Where the streets have no name

July 16, 2012

Getting your mail in Costa Rica could be a little bit of a lottery. They don’t use post codes, rather, they prefer to use well known local landmarks. A decade ago a German hotelier had to appeal to the government to update his address, which read “Steps past the dead parrot”. Firstly, he argued, it wasn’t a parrot but a quetzel, and it wasn’t dead. It had been painted on a wall by a graffiti artist and had faded into a green smudge.

The head postmaster wants to update the system and introduce post codes. He reckons it will save £500 million a year. We reckon thats a price worth paying for such a curious system. In my village we have a less expensive yet colourful way of naming people – American Andy; Radio Kenny; Whispering Richard; Walking Norman and so on.

Colourful names make for colourful people – and its free.

Have a curious day.