After 2 weeks in Costa Rica we decided we needed our own mode of transport. Don't get me wrong the buses here are great and we still take them sometimes but in order to see the country you its nice to get lost on backcountry roads. We almost bought a Opel station wagon until we realized parts here were non existent!  

I had been searching on Craigslist for a car while we were still in New York. I had seen our "dragonfly"  a few times before but decided it was above our budget so I said nothing. A few days later Alicja showed me a cool truck posted on expat facebook group that was for sale, turns out it was the same one I had looked at many times.  It was fate that brought us to buy it. This place has a magical spell it casts on those who choose to experience it. The old owner named her "dragonfly", the kids liked the name so we kept it, she also said the car is a "woman". To bring her home I had to take 2 buses cross country, spend the night in a strange Tico house with previous owner then drive all three of us for 6 hours back home and take the previous owner to the airport. She is reliable, and I trust her with our lives.  We have friends here who have newer vehicles and they all seem to be constantly broken. The main reason we bought this Land cruiser was because they seem to be the oldest cars here and still work reliably. If something does break or go wrong a

3 year old with a hammer and a screwdriver can fix it. It rattles inside but rides very smooth.  I am trying to convince Alicja that we should buy a tent and camping supplies and live out of it on the beach for a month...She's not a fan of that idea!  

Its diesel powered and I hope to ship it to Miami and convert it to run on recycled veggie oil when we get home.

I was a professional driver back home and even though I was made aware of the driving conditions it scares the shit out me to drive here. You have to pay attention every second and driving at night is a suicide mission. That being said I have seen bus drivers driving in a downpour with no windshield wipers or defroster going 60 mph downhill and texting. So if they can do it so can you but consider yourself warned.