Driving in Costa Rica is pretty awesome. The landscapes are varied and breathtaking. Making a wrong turn almost always results in some kind of adventure whether it's discovering the capabilities of your offroader or finding a great place to eat and taste foods you've never tried. I ended up on a rope bridge a couple weeks back that came complete with two sets of wooden planks spaced roughly the distance that a set of car wheels have between them apart and all the thrills and wobbles of riding a rollercoaster that you can steer.
Today, however, I discovered that it doesn't matter what your driving skills are when I managed to execute an emergency stop on a wet highway to avoid colliding with cars ahead of me that had somehow become stationary in a very short distance. I had all of 2 or 3 seconds to enjoy my near miss before seeing in the rear view mirror that the 2 wheel drive Hyundai behind me didn't have a prayer of stopping without using his bonnet and my boot as his crumple zone. I made a vague effort to remove my car from the road but the combination of the rain soaked tarmac and old Kumho tires on the doomed car to my rear proved a versatile adversary and the inevitable crunching and screeching ensued. Everyone was ok and aside from being jolted into a new level of awareness all six of the Hyundai's passengers emerged a little shaken and embarrassed but good spirited enough to know that it could have been a lot worse. The Costa Rican police were on the scene quickly and had everything documented before I could say pura vida.
Needless to say the Hyundai was a write off while my trusty Terios only lost its cosmetic bumper cover and right indicators. In future I'll be reaching for the hazards a bit quicker and relaxing a little slower when I've just avoided an accident. And I'm enjoying the convenience and disposability of rental cars a little more today.
