Why Google will never map San Jose

SABANILLA, Costa Rica -- If I were to get directions on Google from my mother’s house in Bellevue to the Space Needle, it would start like this:

- Head north on 119th Ave SE.

Continue like this:

- Take exit 167 on the left toward Seattle Center

And end like this:

- Turn right at John St

Now, if there was a Google maps option for Costa Rica, and say I'm leaving the office to go see a room to rent, it would have to start like this:

-Go to the municipality building in Curridabat.

Continue like this:

- From the "muni" go 500 meters south. Then 25 meters east.

And end like this:

-It's the yellow house with two floors.

Yep.

For some reason, Costa Ricans don’t really use numbers, streets or avenues in giving directions.

They give directions by using landmarks – like the nearest gas station or a bar – to locate a desired destination.

God only knows how many people live by a Shell.

Even some seasoned taxi drivers are left confounded.

I guess knowledge of the metric system is key here. Apparently a block is 100 meters. So 500 meters is five blocks or half a kilometer.

It went for me like this once: “Take Sabanilla road. From the gas station called the Harvest, go 200 meters south. It’s the pink house 10 meters past the guard gate.”

I got there, and was greeted by more than a half dozen pink houses. And four guard gates.

Try ordering delivery on the phone.

“The hostel is on the west side of the court, at a dead-end street.”

40 minutes later the delivery guy calls. He's lost, and I have to say:

“It’s 200 meters south of the restaurant Nuestra Tierra.”

Imagine being the programmer with the task of programming a Google map of San Jose.

He’d have to be a former taxi driver, a really knowledgeable taxi driver.