Day 19 - We've Still Got It!

Now that we're in Liberia, Costa Rica, I'm sort of happy the agent told us the Tica buses would be full today. The big bus lines do take some of the hassle out of travelling around Central America but they also take a lot of the fun out of it too.



Today, we walked from the waterfront in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua to where the local buses run to Rivas. It took about 45 minutes and cost about 75 cents. Getting to the bus station, we opted out of the first bus to the frontier (border). Well, it looked like we'd have to stand, so we waited a little less than an hour for another. That too was pretty packed and I ended up standing with a great deal of others. In fact, when the conductor and sellers tried to get from one end of the bus to the other people were almost injured! It was a surprisingly short hour and cost each of us $US 1.00.

The border was not hard even without the 'helping hands' of the bus lines. Leaving Nicaragua cost $4 in total. We had refused to tip those offering the customs declaration form and picked them up an filled them out at the counter. Then, we walked about a half mile with our bags through no-man's land and into Costa Rica. Near a restaurant on the Costa Rica side we got in a direct bus to Liberia for about $3. So, for only $5.75 we arrived here. It was gratifying to know we can still be real travelers and not simply tourists.

We ate a late lunch at the bus station and then asked a taxi to take us to a reasonable hotel. We're at Hospedale Casa Vieia. It's average and clean but we realize by the price we're back in Costa Rica. It's a bit more expensive here because the country is a bit more developed. For example, we just paid over 15,000 Colones for dinner. Well, we wanted to splurge a little and went to a second-floor restaurant overlooking the park and main cathedral. The menu was amazingly complex but we figured we'd have tastefully presented, abet meager, food. Well, there are seldom times a meal can get the best of me, but I was unable to finish my chicken breast. It was stuffed with ham, mushrooms, and cheese and topped with a cream sauce. The fries were sufficient for a small army. Jay ordered a different type of chicken and had rice. So, the total bill of $30 wasn't really much after all.

We're going to head back to San Jose tomorrow, somehow.