End of Costa Rica, on to Nicaragua

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The dry season in Northern Costa Rica looks a lot like autumn in Canada. The trees have lost their leaves except for in the high mountain areas and along the rivers. The good news is that there is very few mosquitos. We decided to check out one waterfall before we left the country. It was in a park one hour north of Liberia, called Rincon de la Vieja. We hiked for about 1 hour to the double falls swam in the refreshing waters in a little oasis that we had all to ourselves. We had no bathing suits so we just swam in our underwear...until a bus load of package tourists from Ontario showed up and we decided that we should get going.

We took a couple of buses back to the west coast and spent the night at John and Diane's place in Villas Sol. We had originally planned to stay just the one night, but when we got there they didn't have to try very hard to convince us to spend another day. It was nice to just sit and relax for a day sleeping in, snorkeling, watching the pelicans dive, and visiting. John filled us in on a lot of general info on Costa Rica: There is no army in CR so this allows them to spend alot more on social programs. There is free education and university, free healthcare, dental and eye care, the tap water is safe to drink in 99% of the country and is also free. The standard of living is higher than anywhere else in Central America and it sort of feels like being in a warm version of Canada. It is very safe, although any crime is immediately blamed on immigrants from Nicaragua and Mexico, although that is probably not true.

As much as we would have liked to live it up for another week at Villas Sol, there is a lot to see in Nicaragua and so we made our way to the border. The border crossing was ridiculous. We were in line for about an hour to get the exit stamp. We walked about 1 km thorugh the no-man's land border area and then waited in line for another 30 mins to get the entry stamp into Nicaragua. As soon as we passed through the hole in the wall that was the "border" we were mobbed by a throng of people trying to sell us stuff, drag us into a taxi or a bus or asking for money. We jumped onto the first bus to Rivas, the southern transportation hub, and were on our way into another world. Nicaragua is a loud, colourful country which seems full of energy. But, with the second highest poverty rate in the west (70% next to Haiti), the contrast was quite a shock after Costa Rica.

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Photos

Iguana
Our sole companion at the waterfall oasis

One Last Gorgeous Sunset at Playa Hermosa
This might give you an idea of why it was so hard for us to leave Playa Hermosa

No-Man's Land
Crossing the border from Costa Rica into Nicaragua

Full-service Bus
Vendors hop onto the buses at every opportunity, walking up and down the aisle to sell their food/wares to the passengers on the bus

Comments

[Suzie Q]

Sounds like I might need to save of my cash to buy a property and retire in Costa Rica.