Nicaragua to Panama via San José (Costa Rica)

---

I had decided that Costa Rica was out of my price range and that I was probably out of their target market. Therefore, I had opted to go straight from Nicaragua to Panama. Still, that didn't seem feasible in one day, so it looked like I would have to stop in the Capital of San Jose (I looked at other places but the accommodation was less expensive in San Jose).
On Isla Ometepe, I woke up at 4.30am and quickly got ready. I was at the dock by 5am, waiting for the 5.30 ferry. I paid my 30C for the one hour crossing and joined all the workers on the boat. It seemed I was the only tourist who had bothered to get up at such an early hour. The boat ride was nothing special and when we arrived in San Jorge, I had to get a shared taxi to Rivas and catch a bus from there. The first taxi driver was trying to convince me to get a taxi to the border, but there was no way I was going to do that. Then the next driver wanted me to pay 20C, which I wasn't having either. But in the end, I did get the ride for 10C which seemed more reasonable. I got dropped off across the street and the border bus was there. I ran for it but unfortunately they didn't see me and drove off... The next one to turn up was a more luxurious bus and I was going to wait longer but one of the locals shouted at me to get on when I asked how frequent the buses were. I didn't have time to take chances with a long day ahead, so I jumped on while he was starting to drive away and paid my 25C to the border. Soon enough, I was standing at the immigration, waiting for the man to put the exit stamp in my passport. He wanted $3, so I handed him 60C (theoretically it's 22C for $1 but often they'll take 20), but he snapped back at me, saying that he wanted dollars and not Cordobas, to which I replied that I was in Nicaragua and therefore I would bloody well pay with Cordobas if I wanted (I was trying to get rid of the currency). In the end, I gave him the 66C and he gave me my stamp...
That was supposed to be the easy bit! I had been told that the Costa Rican officials were very picky and asking for proof of onward travel, forcing you to buy return tickets to Nicaragua if you couldn't provide what they wanted. All I could show them was my flight details out of Peru in July and I wasn't sure that would do the trick. But in the end, no questions were asked, no money was requested and I was in Costa Rica without any troubles.
From the border of Penas Blancas, I caught the direct bus to San Jose. The 6 hours journey was 4580 Colones or $10. Only $1=500 Colones and all I had were dollars. So I had to go and say hello to the money changers after all. Half an hour and a chocolate bar later (I am really in need of chocolate these days...) I was on the bus, with a front row seat to admire the landscape, which was perfect, as through the bus window was the only way I was going to see Costa Rica...
As we set off into the country, the road going the other way was full of parked up lorries. I asked the bus driver what was going on and he explain they were just waiting to cross the border, but because this border is only open from 6am to 8pm, there isn't enough time to get everyone through. After a few more kilometres and more lorries, I dared ask how long they had to wait. The answer: “it depends... 2 or 3 days...” What!? Now, I never want to hear again any moaning about lorries taking too long to go from France to the UK...
The rest of the journey wasn't very exciting. I slept a little and looked at the landscape. We stopped for lunch in an overpriced service station where I bought the traditional rice and beans. We got to San Jose at around 3pm and as soon as I got off the bus, a taxi driver rushed to speak to me. I wasn't interested and asked where I could get a bus that would take me to the centre, but nobody seemed willing or able to give me an answer. So in despair, I started walking, but I knew it was a long way to the hostel, which had been recommended to me but wasn't in the centre.
The walk from the bus stop to the city centre wasn't the most pleasant and I wouldn't be surprised if this was an area where you're not supposed to walk alone. It was full of beggars and stinky homeless people, giving me funny looks, so I was in no doubt that I wasn't really supposed to be there. I eventually arrived to the central avenue, a busy pedestrian road with shops everywhere. There I found myself shocked by how “civilised” and modern the city seemed to be. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for a big European city, but having been nowhere near anything like it for 10 weeks, it was all very surprising: men in suits, girls in skimpy outfits, shops selling trendy clothes, fast food chains, prams (in most countries visited so far, women have pieces of cloth tied around their chests with their babies in it), etc... It was a busy city, full of busy people walking straight and fast and seemingly not caring about anybody else. I found myself at home in a way and realised I hadn't forgotten how to walk the big city walk yet...
I eventually got to the hostel. The $13 for a dorm bed seemed a bit steep after getting used to the $4 or $5 beds in Nicaragua, but the hostel was amazing, in a quiet and lovely neighbourhood with a big kitchen, lounge with TV and DVDs, fast wifi, bright dorms and free unlimited breakfast. I dropped my bags and headed back to the city centre to have a walk around. It was almost 4pm already, so I didn't have too much time to explore before it got dark. I walked around, not really knowing where to go as I hadn't taken the time to read the guide-book, but I managed to see the theatre, the cathedral, a few parks and shopping streets before it was time to head back. On the return journey, I stopped at the supermarket to buy some food and nearly had a heart attack. It seemed soooo expensive! It was probably about the same prices as back home, maybe a little more, but after spending almost nothing on food in the previous weeks, it was a painful experience! I was glad I was only spending one night there as my wallet would have been very sad otherwise.
I returned to the hostel to find another girl had arrived in the dorm. We had a nice chat and then I cooked and ate and chilled and did some internet catch up. That was about it. An early night was necessary after a long day and before another one. The next morning, I was catching the 9am bus taking me to Nicaragua.
I got up early to give me plenty of time, but I intended to catch the city bus from the hostel to the centre of San Jose. From there, it would probably be another 15 minutes walk to where I had to catch the coach. The bus journey went down a road I hadn't been down the day before and past quite a few parks and monuments I hadn't had a chance to see. It gave me the impression I hadn't seen a lot of the city in the couple of hours I had spent wandering around the previous afternoon, but no matter. It was time to escape from pricey Costa Rica and go to “not quite so pricey but still a fair bit more than previous countries” Panama.
I was the first one at the “bus stop”. I use “” because it wasn't a bus stop at all. It was just a street and the bus stopped in front of a hotel. I even checked that I was in the right place (I was) and soon enough, other backpackers started arriving. The bus ($12)was an international bus, which meant it was taking us through the border and carrying on into Panama, but it wasn't a luxury affair. No air con, TVs or anything like that, but comfy seats and not so many stops. I got chatting to a group of Canadians who were heading to the same place as I was: Bocas Del Toro, an island off the Carribean coast. From what I understood, Bocas Town, where I was planning to stay, was a good base to explore the islands around, as well as the main town with ATM, supermarkets and a lot of late night partying.
It took about 6 hours to get to the border. There, we had to get off the bus, exit Costa Rica (very straightforward), cross the bridge, enter Panama (not so straightforward) and wait for the bus to pick us up on the other side. When I got to the Panamanian immigration, the man asked to see my ticket out of the country. I explained my flight confirmation was in my bag which was on the bus. I thought that would put him off, but it didn't. He gave me back my unstamped passport and said “fine, we'll wait for the bus”, so I started explaining to him that my flight wasn't out of Panama and he wasn't too happy. He wanted me to buy a bus ticket to return to Costa Rica, but eventually, when I told him I was catching a boat to Colombia and that was why I had no written confirmation, he reluctantly stamped my passport and handed it back. The Canadians weren't so lucky and ended up having to buy a bus ticket (but they were returning to Costa Rica eventually, so got an open return).
While we were waiting for the bus to pick us up, some guy who was on our bus and lived in Bocas started telling us that we should get off and get on a shuttle to Almirante instead, as our bus was only going to Chinandega (15 minutes away from the border) and there we'd have to change to get a bus or taxi to Almirante (a further 45 minutes away and where the water taxi was leaving from). It had gone 4pm and he reckoned we were risking missing the last boat at 6pm if we stayed on the bus. Unfortunately for him, I overheard his conversation with the shuttle driver, where he'd asked for the price and the driver had replied “they pay $8 each and you go for free”, so I wasn't going anywhere in a hurry and after I told the Canadians what I had just heard, they weren't either. So we got back on our coach for the last 15 minutes of the journey.
When we got off, it was about 5pm, so we knew we were tight for time. A taxi driver approached us and we managed to get him to agree to take us to Almirante for $4 each. But then, the shuttle from earlier turned up, saying he would take us for $3. The Canadians didn't want anything to do with him: it was the principle, so they went for the $4 taxi. And me? Well, I guess the principle isn't as important as the money, so I jumped on the shuttle... We got to the pier for about 5.50pm and I was relieved that I was going to make it to Bocas. In the end, the boat ($4) didn't leave until 6.15 anyway, so I would have had plenty of time. On the water taxi, I was told about a hostel which was the place to be: on the main street but quiet and reasonably priced. It wasn't in the guide-book, but I thought I'd give it a try. An Irish girl was sat next to me and decided to come along and that's how we ended up at Grand Cahuna...
So it took 2 full days, but I eventually made it from Nicaragua to Panama and after that much travelling, I was definitely ready for a day at the beach...

---

Comments

[delphine]

je te confirme que le Lonely Planet dit bien qu'il faut prendre un taxi a la sortie de la gare de bus, le quartier est un coup gorge!! ouf ta gorge est toujous la! bises