Contrary to what the title suggests, this is not about some girl named "Maria." It is actually the word used in Costa Rica for taxi meters - you know, those things that legitimize the amount you're paying for travel, especially when you have no clue where you're going. Well the country should look into a massive "maria" restoration project because when we were there (about 3 years ago), they were all conveniently "broken."

One town especially was infamous for its "broken marias," Manuel Antonio. Even if the meter was connected and looked perfectly workable, it "would not work" - must be that gringo charm. Sometimes we would get the most absurd explanations and others there would just be the awkward silence. One even pulled a meter from his dash with wires dangling attempting to plug it in until we just told him to drive.

One of my friends who struggled with spanish a bit summed it all up perfectly one day returning from the bars after another broken maria argument (in the best spanish I've ever heard from him and perfectly conjugated): "Todas las marias en esta ciudad están rotas" (All the "marias" in this town are broken).