On day 1 (Tuesday), I went from Bocas del Toro to San Jose. Nothing that exciting to report, except another good example of "cheat the tourist": when my bus arrived to San Jose, I needed to get a cab to my hostel. A cab driver approached me and offered to take me there. Since he was right at the bus station he knew I was the ideal target - someone who didn't know the area (and thus reasonable prices) well, and just wanted to get out of there fast (San Jose is on the sketchy side). So, he said it was "very far" and would cost $8 - (I know those of you from Boston or DC think that's a steal, but in Costa Rica that's very expensive). I declined, and shortly thereafter found a cab driver who would take me on the "very far" cab ride which took a whole five minutes, and charged me $2. That's one of the exhausting things about traveling - you always have to be on guard about people trying to either cheat or steal from you!
The hostel I stayed at in San Jose (Pangea) was really cool - it had a roof-deck bar, and a pool. I was so exhausted that I didn't take much advantage of the facilities, and went to bed early. On day 2 I took a private shuttle bus to Tamarindo. The advantage of the private shuttle is that it is air conditioned, doesn't make a bunch of stops, and has more leg room (which is awesome for the tall traveler). Also, they pick you up at your hostel - however, this ended up being more of a con than a pro, as I got picked up second, and we then proceeded to drive all around san jose picking up the others. Finally I made it to Tamarindo around 1, just in time to do some surfing, and go for a run before dark. I then met up with Lock, a friend from high school, and we grabbed a beer while fruitlessly trying to watch the NBA playoffs (the tv guide channel said the game was on, but instead it was showing Matrix Revolutions - a very poor substitute). My stay in Tamarindo was brief, but way better than the last time, when I got pickpocketed.
The next morning I was up at 5 AM to catch a 5:45 bus to the Nicaraguan border. Everything proceeded pretty routinely until I got to the Nicaraguan side of the border. I waited in line to get my passport stamped, only to be told once I got to the front that I had been randomly selected for a medical screen thanks to swine flu precautions (why didn't they tell me before I got in line!?!). All I had to do was fill out a form saying where I'd been recently, and that I didn't have any symptoms of the flu. (Don't tell, but I did have a bit of a cough and a mildly sore throat, a remnant from a cold 2 weeks ago, but I didn't tell them - didn't want to risk being quarantined for something that had nothing to do with the flu). Now, bearing my doctor's seal of approval, I went back into the line for my stamp. After 5 minutes the line stopped moving. Apparently the computer had broken, and the agent just walked away without saying anything! After jumping into another line and a lot more waiting, I finally got my stamp - welcome to Nicaragua!
Tired of all the hastle of the buses, I grabbed a cab with two people I'd met in line. I was so exhausted by this time that I could barely keep my eyes open. They later told me that they had a great time in the back of the cab watching me fight off sleep - apparently as nodded off then woke up then nodded off I almost ended up resting on the cab driver's shoulder. How romantic. Finally, at about noon on Thursday my 3 day voyage was over, and I made it to San Juan del Sur. I immediately found a hostel to stay in then passed out in a hammock for several hours.
I've been in San Juan del Sur for 3 days now, and have been having an absolute blast. It's a chill beach town - great place to charge my batteries. In about an hour I'm leaving for Ometepe, this cool island in the Lago de Nicaragua which is basically justv two volcanoes. I doubt I'll have much internet access while I'm there, but when I get back to the mainland I'll put up a post about San Juan del Sur and Ometepe.
Pics below - enjoy!
we saw these Macaws in a tree while taking a lunch break during the Costa Rica trek. There were also some howler monkeys, but they were less interesting - they just lay there in the tree, napping. I would have liked to see some juggling or cartwheels!
Welcome to Nicaragua! This sign is misleading, though - it should really say "welcome to Nicaragua, but first you're going to have to stand in several lines and go through a med screening - so close but so far!"
me with my passport, immigration form, and "doctor's note" - finally I can get in to Nicaragua!
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