our visit over coffee and dessert, then crashed at a friend's house nearby.
We returned home this afternoon - the trip had the added benefit of learning about some new bus routes :-D.
We left our apartment in San Pedro in the afternoon - 3 buses and 2 hours later, we were in Grecia. We took the San Pedro bus and Sabana Cementerio bus to the Grecia terminal downtown. When we got on the Sabana Cementerio bus, I asked the bus driver if he knew the Grecia terminal, and could he tell us when we got there. This has become a good habit, but I also never count on the driver to remember. So, we roughly knew where the terminal was, and so as we neared Coca-Cola, we peered around anxiously. At one stop, we started to rise, and the driver put his hand out to us - indicating that we should wait (nope, not there quite yet). Then he stopped a few blocks farther (I don't even know if it is a regular stop), and motioned to us. We thanked him profusely, and got off the bus. Then what? Well, we asked someone, and she pointed back the way we had come and said it was a couple blocks back. Having just come that way, we were inclined to ask someone else... We waited until she was out of sight, then asked at a nearby cafe. The gentleman behind the counter *came out* of his cafe, walked us down part of the way, and pointed around the corner - doh! We had gotten off the bus within 10 feet of the entrance to the *huge* terminal, *full* of buses, all with *great* *big* signs on the front, saying "GRECIA." Ok, it *was* out of sight around the corner...
A short wait later, we hopped on the bus - we were a bit surprised by the c815 fare - we were thinking of the c425 fare for the Alajuela bus. But, as we thought about the alternative bus route (SJ->Alajuela->Grecia), we figured the total amount would be the same. It comes to only about $1.45, but it stripped us of all our small bills and change.
About an hour later, we pulled into the terminus in Grecia - it is the same place that the bus from Alajuela uses - just West of the central park.
We killed some time sitting in the park (aahhh) and drinking iced coffee (AAAAHHHHH) with a friend, then headed over to the Red Door.
Our return trip was nearly the reverse - buses leave for San José from Grecia every 25 minutes. We decided to get off on the Paséo Colón, and after about a 10 minute wait, caught the Periféricia all the way home. I timed some of the distances on the way back:
- Grecia terminus 2:10
- Enter Autopista 2:25
- Airport 2:45
- Paséo Colón 3:00
- Home 4:00
2 comments:
Nice to see you posting more frequently, Julie. Your 'bus-timings' between places and the routes involved might should oughta be a more regular feature. I find them helpful. They also seem like they'd be very useful in demystifying the bus-riding process, especially for the newbie to the Central Valley.
Cheers!
Paul
==
Good idea, Paul! Will do...
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