Big Corn Island to Playa Coco, Costa Rica

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Happy Birthday Eddie!

For whatever reason I have to wake up before the alarm goes off. I worry it won't go off & we'll miss our flight. So I woke up at 5:15. Up, quick pack & out front to catch a cab. We snapped some photos & caught a cab fairly quickly. I think we were a little overzealous on our arrival time. The airport is teeny tiny & we showed up 1 hour early. The check in counter wasn't even open but at least they had the waiting area open for us neurotic American types. Glenn & Carrie were on our flight & we chatted with them while waiting. We are definitely going to go visit them at their winery in E. Washington when we get home. They're big fans of wine & cheese, just like me! Immediate friends. 😊 And we can all talk about diving. Perfect!

Our plane ride to Managua was uneventful & easy. We got a sandwich at Subway to start us off on the right foot for our upcoming travel day. It's going to be a long one...
We walked out of the airport & headed to the bus stop. On our way across the parking lot we were offered a very fair price for a taxi to the terminal, so we took it. The taxi driver was a really nice guy but he had to try & talk us into having him drive us to the border. It started at $80 & ended at $50. We still opted for the bus.

We arrived at the first bus terminal (Martha Quezada) & learned that they wanted $38 per person for a bus ticket to Liberia (a city just an hour or two across the Costa Rican border). We laughed & took our taxi to a different bus terminal that doesn't offer direct buses & we expect it to be way cheaper.

At terminal Huembes we are getting out of the cab & these two guys ask us where we're going, grab our backpacks & lead us to the bus. One of the guys tried to get me to pay him the bus fare before we got on the bus. What a scammer. That is never how it works. You always pay on the bus to the bus helper dude. Jerk. But our relationship with these guys continues. We get settled on the bus & I went out to find some snacks & water for us. As I was walking around one of the guys who carried our bags came up to me & said "you need to pay me." I said, pay you for what. He said, pay me. For what! Pay me a tip! I was very annoyed at this point & I gave him 3 Cordobas (about 30 cents). He said I should give him 20 Cordobas. I told him to get lost & that was all he was getting from me. Then when I got back on the bus the other guy was still sitting there with Geoff. Geoff said this guy keeps asking me to pay him for something. I asked what he wanted. He said a tip. I said a tip for what? He said, for carrying the bags. I laughed at him & told him that nobody had ever asked us for a tip before for carrying our bags & that was just rude. Then I gave him 2 Cordobas (about 20cents) & said here's your tip, goodbye. Then I turned around & realized everyone on the bus was watching us (I think I may have been yelling just a titch) & most of the people were chuckling. The guy left the bus with his tail between his legs. Sometimes it's really helpful to be able to speak Spanish, especially when people are trying to swindle you. I think this is why we avoid big cities. They are always chock full of the swindling types. I got off the bus again in search of juice & the bus helper guy told me to be careful because there were lots of thiefs in the market area. You don't say!?!

Finally on our way & off to Rivas. I have not missed the butt numbing seats of these school buses that is for sure. I also forgot (or maybe just elected not to remember) how dirty the bus rides are. The roads are so dry & dusty & all that just flies in the air & into the open bus windows. I always get something in my eye & have a nice layer of protective dust on me after travel days. Ick. In Rivas we waited for our next bus to the border town of Penas Blanca. The people watching at this particular bus terminal was great. There were a group of teens sitting on a curb & taking turns drinking rum out of the bottle followed by a chaser of coke out of the 2 liter. That's one way to spend your Sunday I guess. There were also these people walking around selling batteries, flashlights, hair tyes & barretts & such but they had all of it attached to them in these tricky looking wire setups. They were walking stores. I couldn't stop staring. Geoff bought another pair of sunglasses here. I think he's now on his 5th pair. He's definintely having sunglass issues.

On our bus to the border we stood the whole way because our bags were in the back & we can't leave them unattended anymore. Ladrones! (Thieves). Thankfully it was only about 30 minutes.

We've heard all these horror stories about the border crossing here but it was quite easy for us. Probably because it was a Sunday afternoon or just because we have good border crossing luck. One of the two. However, the semi trucks waiting to cross the border were lined up for miles upon miles. Ugh & it's so hot. I felt kinda bad for them. The only difficulty with crossing the border was the long walk in the middle. There was at least a half mile stretch we had to walk between the two borders. It's still hot! & it's always pleasant to walk right next to semis starting & stopping. I love exhaust. We made it though & paid for our bus ticket to Liberia. So far we've added that it has cost us $25 total to get to Liberia. We win! I'm glad we didn't pay the $76 in Managua. What a rip off! It was worth the extra hassle of changing buses to save $50.

We bought a small meal at the border of fried chicken & rice & a gatorade. It cost us $8.50! Welcome to Costa Rica. Yikes, we've heard about the high prices but I was hoping maybe everyone was exaggerating a bit. Apparently they weren't. Darnit.

Our bus to Liberia was nice & had comfy padded seats. Always a treat considering I haven't had feeling to my booty most of the day. We met a Canadian guy who lives in Playa Coco, where we're heading, so we followed his lead from this point on. It's always nice to get help on the road. We got off the bus in Liberia, thanks to Mr.Canada & waited for our Playa Coco bus. He told us a story about how he recently was pickpocketed on the bus here & that we needed to be careful, they are pros he said. We've heard so much about thievery in Costa Rica. I wonder if it's because they have had tourism here for so long now that they've had time to become skilled at thievery? Who knows, but we are on high alert! Hoping not to be the next victim.

We caught our bus to Playa Coco & once we arrived there Mr. Canada directed us to a good hotel that was reasonably priced. He also told us what areas to avoid after dark (it was already dark when we arrived) & to remain alert. We thanked him for his help & went on our way. We're staying at Savannah Hotel. It's really clean, we have our own bathroom, & a king size bed! Wow! High rolling. It's really comfy too.

We showered off to remove our second skin & headed out to find food. We ended up at a sushi restaurant & spent big money on really really good sushi. ($30 for dinner, same as the cost of our room!). But, we feel like we deserved it after traveling for 13 hours today. We needed a treat. It was worth it. So yummy & fresh.

Back at our room we were asleep pretty much when our heads hit the pillows.

Long day. 2 taxis, 1 plane ride, 4 buses & a long walk between countries. Tired!

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Photos

Fried chicken & rice in bags, ready to sell.
They carry them onto the bus to sell them. It's a great service.

Do you need batteries, a flashlight, a keychain?
She's got it all! Strapped right on her body.